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176 Old Memories of East-Bourne. [Chap. XIII.
who even then had made his mark in the Church, the Rev. C. H. Banning, at that time Vicar of Strood in Kent, a powerful Evangelical preacher. Efforts were made to secure him as Mr. Pierpoint's successor but for reasons which I suppose he thought to be good Mr. Pitman (patron as Vicar of the Parish Church) did not comply with the representations made to him.. Mr. Pierpoint resigned after an incumbency of 30 years deservedly respected, and his successor held the living for nearly the same length of time. During his incumbency the large Vestry on the S. side was added in 1884..
The wonderfully successful architectural changes-which have been accomplished in Trinity Church by the-present Incumbent, Mr. Kerry, is modern history which is not within the scope of this book. The pulling down of the tower reminds me, however, of a piece of ancient history. On an occasion in the " Fifties " one of the pinnacles of the tower was struck by lightning and destroyed, and the rain-water pipe shattered. The Churchwardens of the period proposed to replace it by a pinnacle to match the untouched three but of wood. Mr. Pitman, however, vetoed the proposal, as contrary to Ecclesiastical Law, and he was right.
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford visited East-Bourne in the "Fifties," occupying, at any rate on one of his visits, 24 Marine Parade. He preached more than once for Mr. Pierpoint though the " views " of the 2 clerics were by no means identical. The versatile talents of the Right Reverend Prelate did not always secure his being appreciated.
One of the longest sermons I ever heard in my life was preached in Trinity Church on October 26, 1873. It lasted 49 minutes. The preacher was the Rev. F. Bourdillon, the well-known writer of " Pi " books. It was sure to have been a good sermon, but certainly was a trifle too long.
Christ Church.
Christchurch was consecrated on July 29, 1859, and I suppose that there are not many persons remaining |
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