Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

GreenhamCommon Peace Garden

Peace camp http://www.greenhamwpc.org.uk/

On the 5th September 1981, the Welsh group “Women for Life on Earth” arrived on Greenham Common, Berkshire, England. They marched from Cardiff with the intention of challenging, by debate, the decision to site 96 Cruise nuclear missiles there. On arrival they delivered a letter to the Base Commander which among other things stated ‘We fear for the future of all our children and for the future of the living world which is the basis of all life’.

When their request for a debate was ignored they set up a Peace Camp just outside the fence surrounding RAF Greenham Common Airbase. They took the authorities by surprise and set the tone for a most audacious and lengthy protest that lasted 19years. Within 6 months the camp became known as the Women’s Peace Camp and gained recognition both nationally and internationally by drawing attention to the base with well-publicised imaginative gatherings. This unique initiative threw a spotlight on ‘Cruise’ making it a national and international political issue throughout the 80s and early 90s.The presence of women living outside an operational nuclear base 24 hours a day, brought a new perspective to the peace movement - giving it leadership and a continuous focus. At a time when the USA and the USSR were competing for nuclear superiority in Europe, the Women’s Peace Camp on Greenham Common was seen as an edifying influence. The commitment to non-violence and non-alignment gave the protest an authority that was difficult to dismiss – journalists from almost every corner of the globe found their way to the camp and reported on the happenings and events taking place there.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

Living conditions were primitive. Living outside in all kinds of weather especially in the winter and rainy seasons was testing. Without electricity, telephone, running water etc, frequent evictions and vigilante attacks, life was difficult. In spite of the conditions women, from many parts of the UK and abroad, came to spend time at the camp to be part of the resistance to nuclear weapons. It was a case of giving up comfort for commitment.

The protest, committed to disrupting the exercises of the USAF, was highly effective. Nuclear convoys leaving the base to practice nuclear war, were blockaded, tracked to their practice area and disrupted. Taking non-violent direct action meant that women were arrested, taken to court and sent to prison.

The conduct and integrity of the protest mounted by the Women’s Peace Camp was instrumental in the decision to remove the Cruise Missiles from Greenham Common. Under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the missiles were flown back to the USA along with the USAF personnel in 91/92. The Treaty signed by the USA and the USSR in 1987, is in accord with the stated position held by women, in defence of their actions on arrest, when it states :

“Conscious that nuclear weapons would have devastating consequences for all mankind”A number of initiatives were made by women in Court testing the legality of nuclear weapons. Also, challenges to the conduct and stewardship of the Ministry of Defence as landlords of Greenham Common. In 1992 Lord Taylor, Lord Chief Justice, delivering the Richard Dimbleby

Lecture for the BBC, referring to the Bylaws case ( won by Greenham women in the House of Lords in 1990) said ‘…it would be difficult to suggest a group whose cause and lifestyle were less likely to excite the sympathies and approval of five elderly judges. Yet it was five Law Lords who allowed the Appeal and held that the Minister had exceeded his powers in framing the byelaws so as to prevent access to common land’.

The Camp was brought to a close in 2000 to make way for the Commemorative and Historic Site on the land that housed the original Women’s Peace Camp at Yellow Gate Greenham Common between the years 1981 – 2000. Sarah Hipperson

History: The original Women's Peace Camp on Greenham Common closed on the 5th September 2000 after 19 years of a continuous presence outside Greenham Common Airbase, now known as, New Greenham Park. The camp closed to make way for the erection of the COMMEMORATIVE & HISTORIC SITE on the land where the camp was.

Design: The Site represents the four elements: earth, fire, water and air. A circle of 7 Standing Stones, from Wales, encircle the 'Flame' sculpture (symbolizing the campfire) A stone and steel spiral sculpture (representing the continuous reaching out work done at the Women's Peace Camp against nuclear weapons) Written into the Spiral is: "Women's Peace Camp 1981- 2000. and the words ~ You can't kill the Spirit ". The sculptor is Michael Marriott FRBS.

There is also a simple garden for Helen Thomas, a young Welsh woman, whose life was taken from her when a West Midlands Horsebox drove too close to her as she stood on the safe zone waiting to cross the

road, near the camp. Helen Thomas will be the only woman's name within the Site.

