Inauguration of the new Chaplain and celebration of the Chapel

The Inauguration

Girton College welcomes its new Chaplain, the Reverend Dr Tim Boniface, and invites the whole community to join our small group of representatives in the Chapel to witness his inauguration on Sunday 11 October at 5:30pm. It will be live-streamed on the Chapel's new YouTube Channel.

Details of this ceremony and tonight's evensong can be downloaded here.

When everyone has taken their seats and the Choir is assembled the Mistress welcomes the congregation, and asks Revd Dr Boniface the following inaugural questions:

Mistress: Will you care pastorally for this College community and all its members, of any faith or none?
Chaplain: With the help of God, I will. 
Mistress: Will you uphold the tradition of inclusion, and foster the values of equality and diversity that are foundational to this College? 
Chaplain: With the help of God, I will. 
Mistress: Will you pray daily for God's blessing on this place and its people?
Chaplain: With the help of God, I will.  

Inaugural prayers (Vice-Mistress)

Prayer for the new chaplain and his family

Loving God, hear us as we pray for Tim at the beginning of his ministry among us. 
Enfold him in your love, that he may serve among us with compassion, faithfulness, humility and a zeal for justice. 
Guide him as he opens the scriptures; 
inspire him as he leads worship; 
and grant him wisdom as he leads the life of this chapel community.

We pray also for your blessing upon his wife Beth and daughters Anastasia and Eloise, that with Tim they may know the welcome and richness of the community here at Girton, and flourish in their life together in Cambridge.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

All: Amen

A prayer for all of us at the beginning of this new stage of chapel life

Eternal God, 
The light of the minds that know you,
The joy of the hearts that love you,
And the strength of the wills that serve you:
Grant us so to know you that we may truly love you,
So to love you that we may truly serve you,
Whose service is perfect freedom;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

All: Amen.                                                                         After Augustine of Hippo (430)

The Mistress invites the Chaplain to take his place; he then welcomes students and commences Evensong.

Tonight's Evensong

Speaker: The Chaplain
Title: Introductory Evensong and Inauguration of the new Chaplain
Psalm: 127
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 18:1-8
New Testament Reading: John 6:25-40
Music: O Lord, Hear my Prayer (Moses Hogan), Responses - Trevor Weston, Evening Service in B Minor (Thomas Tertius Noble), and Let All the World (Greta Tomlins)

Details of this ceremony and tonight's evensong can be downloaded here.

Chapel Term Card

A list of this term’s Chapel Services is given on the Michaelmas 2020 Chapel Card, or visit our Chapel & Faith page.

Exhibition: The History of the College Chapel

Curated by Hazel Mills, College Historian, and Hannah Westall, Archivist

The College Chapel was built and first furnished between 1900 and 1902. Its two inaugural services were held on 23 May 1902.

Religious services at the College before 1902

Early prospectuses for the proposed ‘College for Women’ included the statement that there would be ‘religious instruction and services, in accordance with the principles of the Church of England’. However, any resident over 18 – or if younger, her parents on her behalf – could request and would be granted permission to be absent. Despite some concern about this religious element among some College supporters, including Barbara Bodichon (1827–1891) a generous early benefactor of the College, these provisions were included in the 1872 Articles of Association. To this day, the Supplemental Charter defines the purpose of the College as 'the advancement of education, religion, learning and research' and there is statutory provision (Statute XV) for the operation of the Chapel.

Whilst the College was based in Benslow House, Hitchin (1869–1873), the Mistress read daily morning prayers in the Library, which all residents not given permission to be absent were expected to attend. Students were also encouraged to attend a religious service on Sundays in one of Hitchin’s churches, chapels or Meeting Houses. 
When the College moved to Girton in 1873, its new building did not include a chapel. Daily prayers were again led by the Mistress and many Girtonians went into Cambridge on Sundays to join religious services. From Michaelmas Term 1881, they could also attend a weekly Sunday evening service in the College Dining Hall (now Old Hall). These were initially led by the Rev Alfred Cooke (1854–1934), a Fellow of King’s College and Assistant Censor of non-Collegiate students in the University. 

Emily Davies (1830–1921), one of the College’s key founders and daughter of a clergyman, was very clear in her mind that the College should have a chapel and proposed this in 1890, but not all the members of the early governing body agreed. Henrietta, Lady Stanley of Alderley (1807–1895), who gave significant amounts of money to the College, was particularly opposed on the grounds of both belief and expediency. So the daily prayers and weekly Sunday evening services continued until 1902.

