The 20th century witnessed as many changes to the village as it has to the church. The 'Pemberton Window' was removed during World War II and mysteriously disappeared.
In July of 1951 work began on the leveling of the churchyard, which was previously a bumpy green with many assorted gravestones. During the leveling process all the gravestones were removed and placed against the south wall of the graveyard; a small number were placed under the ancient yew tree and two were laid flat by the south aisle.
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A new east
window was inserted in 1958 in memory of a local butcher, Mr William
Albert Orton, who was the churchwarden and cross-bearer for the
parish for some sixteen years. The new window depicts the crucifixion
and ordeals of Christ. The cost of this beautiful window was defrayed
by the parishioners of Walsgrave. A memorial tablet to Mr Orton
can be found set into the chancel floor. |
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During
the years up to the present period, a great deal of work has been
done on the church fabric and the tower, which has been crumbling
due to erosion and the fumes from the nearby dual carriageway. Much
of the work has been done by those in the local community who gave
their labour freely. |
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The majority
of this restoration took place during the incumbency of Andrew Tuck,
who believed the church should be 'for all the community' and with
this in mind instituted the building of the new church centre which
was completed and officially opened by the Bishop of Coventry in
1981. |
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Since the opening of the centre the restoration work has mainly concentrated on the tower and bell, which have not been rung since V.E. day 1945. This has involved a complete restoration of the stonework and the strengthening of the tower with steel girders, together with the replacement of the ancient bell-frame and the re-casting of the bells.
Finally, the church tower has been given a newly designed clock carrying the symbol MR or Mary Regina - Queen of Heaven, and the Greek alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end and, lastly, the date of its insertion, 1985.
This now brings us to the year 1986 a year which has witnessed the completion of the restoration of the church tower. Much of this work has been done voluntarily by Gerry Sweet a retired policeman, and Ken Sedgewick a retired school teacher.
On completion of the restoration work on the tower, a small time-capsule was sealed under a white stone at its base.
Work has recently been completed on the restoration of the north aisle with the help of a Community Programme Scheme supervised by Gerry Sweet.
Much is owed to those who maintain such ancient buildings, and it is through their labour that such buildings survive as a witness to the past, and a gift to the future.