The complete Landscaping of the site will include plants such as, Snowdrops, Snowflakes, Autumn Crocus, Wild Daffodils and Lily of the Valley. Other plantings include a variety of specially chosen British Native plants. An Oak

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

sapling, rescued from the Newbury Bypass, is also included.

Greenham Commemorative Fund Appeal: When West Berkshire County Council granted Planning Permission to build the Commemorative & Historic Site, it was on the understanding that they would not be asked to contribute to it. Raising the money became the responsibility of a group of women who had lived at the Women's Peace Camp. The Greenham Commemorative Fund Appeal Collective was formed (names at the foot of this page). We have had great support from people who supported the camp over the years between 1981 - 2000. Now, as then, we are dependent on the good will and generosity of those who agreed with the nature of the protest and are willing to support this initiative to commemorate the work that the protest achieved. For those who wish to contribute, please send cheques to: Commemorative Fund Appeal ~ Dept. GCWPC, 15 Sydney Road, Wanstead, London E11 2JW. Tel, 020-8989-4819.

Greenham Common Airbase chapel

The old chapel is a former single storey non-denominational chapel built in 1957. It now houses the National Needlework archives.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

Ten thousand years of Greenham http://www.greenham-common.org.uk

The "Inclusa"of Sandleford Priory

Some people have called her "the first Greenham Common Woman"; we know very little of her, and even less of what this twelfth century nun might have thought of the Greenham women who fearlessly opposed cruise missiles some nine hundred years later.The "Inclusa" was probably an anchoress, a nun who spent most of her time shut off from the world in order to devote herself more completely to the worship of God. She is mentioned in a document of 1179, which granted an allowance of four shillings and four pence from Godfrey and Richard de Newbury to "The Inclusa of Sandraford". She was one of many religious to occupy this site and probably lived in a small cell built on to the wall of Sandleford Priory. This had been established at the western extremity of Greenham Common sometime during the middle of the 12th Century.

St. Mary the Virgin, Greenham http://www.stmarysgreenham.org.uk/

St. Mary’s is a fine example of Victorian architecture- and is a Grade II* listed building.

There was originally an old chapel, parts of which dated back to the 13th century, standing almost on the site of the present church, this chapel was demolished in 1875.

The present church was build it 1876, at a cost of £3455, to a design by the architect Henry Woodyer. The builders

were the local Newbury firm of S. Elliot.

The new Lord of Greenham Manor, Lloyd Baxendale, contributed the majority share of the cost.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

The porch, a gift from Miss Carbonell, was added in 1883 and the church was enlarged by the addition of the north aisle, the baptistery and vestry which were completed between 1892 and 1896.

Notes on the main points of interest in the church

Notice of consecration of the new churchThe new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Oxford on Tuesday 24th October 1876. Fifty clergy walked in the procession from the school to the church. During the following week ten services were held in the church and the total offertory amounted to £112= 16s and 9d.

The FontThe Front was given in memory of Archibald Robert Hamilton who was the first vicar of the Parish of Greenham: from 1959 to 1869. Before then Greenham was a part of the Parish of Thatcham.

War Memorial WindowThis show a knight kneeling before the alter, keeping his vigil. The cared figure in the centre with a sword at rest symbolises the end of strife. The angel on the left with quill pen and inkpot records the names of those who have served faithfully. On the other side is St. George striking down the dragon.

The Jesse Windowthis window dates from 1618 and was given as a memorial to Lloyd Harry Baxendale, the late Lord of the Manor, who died in 1937. The recumbent figure represents Jesse, the father of David. Near this left elbow can be seen the stem of a vine. The figures with crowns and sceptres joined to the stem by branches represent David, Solomon and other kinds who reigned in Jerusalem. Near to the top on the right hand side is a figure with hand raised in blessing. This appears to represent god the Father. The original glass on the other side is missing. Probably it showed a symbol of the Holy spirt with the Virgin Mary and child completing the whole. The glass was originally in a small private chapel on an estate belonging to Lloyd Baxendale’s grandfather in Whetstone Middlesex. It was skilfully restored by Charles Grylls, who also designed the panel which forms the base.

The Chancel Arch MuralsThe mural decorations were added during the years 1888-91 from designs by Mr. J A Pippet of Hardman’s (Birmingham). On the north side of the chancel arch is a figure of our Lord; on the south side above the pulpit, one of Isaiah. Above are the twelve apostles, each holding a scroll on which is written a clause of the Apostles Creed.

