Recognising Tonbridge Recognised

Recognising Tonbridge Feature

Corpus Christi Church Lyons Crescent

I strayed from the High Street for this Recognising Tonbridge, and hoped that some of you would recognise where in the town the symbol in the photograph was located. Only two people named the spot.  Peter Harris was the first (he usually is) and Louise who also knew where it was left a comment on the blog.  The Alpha and the Omega symbols are etched into the lower glass panels on the main doors of Corpus Christi Church in Lyons Crescent.

The two symbols are the first and the last letters of the classical Greek alphabet, and are used as a Christian symbol often combined with the cross or the Chi-rho. If you look closely at religious paintings or art/artefacts depicting Christian themes or stories they can often be found, especially so placed on either side of the cross. Look out for them when in art galleries, churches, when on holiday visiting museums or cathedrals and you'll notice they occur more often than you would think.

Alpha and Omega

Fisher Hall Fire

A Fisher Hall has stood opposite Corpus Christi Church in Lyons Crescent since the 1940's.  The original building was made from corrugated iron and brick, and worryingly shook when more than about 10 people moved around inside it.  I'm not too sure why it was named the Fisher Hall, but at a guess it could probably either be the fact that it lies only yards from the banks of the River Medway, or it could have a Biblical connection with 'Fishers of Men', but whatever it might be a Fisher Hall has been well used by the local community for around 70 years.

The black and white photograph shows the hall in the 1950's and seems to have been taken from the Presbytery at the church, and to the rear of the single storey building  was a paddock surrounded by large pines and a small woodland that led down to the river.  This idyllic and quiet part of central Tonbridge has sadly long since disappeared, along with the wildlife, and has been replaced by a large hall, a car park and a small housing estate.  If you look very carefully at the bottom of the photograph it looks like a carnival float carrying perhaps the carnival queen, with a tiara, taking a circular route away from the High Street.

The Fisher Hall - 1950's

In September 1986 during a Sunday morning mass the Fisher Hall mysteriously caught fire.  At the time the car park to the rear, and to the front, was full of cars, and the area was urgently evacuated for fear of explosions.  Firemen from Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Southborough were called to fight the flames, and I have been told that extra water had to be pumped from the river to help fight the blaze which eventually destroyed the building.  Luckily nobody was hurt in the fire, and speculation of arson and anti-religious groups was eventually put to rest when it was reported that the cause of the fire was an electrical fault.  Rumours and stories still surround the blaze even now.

 

Smoke billowing from The Fisher Hall

The bulldozers move in

Going ... Going ... Gone