Religious instruction and services, from the ‘Memorandum of Articles of Association and Bye-Laws', 1872 (archive reference: GCPP Davies 15/2/9).

Rev Alfred Cooke’s suggestion for Sunday evening services to be held at Girton, from the Executive Committee minutes, 7 October 1881 (archive reference: GCGB 2/1/7). The Executive Committee ‘gladly’ agreed to a trial term and in December 1881 agreed to continue the services.

A College Chapel

In 1896–1897, the idea of building a College Chapel was revived. As planning began for the large fifth extension of the Girton buildings – which would eventually include the Dining Hall and kitchen block and two new Wings – a chapel ‘or prayer-room’ was included in the discussions from the beginning. The first detailed plans by the College’s architects, Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) and Paul Waterhouse (1861–1924), for the new buildings were produced in February 1897. These placed a chapel where it would eventually be built – at the eastern end of Tower Wing, then called the entrance wing. The Waterhouses explained that the intention was ‘to balance, in some measure, the [Stanley] Library’, though it was envisaged that the Chapel would ‘be on a larger scale than the Library’. They went on to say if more space was required, a gallery could be placed at the northern end, with an entrance on the first-floor corridor.

The architects’ report on the Chapel, from the Executive Committee minutes, 15 February 1897 (archive reference: GCGB 2/1/13).

Blue print plan for the Chapel, showing the proposed first floor gallery and its entrance, by Alfred Waterhouse & Son, 1900 (archive reference: GCAR 2/3a/2/5/2/1). 

Drawing of a proposed gallery to house a new organ, which was to have a staircase connecting it to the north-east corner of the Chapel, by Paul Waterhouse, 1909 (archive reference: GCAR 2/3a/2/5/2/2). This gallery was never built. 

The Chapel inscription

Discussions about the inscription that would be placed over the door of the Chapel began before the building was even completed. In mid-March 1900, a Sub-Committee consisting of Rev Alfred Cooke, who had led the first Sunday services in Old Hall, and Emily Davies was appointed to consider what words might be suitable. In May, they offered one suggestion in Latin, ‘Hucusque auxiliatus est nobis Dominus’, and its translation in English, ‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us’. It is interesting to set these words in their longer textual context: they are taken from the Bible (1 Samuel 7:12), where Samuel acknowledges God’s deliverance of Israel from the Philistines: ‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and they came no more into the coast of Israel’. The Executive Committee could not agree which text to use, so accepted the Sub-Committee’s recommendation in July 1900 that the inscription should be in Latin. The inscription was carved by former student and volunteer teacher in wood carving, Alice Carthew (1867–1940, Girton 1887). 

The Sub-Committee’s suggestion for the Chapel inscription, from the Executive Committee minutes, 15 May 1900 (archive reference: GCGB 2/1/15).

The Chapel door with the inscription above it, photographed by Hannah Sargent (Communications Officer 2013), 2020 (archive reference: GCPH 2/4/17).

Building the Chapel

In December 1899, as work on the new Dining Hall was progressing, the ground was broken for Chapel Wing and for the Chapel. Work above ground level on the Chapel itself started the following spring and continued throughout 1900. Financial worries about the cost of all the building work were becoming quite severe, but despite this, in November 1900, enquiries were made about the likely cost of adding a ‘square Chancel to the Chapel’ to increase its capacity. In late January 1901, the Building Sub-Committee sent a report to the Executive Committee arguing that the accommodation in the Chapel needed to be increased. On the then existing plan there would be seating for 162, but the Sub-Committee argued that, since the household was ‘likely soon to number over 200’, a square chancel or ‘recess’ to give 46 additional places should be added. The cost of this addition would be £420. The matter was clearly contentious as it was put to the vote. The addition was passed six to one, with three abstentions. 

The Building Sub-Committee’s request to increase the size of the Chapel, from the Executive Committee minutes, 29 February 1901 (archive reference: GCGB 2/1/15).

The Chapel, by Elizabeth Welsh (1843–1921, Mistress 1885), not dated (archive reference: GCPH 3/17/1/4). The Chapel’s flèche – small spire – had to be removed in 1962 because of its weight.