The OrganThe organ, a gift from Mrs. Baxendale, was installed if not made by Alphonse Carey of Newbury in 1888 at a cost of £360.

The Nativity Scene MuralsOn the north side of the chancel wall are three large murals depicting scenes from the birth of Christ.

The ReredosThese are designed by Henry Woodyer and carved from alabaster by Nicholls of London. They show creatures symbolising the four evangelists on either side of the crucifixion. It was given as a memorial for Rev. Archibald Hamilton, Greenham’s first Vicar.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall, Pinchington Lane (can this be marked on the map as another place of worship)

Church of latter day Saints, Pinchington Lane (Mormons)

A site opposite Greenham School at the junction of Bury's Bank Road and Greenham Road was occupied by a Victorian vicarage, until it burnt down in the 1980s. The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) opened a church here in 1992; it was dedicated by church elders in 1994.

St George’s Wash Common http://st-george-newbury.org.uk/

‘St George’s is a place of peace where all can ask questions and search for answers.’

St George’s is one of only two churches in England designed by FC Eden FSA FRIBA, an authority on Italian art and architecture.  The other is St John’s in Harpenden. The Italianate style, tall, light and airy, was also thought more suitable (and less costly) to the heavy clay subsoil of the common than the traditional Gothic that had also been considered.

The rood beam has figures carved in Italy by Alphonse Nofleur. The baldachino, based on drawings by Eden, is the work of Sir Stephen Dykes-Bower, architect and surveyor of Westminster Abbey and the designer of the rebuilt St John’s Church in Newbury. The memorial chapel of St Michael also has a reredos designed by Sir Stephen. The other major artistic contributions to St George’s are by John Hayward: the superb circular stained glass west window in reds and golds shows St George; the Lady Chapel reredos depicts the Annunciation; the St Michael Window; the pulpit, lectern and priests’ stalls; and the Processional Cross and Churchwardens’ staves.

The translations of the Latin inscriptions are:On the front of the rood beam: “Look unto the Rock whence ye were hewn” Isaiah 51 v1On its opposite side: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ” Galatians 6 v14On the front of the baldachino: “Thee we adore, O hidden Saviour Thee, Who in Thy Sacrament art pleased to be.”Inside the baldachino is a verse from the Office Hymn of the Holy Name.

The Church Hall

In 1933 when the half-finished Church came into use, the former St Luke’s became the first church hall. As the needs of the community grew, it was decided to build a new hall and in 1970 two gifts were received towards the a new building. Work commenced in 1972 and after some delays completed in 1973. See the short memoire by Fr Piers Nash-Williams who was vicar during this period. The old St Luke’s hall is now leased to a local dramatic group, the New Era Players, as a small theatre.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

After 20 years of constant use and exposure to the elements the 1970s hall was starting to deteriorate and a number of bad winters forced its closure in 1995. Plans for a new hall to meet the current needs of the wide range of regular users, as well as to extend the Church itself to provide new facilities were drawn up. The Development Project raised some £0.6mn over nine years to complete this vision. The new Hall was opened in January 1997 and the Annexe rooms in September 1999 to form the St George’s Centre. The redecoration and relighting of the Church was the final stage of the project.

Who was St George?

St George is generally recognised as having been martyred at Lydda (also called Diospolis) in Palestine, but whether he was the same person who tore down Diocletian’s edict of persecution at Nicomedia is now questioned. The stories are very old, and many strands have become interwoven, so it is very difficult to pick out the historical from the embroidered. The earliest surviving record of him is a church inscription in Syria (at Ezr’a or Edhr’a which states that a former heathen temple had been dedicated as a church in his honour), dated about 346.

The traditional account is that St George was born in Cappadocia (in Asia Minor) of noble and Christian parents. His mother appears to have been from Palestine and owned land there. On the death of his father (by some accounts his father was also a Christian martyr), he and his mother returned to Palestine. St George held a significant rank in the Roman army (perhaps a tribune or comites) during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), but when Diocletian started to persecute Christians (c303) he resigned and complained personally to the emperor.

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

As a result he was arrested, tortured (some accounts say by being tied to a great wheel with iron studs or blades, being put into a lime pit, and being shod with iron sandals with red hot nails from all of which afflictions he was miraculously healed – in some sources he even dies each time and is saved) and finally beheaded by sword when he would not renounce his faith (on 23 April 303 or 304). The emperor’s wife Alexandria was so impressed with his courage that she converted to Christianity only to be put to death as well.

