Ruined Churches : The Great War

A shell exploding on the city of Saint-Quentin;
The partly-ruined basilica dominates the skyline.
March 1918

In Australia on this day, 25th April, we commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the campaign at the Dardanelles (modern day Turkey), which was the brainchild of Winston Churchill. This eight month campaign on the beaches and cliffs of Gallipoli was a dismal failure without any strategic gain and which resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Australian, British and New Zealand soldiers (in addition to some Canadian and Indian troops) and their Turkish adversaries. Since that day in 1915, Australia especially has commemorated this particular campaign of the First World War.

French soldiers and workmen amidst the ruined nave of the Basilica of Saint Quentin 1918.

Juxtaposed with the incomprehensible scale of casualties throughout the Great War (1914-1918) is the destruction of towns in Belgium and France - the victim of heavy artillery shelling. We should not be surprised that when human life counted for so little, the sanctity of the House of God would not be respected either. Quite a number of centuries old churches and cathedrals were reduced to rubble in this horrific, senseless conflict. In this post, we illustrate just one such destruction - the Basilica of Saint-Quentin in that region of northern France called Picardy.

The Basilica of Saint-Quentin, Northern France
pictured before the Great War began.
Its eclectic mixture of styles is the consequence
of being built and rebuilt over many centuries.

The city of Saint-Quentin was overrun by invading German forces in September 1914 and remained an on-and-off focus of battle to the very end of the war. Much destruction on the town and on the basilica was wrought during Operation Michael in March 1918. But the basilica had been damaged previously in 1916 and 1917.

In 1914, the Basilica of Saint Quentin (the city bears the name of the basilica) was eight centuries old. It is believed to have been commenced in the eleventh century, but of this work, the western tower seems only to survive. The eleventh century program replaced earlier churches on the site. From the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries, the basilica was constructed from its east end to the western tower. A more detailed description of its history and architecture can be found here.

Ruins of the Saint-Quentin Basilica 1918.

The basilica survived an attempt by the German forces to demolish it completely with high-explosives upon their Retreat in 1918. It has been undergoing reconstruction and restoration in stages over an entire century.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The rubble-filled ruins of the choir of the Saint-Quentin Basilica.

The rebuilt apse with its chevet chapels.

A recent photograph of the southern side of the Basilica.
The eclectic style of the building, the product of several centuries of construction,
was preserved during the long years of reconstruction after the Great War.

Do you know?

This early 20th century postcard shews a fine Gothic church in either France or Belgium. Its name and place are unknown. It is unclear as to whether it is a mediaeval church or of the 19th century Gothic Revival, but the presence of a Confessio immediately beneath chancel suggests something mediaeval (at least in part).

Despite the ample proportions of the building, the chancel is relatively small and there are no quire stalls or other furnishings to suggest this is a Cathedral-church. There is, however, a very fine civory or ciborium above the High altar.

Suggestions would be welcomed :

stbede62@gmail.com

Mediaeval Churches 1 : " Saint Mary Mead "

The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Hambleden.
This view from the south east shews the chancel
partly obscured by a chapel flanking it
and the south transept.

Devotees of BBC television dramas frequently see fine old English churches as a backdrop to the story. The writer of this column is often more interested in the churches than the storyline. In some cases, such churches figure more prominently than others, as in a re-screening last night (Australia) of the 2004 production of Agatha Christie's Murder at the Vicarage. This novel is set in the fictional village of Saint Mary Mead and the famous amateur sleuth, Miss Jane Marple, lives opposite the church and vicarage.

In this instance, the church exterior and interior depicted were two completely different buildings as, I expect, was the vicarage location.

This post concerns that church outside which parts of the production were filmed, Saint Mary the Virgin in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire (UK).  It seems that the church was used for another BBC Agatha Christie mystery Sad Cypress. 

View of the church looking up the path 

from the lychgate. 

At the southwest corner of the nave

can be seen a timber porch constructed 

in the 19th century to protect 

the original stone

doorway of the 14th century.

Like so many old English churches, Saint Mary's was built and rebuilt over many centuries and yet has a certain harmony of appearance because the same basic materials - flintstone and chalk with stone dressings - were employed at most stages of its development. It has its origins in the 12th century, as a cruciform building in the Norman style, but this basic plan was much altered in the two centuries which followed, so that Norman features are not immediately obvious from the exterior.

The church had a central tower over the Crossing which seems to have been part of the original building, but this collapsed and a new tower was built in a different situation at the west end of the building in the eighteenth century, and heightened to its present form in the late 19th century. The appearance of this tower, built when Gothic architecture was at its lower ebb, nevertheless in its simplicity complements the older work. 

A detailed description of Saint Mary's Hambleden may be found here.

View of Saint Mary the Virgin from the north east.
The northern transept, although much altered, is the oldest part of the building.
Another chapel (built in the 19th century) flanking the chancel
adjoins the transept. Also shewn is a small vestry.

The late Gerald MacEwan with some of the cast of the
BBC production " Murder at the Vicarage ".
They are standing outside the lychgate of Saint Mary's church.