St John the Evangelist - Newbury, Berkshire

All Saints Hockerill Rebuilt by Dykes Bower after a fire 1936

This was Dykes Bower's first church and, along with Saint John's Newbury and Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral, shows him at his most inventive. The old church had been destroyed by a fire and it was stipulated that the new building should re-use as much of the old as possible (unlike Saint John's where almost nothing from the old church was allowed to remain). The church is characterised on the outside by its continual roofline as well as the short but massive west tower (one can see hints of Saint John's here) which is also topped by a tiled roof. There is no clerestory and the aisles are lit by two light lancet windows.

All Saints Hockerill Hertfordshire

The interior of this fine church is spacious, light and uncluttered, although it is perhaps more conventional than Saint John's. At the East end there is a fine rose window with curvilinear tracery. Underneath is the High altar which has a curoius arrangement of pillars which look as if they should be supporting a baldacchino, but do not. It is half way between riddel posts and a Comper creation such as that at Saint Mary's Wellingborough and Pusey House in Oxford. The church of Saint George Wash Common in Newbury, which was built as a daughter church of Saint John's has a rather similar arrangement by Dykes Bower. As in these places, the style here is renaissance and not the gothic of the rest of the church. The effect is not unpleasing. The nave has two aisle which are separated by a lofty arcade of four bays. The south aisle also serves as the Lady Chapel.

The baptistery is situated at the west end under the tower as at Saint John's, but is not covered by the organ gallery. The church is lit from the west by three very large lancets. This large building (it can seat comfortably 450) has a conventional plan of nave, aisles and chancel, with choir return stalls. In addition, Dykes Bower provided the parish with a suite of rooms which includes the vestry and sacristy, and which also incorporates the parish room All the woodwork including the fine organ case, is, at Saint Johns and Saint Edmundsbury, constructed form oak.

Comparison with Saint John's is irresistable, especially as one can discern themes that will later appear. A further similarity is that Dykes Bower incorporated the lighting scheme into the ceiling of the church. This may have been a clever idea, to avoid the clutter of hanging lamps and the ugliness of spotlights, but it does tend to make the church rather gloomy when daylight has gone!

All Saints Hockerill, interior looking east

Saint Alban Copnor (Portsmouth) Restored by Dykes Bower after war damage.

The Church of Saint Alban the Martyr Copnor on Portsea Isalnd was originally constructed by Sir Charles Nicholson. Like most of the other churches on this page, it suffered severe damge during the Second World War, so that the West end was completely destroyed. However, the east end and much of the body of the church survived, and it was this which was to provide the focus for the glorious restoration by Stephen Dykes Bower.

Copnor is, perhaps, the most colourful of Dykes Bower's Churches, following the tradition of Nicholson and also to a certain extent Sir Ninian Comper, whose church of Saint Philip Cosham in the same city is justly celebrated. Colour is the key here as are the lavish furnishings which include a gorgeous rood screen, which attempts and succeeds in complementing Nicholson's high altar reredos. The roof is coloured and panelled and shrines glitter throughout the building. The style of architecture a typically Nicholson; neo-Romanesque with hints of gothic - a style also employed for the nave of Portsmouth Cathedral. As in all of his rebuilds except Saint John's Newbury, Dykes Bower did not innovate here, but reconstructed the old. He left his mark, however by the lovely interior, which is, surely one of his finest.

You can learn more about this church and take a virtual guided tour by visiting their website at www.stalban.org.uk

Holy Spirit Southsea (Portsmouth) Rebuilt after war damage and consecrated 1958

The parish of The Holy Spirit in Southsea, Portsmouth was constituted after the second world war by the combination of the two existing parishes of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Matthew. The church of Saint Matthew, which had been bombed during airaids, was rebuilt to serve as the new parish church. The architect for this project was Stephen Dykes Bower.

Holy Spirit Southsea, interior looking east

Like many of the other churches listed here, the Church of The Holy Spirit Southsea was rebuilt by Dykes Bower, closely following the original design, although he did introduce some changes to the fabric. The old church of Saint Matthew had been designed in a late Victorian Perpendicular by J.T. Micklethwaite and completed after his death in 1906 by Sir Charles Nicholson. The church is a fine, lofty building with north and south aisles which are the same height as the nave, resulting in no clerestory. The style is a sort of decorated - perpendicular transition. As elsewhere, Dykes Bower was clever in procuring for the church fittings and furnishings that had originally been intended for another building. At Saint Vedast Foster Lane (see below) these came form several sources. At the Holy Spirit, many came from the church of Saint Agnes Kennington, which had also been seriously damaged in enemy action. These are very fine and add much to this fine church, especially the font cover and the pulpit, designed by Temple Moore. Dykes Bower was no stranger to a bit of recycling: at Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral, he rescued some old metal panels from an underfloor heating system at a church in Manchester, and re-used them in a new wrought iron screen. to great effect.