St George’s Church, West Window

The story of St George and the dragon (which first appears in the Golden Legend of 1265) is recounted as being outside Beirut near Mount Lebanon or at Silene (or Selem) in Libya. St George defeats the dragon by spearing it in the throat from his horse and then tramples under the horse’s feet, finally killing it with his sword. It is then said that many thousands of people in the city were baptised (accounts range from 15,000 to 25,000) and that a great church was later built dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St George (in which was a healing fountain).

The popularity of St George seems to rise with the Crusades with him reported to have appeared during the battle of Antioch in 1098, although the first church in England to be dedicated to him was earlier than this, in Doncaster, in 1061. King Richard I (the Lionheart) of England adopted St George during the Third Crusade (1191-2) and he became the patron saint of England during the late Middle Ages. Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1347/8.  Under his patronage, St George’s Cross (a red cross on a white background) began to be used as the English national flag in 1284, and in 1415 Henry V used him to rally his troops before the battle of Agincourt. In the 15th Century St George’s Day was as popular as Christmas and it remained an English Catholic day of obligation until 1778 (although St George was subsequently downgraded by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 and re-elevated in 2000). He is one of the great Saints of the Eastern Church.

St George is also patron saint of:Aragon, agricultural workers, archers, armourers, butchers, Canada, Catalonia, cavalry, chivalry, equestrians, farmers, Ferrara Italy, field hands & workers, Genoa Italy, Georgia, Germany, Greece, horsemen, husbandmen, Istanbul, knights, lepers and sufferers of various other skin diseases, Lithuania, Moscow, Order of the Garter, Palestine, Palestinian Christians, plague, Portugal, riders, saddle makers, Scouts, soldiers, Teutonic Knights, Venice

St Francis de Sales, Wash Common. http://st-francis-de-sales.wix.com/st-francis- de - sales#!about_us/c55t

Newbury RE Trail - Rural Path – teachers notes on places of interest.

The Parish of St Francis de Sales was inaugurated in November 1967 when Bishop Worlock invited the Servites to take charge of the newly formed parish of Wash Common. The Servite Fathers had been established in the Wash Common area of Newbury since 1948, but were in the process of closing their Priory at Enborne Lodge. The invitation was warmly accepted and two priests were assigned to the parish - Fr. Damian Kilbride (parish priest) and Fr. Thomas Robinson (assistant priest and chaplain to the American bases at Greenham and Welford).

With no church, no site and almost no funds, apart from a legacy of £928, left by Miss Gunter for such a purpose, priests and people set about building a community. For the first three months services were held in the chapel at Enborne Lodge. Then, due to the kindness of Fr Birt, Anglican Vicar of St. Georges, Wash Common, more spacious accommodation was found at Battery End Hall. The priests lived in a small house in Essex Street, using the box-room as an oratory for daily Mass, until the garage was converted into a slightly larger chapel. From the outset the aim was to develop a parish on the lines laid down by the Second Vatican Council. This meant the involvement wherever possible of lay people in the running of the parish.

At the second general parish meeting in 1968, it was announced that the Bishop had put the parish under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales - so we had been given an identity with a saint whose writings reflected the spirit of Vatican II. Shortly after this the parish formed joint Bible Study groups with St. George's and so began a relationship with the Anglican community which lasts to this day.                                                                              

Meanwhile prayers and entreaties were going up for a permanent church site. These were answered when Warren Lodge and the adjoining property and barn came on the market

By this time Fr. Thomas had left Newbury for Kidlington and Fr. King, also a Servite, who had stayed to oversee the closure of the Priory at Enborne, had taken his place. He was a priest of many skills, carpentry being just one, but the one soon to be in great demand. Much to the delight of all, the first stage of the conversion of the barn into a church was ready in time for Midnight Mass, Christmas 1970. Many memories remain of that first mass with snow falling outside.

On Sunday May 16th 1971, Bishop Worlock blessed the barn church in the presence of local clergy, Servite priests, local dignitaries and parishioners. He reminded all present that they were the living stones forming the Body of Christ - His Church on earth, and exhorted all to cherish this new Church, drawing closer to Christ. Bearing this in mind Fr. Damian and parishioners set out to build a living Christian Community.

End this path at the Newtown Cemetery (links with other trail)