Honoring Tenison: Rededicating a War Memorial

Ray Crocker writes….

Have you ever whizzed over Vauxhall Bridge and through Kennington?

You may have noticed, opposite The Oval Cricket Ground, a noble red brick building with bold lettering on its facade “Archbishop Tenison’s Grammar School 1685”. It is now closed as a school, awaiting redevelopment. It moved there from Leicester Square in 1927.

So what is its connection with us at St James’s? One name…Archbishop Thomas Tenison. He was our first Rector from 1685 to 1692, when he became Bishop of Lincoln quickly followed, in 1695, by being elevated to the Primacy.

He was also, simultaneously, Vicar of our Mother Church, St-Martin-in-the-Fields and during that time busied himself in works of lasting philanthropy in setting up schools and a library in our neighbouring parishes with the primary aim “to educate disadvantaged young people”.

He also set up a charity, with funds from donations and property, which still exists today, and grants St James’s and St Anne’s Soho around £7,000 per year.

The Roll of Honour, or War Memorial of the Kennington school was carefully removed from its walls and repositioned in St Mark’s Church, where it was rededicated last week.

We were privileged to be invited to represent the community of St James’s at the Service of Rededication. This was a moving ceremony, akin to the Remembrance Day liturgy, familiar to us all. It was particularly affecting to hear the names of those ex pupils who had died in action, several of whom were very young. Marietta Crichton Stuart, from the Western Front Association, deepened our understanding by providing detail about several of the boys and men whose names appear on the memorial tablet.

Fiona Notman and I attended the ceremony and reception on behalf of St James’s. We came away wanting to find out more about Tenison and with a strengthened respect and gratitude for those, many very young, who gave their lives to ensure our freedom.