photo © Tim Jenkinson
Dartmouth is a town which has never had more than 7,000 inhabitants – and yet at one point it had four Church of England churches – not to mention the Catholic, Methodist and Baptist places of worship.
In this series, Phil Scoble takes a look at the history of each church.
First up is St Clements.
St Clements is the oldest church in Dartmouth – known as its ‘Mother’ Church - showing where the early concentration of the area’s population lived. 350 feet above the town, it is situated on the main road to the coast that has been used since ancient times.
It was built before any of the land reclamation had started in the lower town when most people who lived around this area were based in “Tunstal” as it was referred to in the Domesday Book. Townstal means “walled enclosure on the hill” and is listed as a manor held by Walter of Doui – or “Walter the Fleming” as he was known – who is the reason behind the name ‘Stoke Fleming’ which he also owned.
It is thought the Norman invaders first laid out the church, though there is a chance there was a chapel on the site before then. Its fabric dates mainly from the early 14th century – though the tower that dominates the town dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. The tower was rebuilt and repaired between 1881 and 1885.
The church was named for St Clement, who was (according to some) the second Pope after St Peter (to others he was the fourth). Whichever one he was, little is known about his life – but an apocryphal story about his death is well documented.
He was banished from Rome to a life of hard labour by the Roman Emperor Trajan - considered by many the most successful Roman Emperor, whose canny leadership saw the civilisation grow to its greatest extent.
Clement saved workers at the quarry he was working in from dying of thirst after praying to God and then ‘producing’ a spring by striking a rock. The workers converted to Christianity after this amazing spectacle.
Emperor Trajan was not impressed however. He ordered Clement thrown into the Black Sea with an anchor tied round his neck. His martyrdom resulted in his sainthood. He is the patron saint of metalworkers, blacksmiths, anchor makers and - rather bizarrely - hat makers.
One of the windows in the church is dedicated to St Clement.
The church is first mentioned in 1198 in deeds relating to its being given as a ‘gift’, granted to the Chapter of the newly-founded Abbey of Torre by Tunstal’s Lord, William FitzStephen for “the welfare of his soul and Isabel his wife”.
But the real reason for the ‘gift’ was that the order who ran the Abbey, the Premonstratensians – also known as the White Canons - had been instrumental in securing the release of Richard the Lionheart from captivity in Central Europe following his rather unsuccessful involvement in the Third Crusade.
The order made the most of their new network of churches and, by the middle of the 16th century, Torre Abbey was one of the wealthiest in the order.
The connection with the Abbey continued right up until Henry VIII came along and dissolved the monasteries – officially because of serious theological reasons but actually because he wanted their money. The greedy monarch even took the lead off the roofs of Torre when it was taken.
Torre’s final Abbot – Simon Reede - actually saw the writing on the wall and became St Clement’s vicar just months before the dissolution and remained there until his death – he probably enjoyed life as he took a payment from the crown to leave the Abbey: £66 13s and 4d or more than £20,000 today.
The church has many distinguishing features and its altar is, apparently, unique. It is made from wood and is covered in beautiful carvings – it dates from the 17th Century and the reign of James I.
The church’s importance was underlined in 1949 when it was officially listed.
Throughout its history, the church has been rebuilt, repaired and renewed countless times – and in 2009 it went through another major refurbishment.
Before the refurbishment, the church had a serious lack of amenities such as heating, toilets and access for those in wheelchairs.
The vicar of Dartmouth at the time, the ever-popular Simon Wright, worked tirelessly for years to gain the necessary agreements and funding to bring the church into the 21st Century and make it a more accessible and easily-used place for the whole community.
Despite receiving some harsh criticism for it - including some from an atheist who didn’t want the church ‘ruined’ – the floor was leveled, wheelchair access was added, the pews were taken out and replaced with blessedly comfortable chairs and the church received new toilets and a kitchen. The church was reopened to the pubic in November 2009.
It gives a new lease of life to a church that has been at the heart of its community for more than 800 years.•
First Published October 2012 By The Dart
see also http://pinterest.com/bythedarttv/dartmouth-churches/