History- 1809 to 2007
This fine late Victorian granite church and hall has been open for worship for well over 100 years and was built upon land donated by a Mr. Philip Le Riche, owner of Ebenezer Farm which has now become the Highfield Country Apartments. Thomas Messervy had brought a stone from the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem and presented it to be placed in one of the walls of the new church. In fact Ebenezer means ‘Stone of help’. At the front of the church are the choir stalls with a magnificent organ. In 1920 a three day bazaar was held to raise money for this new facility in the church. This valiant effort by members of the congregation raised the magnificent sum of £1,000, a vast amount for that time. Now in 2015 that equates to £45,000 ! The organ was in use by 1923 and built in memory of Emile Benest who had been organist at Ebenezer for at least twenty years and died during the Great Flu epidemic of 1919. Also, in the church is a marble plaque in memory of Mr. Philippe Le Vesconte who was Constable of the Parish for two terms. After retiring he became a Trustee of the Church, Trust Secretary from 1883 to 1891 and Trust Treasurer from 1891 to 1909. On the first Sunday of September 1939 a senior member of the church announced that war with Germany had begun. Throughout the occupation years the church was a great source of strength to all who worshipped there. In fact, in 1942 a young Russian slave worker who had escaped from the labour camp found refuge with a family who lived at Crown Lodge. This young Russian came to worship at Ebenezer every Sunday until the end of the Occupation. When Liberation came in 1945 all the slave workers were sent to England and after six weeks they were then sent back to their homeland. During the latter part of the 20th century the vestibule at the front of the church was remodelled to give more space and the beautiful internal stained glass window was donated by a family from our congregation.
|
|