Description

899/21/332 FUNTLEY HILL
22-OCT-76 FUNTLEY
(West side)
CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS

II
1836 with later alterations, architect probably Jacob Owen

Materials: Painted stucco with clay tiled roof and timber bellcote.

Plan: T-shaped plan, with the bar forming the nave (formerly the schoolroom), the stem a short north-facing chancel. Entrance porch to south; a second porch (now organ chamber) to north-east. Modern vestry extension to north-west.

Exterior: Georgian 'Gothick' style. Windows and doorways are two-and four-centred arches with hood-moulds. East, west and north gables formerly had tall polygonal chimney stacks, now removed. East and west windows of three-lights with intersecting tracery. North (chancel) gable has two-light window. Other window openings are blocked. Porch doors bear simple applied tracery designs; south porch has traceried overlight.

Interior: Extremely simple. Single space with boarded roofs to nave and chancel. Pews removed, with only the wrought-iron frontals remaining. Choir stalls now freestanding at rear of nave. All other fittings moveable. East and west nave windows have plain diamond glazing. Cancel window contains richly-coloured glass depicting the Nativity and Ascension, originally of c.1850 from St Peter's Church at Duntisbourne Abbots in Gloucestershire and said to have been designed by John Ruskin, brought to Funtley c.1890.

History: The building now known as St Francis' Church was originally built in 1836 as a school for the industrial hamlet of Funtley, on land acquired for the purpose by the Revd Sir Henry Thompson, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Fareham. Jacob Owen, architect of another nearby church, All Saints', is thought to have provided the design. The school's two classrooms were originally divided by wooden partitions that could be folded back to allow the building to be used as a mission chapel on Sundays. The building was leased by the Fareham School Board in 1876, but finally passed out of educational use in 1880 when the Board built larger school nearby. In 1885, following a reordering of the interior, the church was formally licensed for public worship. From this point on it was effectively a chapel-of-ease to Holy Trinity, although the building remained in private hands until it was bought outright by the parish in 1933. In 1976 the M27 motorway was built within yards of the church; plans were put forward to move to a new site, but were not carried through.

Sources:
Graham, J and Low, M., The stained glass window of the Little Church of St. Francis, Funtley, Hampshire (2006).
Low, M., The Little Church of St Francis, Funtley (n.d.).

Reasons for Designation: St Francis' Church, Funtley, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a late-Georgian 'Gothick' building of considerable charm.
* Stained glass: the attribution of the chancel window to John Ruskin, although not conclusively verified, adds to the interest of the church.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26386640

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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