The Little Church
of St. Francis,
Funtley, Fareham,
Hampshire.
Malcolm Low
The picture of the Little Church of St. Francis is
a copy of a pen and ink drawing by Malcolm Low©2007.
As you
enter the village of Funtley from Fareham and Funtley Hill you pass the
red brick building on the left which was formerly the Funtley Primary School
(now a business centre). After going under the M27 motorway flyover, the little
white building with its tree lined grounds is set back from the main road on
the left. Built in the valley, in the early days it would have been visible as
one walked or rode down Funtley Hill. Today it is different, the hundreds of
motorists driving through the village on their way too and from work, or taking
their children to school may not see or even notice the building or, if they
do, they may not realise how important it has been to the life of the village
over the years. Educating children and looking after the spiritual needs of the
village. This little building played a major role in the life of the community.
It had been a focal point in the life of the village, providing entertainment
for both young and not-so-young, some of whom will remember when the village
was known as Fontley not Funtley.
The
Church building is listed in the Fareham Borough Council records of listed
buildings as “The Church of St. Francis, Funtley Hill (west side) Fareham” the description reads:
1836 Architect probably Jacob
Owen. Small stuccoed T shaped church. Traceried windows, hoods and bargeboards,
east window, stained glass by Ruskin, rich in detail and colouring.
Upper pat of window has shaded
glass as Ruskin glass was moved from Duntisbourne Abbots. Gloucester where windows were smaller. The
window gives St. Francis’ church added significance.
The
window mentioned above is illustrated on a separate webpage. Please
click here to see this page researched by Malcolm and Julie Graham.
It was
the foresight of the Rev. Sir Henry Thompson that the first spiritual provision
for Fontley was made. In 1836 Sir Henry purchased the land and commissioned a
school building named Trinity
Fontley School
to be built on the land. It was divided into two classrooms by a partition. The
Partition was moved back on Sundays to form a Mission Church.
The pulpit [no longer there] was situated close to the door and served on
weekdays as a receptacle for the dinners of children who came from a distance
to school.
As we can
see from above, the building, now a church had a dual purpose
a School for the village and a Mission
Church.
For a PDF
version of the history of the church please click here 
Malcolm Low can be contacted on
email: m.low1@ntlworld.com