As at Saint John's Newbury, the fittings of the church were left incomplete, notably the organ, which was only supplied after a legacy in 1977. Moreover, Dykes Bower had designed a baldacchino for the high altar, which was also sadly left un-executed for financial reasons. Never the less, his church is light spacious and highly admired.

You may learn more of the history of this church by visiting their website at www.hlyspirit.org.uk.

Saint Nicholas Great Yarmouth Rebuilt after war damage by Dykes Bower in 1960

Saint Nicholas is the largest parish church in England having a total ground area of 25,023 square feet. The church was founded in 1101 by Herbert de Losinga Bishop of Norwich as a priory of Benedictine Monks. It was complete by 1119 although none of the Norman work now survives. During the middle ages the church was gradually extended, reflecting the enormous wealth of the port. During the 13th century, the aisles, which are the widest in England were widened to their present width of an astounding 39 feet, resulting in the present size. The church was to have been bigger. In 1330, it was decided to increase the number of chapels by extending to the west, another 47 feet. This work was paid for by the bachelors of Yarmouth and was known as the Bachelor's aisle. However as it was nearing completion in 1348, the Black Death hit the town, reducing the population by over a third and thus rendering the new work redundant. The aisle was never completed and remained in this state until the 18th century, when most of the stone was used for other building purposes, including the church of Saint George.

During the Civil War the church was divided into three, one part for each sect. This arrangement curiously survived until the Victorian restoration when the church was once again opened up. (A similar arrangement was to be found in St Giles Edinburgh where the one building serves as several distinct parish churches.)

On the 24th June 1942, Yarmouth suffered heavy bombing and the church was a casualty. Only the tower and the walls were left standing, filled with rubble. It was 15 years before a decision was made to rebuild. Dykes Bower was appointed architect. Almost all of the existing stonework had to be renewed and the tower strengthened. One important change was the Dykes Bower replaced the nave arcades of 8 bays with wider arches of 4. The distinctive spire that had surmounted the tower was also not replaced.

Although the interior is now a modern church, there is much to admire. Some old features did survive, such as a 14th century tomb of a prior and the stone screen behind the altar. But it is really due to Dykes Bower that the church owes its present appearance.

Saint Vedast Foster Lane, London Wren church Rebuilt after War damage

Saint Vedast Foster Lane, London.

The church of Saint Vedast Foster Lane is tucked away behind Saint Paul's Cathedral. Its spire is one of Wren's loveliest and it still holds proud amidst the gloomy office developments that now surround the church. The medieval church was, like most others damaged in the great fire of London in 1666. Temporary repairs were made to the old fabric in 1670-71 including re-roofing, but since these soon proved to be too little, the parish decided to rebuild the church completely. In 1695, work began on the new church, to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. The tower with its distinctive steeple was built from 1709-1712.

During the Nineteenth Century, the church was caught up in the wave of Tractarianism and the ritualist movement. During the night of 29th December 1940, the church was hit by an incendiary bomb, which destroyed the roof and all the interior fittings, although the walls still stood. Dykes Bower was commissioned to restore the church.

His work at Saint Vedast is one of the best restorations in the City. This must partly be due to the recycling by Dykes Bower of Wren fittings from other churches to replace those that were lost in the Blitz. And so, once again, we find a Wren interior, although not as Wren designed it. Dykes Bower designed stalls to replace the pews with the pleasing result that the church resembles an Oxford or Cambridge college chapel. The pulpit came from All Hallows Bread Street, the font from Saint Anne and Saint Agnes, the organ form Saint Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange (originally) the Altar from Saint Matthew Friday Street, with its reredos and rails from Saint Christopher-le-Stocks.

St Vedast Foster Lane, Interior

You can learn more about this church by visiting their website at www.vedast.freeserve.co.uk

The Altar and stained Glass

Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral Cloisters, quire and transepts added by Dykes Bower 1959-70

This is Dykes Bower's 'magnum opus' and, although it remained incomplete at the time of his death notably lacking his tower and spire, Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral stands as a memorial to him. It was, after all, Dykes Bower's vision that transformed the former parish church of Saint James, Bury Saint Edmunds into a cathedral.

It is perhaps one of those strange twists of history that the county of Suffolk, which has per square mile more churches than any other rural area in the world, should have been without a medieval cathedral. After the glories of the great churches of Lavenham, Long Melford, Southwold and Blythburgh and the more modest charms of Ufford and Eye, the visitor would expect a great cathedral, such as those of Norwich and Ely. But this is not the case. Indeed, the county had to wait until the foundation of the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich in 1914 before it was to possess a cathedral of its own, having formerly been split between the dioceses of Norwich and Ely.