The inauguration of the Chapel

The Chapel building was completed in late 1901 and arrangements for its furnishing began, as well as preparations for a formal opening. After much careful planning, on 23 May 1902 two services were held to inaugurate the new building. The first, at 2.30pm, was conducted by Emily Davies’ brother, the Rev John Llewellyn Davies. The second, at 5pm, was led by the Rev Alfred Cooke. That second service included a ‘Commemoration of Founders and Benefactors’ – a solemn recital of the names of those who had contributed to the College since the 1860s. Among those attending these services was Emily Davies. 

After the inauguration of the Chapel, responsibility for organising services and appointing chaplains fell to the Mistress. These appointments, however, were often very short term and there were periods when it wasn’t possible to fill the office. In the early 1970s, a formal arrangement was set up with Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge to share a post with the College. The College has a record of the following Chaplains shared with Great St Mary’s Church: Rev Peter Southwell-Sander (Chaplain 1969); Rev Colin Slee (Chaplain 1973); Rev David J L Richardson (Chaplain 1976); Rev Keith Maudsley (Chaplain 1979); Rev Hilary Oakley (Chaplain 1982); Rev Robert Mitchell (Chaplain 1986); Rev John Barr (Chaplain 1991); Rev Hueston Finlay (Chaplin 1992); and Rev Jeremy Clark King (Chaplain 1996). The arrangement with Great St Mary’s Church ceased in the late 1990s, and since then Girton has had a part-time Chaplain, Rev Joanna Chrich-Smith (Chaplain 2000), Rev Dr Malcolm Guite (Chaplain 2003), and our newly appointed Chaplain, Rev Dr Timothy Boniface (Chaplain 2020).

The opening of the College Chapel, from the Girton Review, May Term 1902 (archive reference: GCCP 2/1/1). Following this report there is a list of all the members of the College and staff, visitors and old students who were present. 

‘Order of Services to be used at the inauguration of the College Chapel’, 23 May 1902 (archive reference: GCAR 6/4/3).

Decorating the Chapel

There is a long tradition of current and former students, and members and supporters of the College, giving gifts to help furnish and add ornamentation to the Chapel. In 1901, whilst the Chapel was still being built, a group of current and past Girtonians let it be known that they wanted to contribute wood carvings ‘carved by themselves’ to the interior of the chapel. This work was overseen by Alice Carthew, then living in London. In the Long Vacation of 1904, dark green wall hangings were made and embroidered with gold by former students, and hung at one end of the chapel. They were a gift from two former Girtonians. The carvings on the cornice at the head of the curtain were also created by past students. In the same year, 1904, Mrs Isabelle Lefroy presented a carved oak chair to the Chapel in memory of her daughter, Eileen Lefroy (1880–1904, Girton 1898), who had sadly died earlier that year aged only 23. And that summer, carved decorations were also added to an oak desk, bought with a donation of £5 from another former student.
 

Some of this decoration can be seen in this photograph by an unknown photographer, thought to have been taken in circa 1910 (archive reference: GCPH 2/4/2).

The 1910 Organ

In 1908, a subscription was organised among Girtonians to raise money to purchase an organ for the Chapel. The then current harmonium had been purchased in 1882 and was described as ‘an unresponsive and capricious instrument’. It was estimated that a new organ would cost between £200 and £300, and Margaret Meyer (1862–1924, Staff 1888) and Helen Oyler (1882–1956, Girton 1901 and Secretary to the Mistress) volunteered to receive donations. By the following summer, the organ fund had grown to £105 16s 6d, and a further £40 had been promised. In the autumn of 1909, two large donations amounting to £300 allowed the College to proceed with the purchase, and a new organ was ordered from Messrs Harrison of Durham. It was to be placed under the window, which meant the proposed Chapel gallery was not required. The organ was dedicated in 1910. 

This organ was eventually replaced in 1974 by one built by E J Johnson & Son of Cambridge, which re-used some of the Harrison ranks. The current four-manual organ, built by the Swiss firm, St Martin, was installed in 2002. 

Report on the new organ, from the Girton Review, Michaelmas Term 1909 (archive reference: GCCP 2/1/1).

