The Postcard
An L. S. Series postcard that was posted in Sutton using a 1d. stamp on Tuesday the 7th. October 1919. The card was sent to:
Miss Nash,
4, Manor View,
Burrell Row,
High Street,
Beckenham,
Kent.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Sutton.
The church is about ten
minutes from us.
It is very pretty all round
here and quiet.
I am not struck on the
show but must put up
with it for a time.
Very few in the house.
Love to both,
Love,
M. H."
All Saints Church, Benhilton
All Saints Church, Benhilton, is an English parish church within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The church is located in Sutton, Greater London, in the Sutton parish of Benhilton.
It was built between 1863 and 1867. It is a Grade II* listed church, and has been described by Historic England as:
"A fine example of mid-Victorian
church-building by an important
architect of the Gothic Revival,
Samuel Sanders Teulon."
Location of the Church
The church is located just to the north of Sutton town centre, to the east of Angel Hill on All Saints Road, and looking down towards Sutton Green.
It stands on an artificial platform built up on a south-facing slope. The hill on which the church stands was partially formed as a result of earth moved there during the building of the Angel Hill cutting in the 1770's.
The church's large size and prominent location makes it a local landmark.
History of the Church
The parish of Benhilton was created on the 15th. September 1863, and the foundation stone of the church was laid in the same year.
The building owed much to Thomas Alcock who was then lord of the manor, and who gave £18,000 towards the building, the land for the church, the vicarage and a school. The church was conceived as an amenity for an estate of upper class Victorian housing which Alcock was developing on the land to the east.
The nave and south aisle were finished first, the tower and chancel were added in 1867, while the north aisle was not fully roofed until 1906.
The church has always been noted for its bells; the first was the tenor bell, which was presented by Thomas Alcock and was rung on the day the church was consecrated.
The framework for a complete peal was fixed in the tower in 1877. Another bell was added the same year, and a third the year after. By 1882 there were eight bells which were inaugurated on the 1st. November 1893 (All Saints Day).
Kelly's Directory of Surrey 1903 contains the following entry:
"Benhilton ecclesiastical parish was formed out
of the parish of Sutton. The church of All Saints,
erected in 1865, at a cost, including site, house,
schools and endowment, of £24,000, is of flint,
in the Early Decorated style, and has a tower
containing a clock and 8 bells.
The stained east window is a memorial to Thomas
Alcock Esq. There are 874 sittings, one half being
free.
The living is a vicarage, yearly value £375, with
one acre of glebe and residence, in the gift of
E.G. Coles Esq."
The entry goes on to state that the population of the parish in 1901 was 3,503.
The Church Exterior
The church is made up a wide nave with rounded clerestory windows, a chancel, north and south aisles, Lady Chapel, vestries with organ chamber above, imposing west tower, and north and south porches.
It is brick built with flint facing externally, natural stone dressings with trussed timber roof covered with plain clay tiles.
Historic England (formerly English Heritage) describes the church as:
"A fine example of mid-Victorian church-building
by an important architect of the Gothic Revival.
It is unaltered externally, and possesses a flint
and masonry construction.
It has a number of fixtures of interest, including
some important 1960's stained glass and a
striking roof."
The church has a large four-stage tower at its western end. The tower features a doorway and a four-light window which has, like the other principal windows of the church, flowing tracery. There are three clocks in the third stage of the tower on its north, south and west faces under a gable containing flowing tracery.
In the belfry stage the opening on each face is a two-light reticulated window. The tower has diagonal buttresses to its west face, and a NE stair turret which rises above the plain parapets of the top of the tower. The aisle windows are broad and have flowing tracery in the three lights, alternating in design in each bay.
The windows in the Lady Chapel depict Our Lady with the infant Jesus, and were designed by John Lawson of Goddard & Gibbs in 2001. An unusual feature of the exterior walls is the widespread traces of former putlog holes, no doubt used for the scaffolding during the construction of the building. These are often found on medieval buildings but were usually carefully filled in and obliterated on Victorian ones.
The Church Grounds
There is a historic churchyard around the church, which includes several significant tombs. It is wooded, including yew trees beside the path to the north porch.
At the south western corner of the church is a memorial to men of the parish who died during the Great War. The inscription reads:
"In memory of those who from this parish
and congregation laid down their lives for
their King and country, 1914-1918.
For all live unto Him. Luke XX."
In all, 54 men of the parish are recorded as having lost their lives during the Great War.
There is a separate, smaller memorial to the side dedicated to F. A. Munford of HMS. Sharpshooter.
The Church Bells
The All Saints Benhilton Society of Change Ringers was formed in 1896 and regular practice and service ringing has been carried out since then, except for a brief interlude during the Second World War.
The tower was restored by the ringers in 1970 and a new ring of all eight bells (cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry) was dedicated in 1971. The weight of the tenor bell is 13.5 cwt tuned in F#. Practices are on Tuesdays from 7.45 to 9.15 pm and Sunday ringing is from 8.45 to 9.30am.
KLM
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 7th. October 1919, a group of Dutch businessmen led by Frits Fentener van Vlissingen formed the airline KLM with aviator Albert Plesman as its director.
It remains the oldest airline still flying under its original name.
Field Marshal Edmund Allenby
Also on that day, Field Marshal Edmund Allenby was awarded the noble title of Viscount for his services to the British Army in the Middle East during the Great War.
'Fourteen'
Also on the 7th. October 1919, American playwright Alice Gerstenberg premiered her satirical play Fourteen in San Francisco.