And yet this nearly was not so, for during the middle ages, Bury Saint Edmunds was renowned for its famous Abbey which housed the shrine of the martyr king Saint Edmund. The town was named after the Abbey (as at Peterborough) not vice versa. Henry VIII even contemplated creating a diocese here in 1540. But it was not to be. All that is left of this great church are a few ugly flint ruins and two very fine gatehouses, the older of which had always served as a campanale to what became the present cathedral.

It is very similar to Saint Mary's and was no doubt designed to complement it. The details are, however, slightly different, the architecture being plainer than its neighbour, but more spacious. The nave arcades are enormous, even for this county, and the aisles are lit with large three light perpendicular windows.

The original Abbey had three churches besides the Abbey Church in its precincts. Two of these survive. Saint Mary's was the older. It stands on the Southwest corner of the precinct. Although it was one of three churches, its scale is magnificent and is the largest church in a county of large churches. It was totally rebuilt in the 15th century and is particularly noted for its superb hammerbeam roof. The other church, Saint James was rebuilt in the early 16th century, to the designs of John Wastell, who designed the Bell Harry Tower at Canterbury Cathedral, the fan vault of Kings College chapel, and the churches at Saffron Walden and Lavenham. Wastell lived in Bury, and Saint James was probably his parish church.

The Norman Tower

The church took a very long time to build. Begun in 1502 it was not complete by the reformation and even Edward VI, (not known for his love of ecclesiastical buildings) contributed to its completion. During the 18th century, a chancel replaced the original, which was in turn replaced by one by George Gilbert Scott. The style was a rich Decorated and it was crowned with a fine roof. The glass, by Kempe, was incorporated into the present structure.

Dykes-Bower's new quire

When the new diocese was formed in 1914, the intention was to provide a cathedral worthy of a county of fine churches. In many respects, Saint Mary's was the better and not to mention the larger church, and so it would have made sense to have elevated that to cathedral status. However, the ambitions were to reach higher. The authorities did not want to make do with a large parish church, as had happened in other new dioceses. They needed a building which could, in time, be transformed by extension, into a cathedral, and one that would actually look like a cathedral. That is why they chose Saint James' Church. The nave was spacious and graceful and could hold as large a congregation as Saint Mary's. The chancel, being a modern construction, could be replaced without the destruction of antiquities. The authorities wanted a new lofty quire, which would house the canons' stalls and where the daily pattern of Anglican cathedral worship could take place.

And so they set about plans for the demolition of Scott's chancel and its replacement with a quire, to cathedral proportions. The architect chosen for this task was Stephen Dykes Bower. The design went through several stages. Initially, the height of the quire was to be that of the nave (ie lower than the present) with rich arcades resembling those in the quire at Thaxted Church in Essex. With the onset of the Second World War, these plans were put on hold, until 1959, when work began on a North West porch and the first eight bays of a low cloister arcade. By 1960, these were complete and were dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on July 19 1960.

Three years later, in 1963, the Victorian chancel was demolished, paving way for the new work. This was to consist of the bulk of the project and was to include a Lady Chapel on the South, and a chapel of Saint Edmund on the north as well as a crossing with shallow transepts. Room was left to the north for a further chapel and rooms including a sacristy. This phase of the building was completed in 1970 and was consecrated on the 29th September.

The interior of the church was now almost complete. The exterior was, however a very different case, for not only did the cathedral lack its essential vestries, but more visibly, it was left without the central tower and spire which the architect had intended to rise from the crossing. The church already had a bell tower, in the Great Norman gate of the Abbey, but this new tower was to raise the cathedral well and truly above the rooflines of the town.

Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral, Nave looking East

The Cathedral had to wait until the 1990 for the Sacristy, Song School and other rooms to be built, and even then there were still gaps. The cloisters, for instance, were incomplete, as was the north transept and, of course, the central tower. At least the series of old mobile huts that had populated the cloister garden were rendered redundant and demolished. A Millennium Appeal was launched to raise funds for the completion of these parts of the cathedral, fuelled by the legacy by Dykes Bower of £1.8 million to the church when he died. It should be added that the proposed tower, which is currently under construction, is not that which Dykes Bower had intended. He had designed a rather mid-European styled tower and spire, which was comparatively low in relation to the rest of the work. This design was, however, rejected when it came up for consideration, as was a second which was closely based on it. The accepted design is very different. The spire has gone and instead rises a majestic and lofty tower, crowned by a rich parapet, far more medieval in thought than Dykes Bower's original conception. The inspiration is from Wastell's Bell Harry Tower at Canterbury. The change is not to be regretted. The original design was, to say the least, weak, and unworthy of the rest of the cathedral. Had it been built, it would have been an anticlimax where the opposite should have been the case. The new design is, however, strong, lofty and far more suitable to the setting of this great church.

The work is well in hand. The North Transept with its gallery has now been completed, and is open to the public.