The Chapel memorials

The wooden panels beside the organ at the northern end of the Chapel were presented by Old Students in 1933. From 1936 on, the tradition of commemorating  friends and benefactors of the College, and eminent Girtonians, in inscriptions in that wooden panelling began. Further particulars of each name were entered into a Memorial Book, which was placed in a case in the Chapel. Over time, the panelling was extended along each side wall of the Chapel.

Title page of the Memorial Book, which is now housed in the College Archive, circa 1936 (archive reference: GCAR 6/2/2/6).

First page of the Memorial Book, commemorating Frances Kensington (1851–1931, Staff 1882) and Agnata Frances Butler (1867–1931, Girton 1884), circa 1936 (archive reference: GCAR 6/2/2/6).

The jubilee of the inauguration of the Chapel

In 1952, to commemorate the jubilee of the inauguration of the Chapel, David Wyn Roberts (1911–1982) of the Cambridge School of Architecture was asked to prepare a scheme to beautify the Chapel. The walls of the Chancel were plastered, the terracotta mouldings were painted white, and the altar was extended. Money was collected for a silver cross and candlesticks designed by Mr Wyn Roberts, which were then placed on the altar, and memorial tablets for Katharine Jex-Blake (1860–1951, Mistress 1916), Helen Major (1867–1951, Mistress 1925), and Kathleen Butler (1883–1950, Mistress 1942) were installed in the sanctuary. These were designed and carved by the Cambridge artist, David Kindersley (1915–1995). 

The jubilee was formally celebrated on 25 May 1952 with a special service in the Chapel led by the Rev Professor Charles Francis Moule, FBA, (1908–2007), Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University and a leading scholar of the New Testament. 

Report of the Chapel refurbishment from the College’s Annual Report, November 1952 (archive reference: GCCP 1/1/4).

Order of service for the jubilee of the inauguration of the College Chapel, 25 May 1952 (archive reference: GCAR 6/4/3).

The stained glass window

In September 1955, the plain glass in the sanctuary window was replaced by stained glass designed by Leonard Charles Evetts (1909–1997), of the Department of Fine Art, Kings College, Newcastle. The window was funded by a legacy of £1000 given to the College by Muriel Carew Hunt (1876–1941). The College had first heard of the bequest in May 1941, together with Miss Carew Hunt’s desire that it would be used to erect a stained glass window to commemorate the work of women in the First World War. There was no known connection between Miss Carew Hunt and the College. The Second World War meant this work had to be postponed, and plans for the new window were only begun in 1952. 

Article from the Girton Review, Michaelmas Term 1955, describing the window (archive reference: GCCP 2/1/4). The article goes on to describe Mr Evett’s method of preparing a stained glass window. 

The stained glass window, photographed by Phil Mynott, 2015 (archive reference: GCPH 2/4/16).

The Chapel embroidery scheme

The scheme to embroider new altar rail kneelers, prie-dieux, and hassocks for the Chapel was inspired by Helen McMorran (1898–1985, Fellow 1930) and organised by Anne Clark Hutchinson (1908–1989, Girton 1931). The project started in 1962 with the intention to replace the plain blue felt hassocks in time for the College’s centenary in 1969. Annabella Kitson (1923–2013, Girton 1946) was responsible for devising the iconography and commissioned the designer, Jennifer Gray, Lecturer at Kingston-on-Hull College. The symbolism is based on early Christian art. The designs of the three altar rail kneelers are linked by a vine motif and feature peacocks. The three prie-dieux feature a stag, an ermine, and doves. The 132 hassocks of six designs feature: a dolphin; a goldfinch; a cock and turtle; a bee on a honeycomb; a swallow; and a Christ-fish and loaves. The embroideries were worked by numerous Girtonians, scattered as far away as America and Pakistan – each included their initials in the pieces they worked. The Archive holds a full list of names of those who took part. In July 1969 the Archbishop of Canterbury dedicated the embroideries, as part of the service for the Commemoration of Benefactors. The embroideries are still in use in the Chapel today.

The six designs of the hassocks, photographed by Hannah Sargent (Communications Officer 2013), 2020 (archive reference: GCPH 2/4/18).

Detail of a peacock from one of the altar rail kneelers, photographed by Hannah Sargent (Communications Officer 2013), 2020 (archive reference: GCPH 2/4/18).

Exhibition by Hazel Mills, College Historian, and Hannah Westall, Archivist
The facts recorded in this the exhibition are correct to our best current knowledge.