Picture from circa 1920
The purpose of the St. Mary Parish Archive is to collect, preserve and chronicle the social history of St. Mary’s Church Cowes from its foundation to the present day. This at least is the, not a little daunting, task that we have set ourselves. The first record of the site of St. Mary’s as a place of worship is in 1657 some three hundred and fifty years ago so we have a goodly number of years to cover. It is approximately twelve generations. 2012 will be the 350th anniversary of the consecration of the church and it is hoped that the archive will be up and running and ready for use.
It is difficult to imagine today in our modern secular society the place that church held in the lives of our parents and grandparents and all previous generations. The church was woven deeply into all aspects of their lives, and provided much of the social life of any community. It formed a framework for many lives. Vestry committees presided over by the churchwardens were responsible for every aspect of parish life, from the repair of the roads to the allocation of parish relief to the poor. As children were born they were brought to the parish church to be baptised, and as often the mother was ‘churched’ at the same time. Churching was an old ceremony where the mother was welcomed back into the church after childbirth. These same children attended church
each Sunday, perhaps more than once. From Victorian times there were sunday schools to provide elementary schooling and also many social occasions from the annual Christmas parties to summer outings. In due course came first communion and confirmation. Before the advent of civil registration most marriages were celebrated in the local parish church. And many clergy were not slow to voice their unhappiness of those whose marriages were not were not to their liking in one way or another. In the fullness of time death came to lives that with luck had been long and full of years and again, before it became possible to be cremated, a funeral would have taken place in church with burial in the churchyard or local cemetery.
The further back one goes the scarcer becomes the tangible evidence for peoples lives. Unless you belonged to the upper classes it is unlikely that you would have left any record of your existence. As the church and churchgoing are perceived as little more than a quaint historical memory for many people it is more important than ever to preserve as many of these memories as possible before they finally disappear for ever.
It is hoped that in the long run the archive will be open to anyone with an interest in the history of St. Mary’s Church. It is also intended that information from the archive will be published on this web page. If there is anything that you think would be of interest to the archive please contact Margaret Jessup