St Nicholas Church's Fun Day for the Tooting Community

[Editorial]

Information by Tooting Online

St Nicholas Church in Tooting are holding a big Fun Day on 23 June 2012, 11am - 3pm. The church have stated that it is putting on this free event for the benefit of the Tooting Community and that it is not for raising any revenue, however they will be charging for food in order to cover their costs. This event is open to all Tooting people (not just church people).

There will be many interesting things to do and see for children and adults alike. There will be: police horses, Tooting Fire Fighters, puppet shows, face painting, a children’s entertainer doing conjuring tricks, a bouncy castle, a barbeque, jewellery making and even a nail bar. For football lovers there will also be a football shoot out.

A Free History Tour of the Church & Graveyard:
There is also a special treat for those of you who are Tooting history buffs, as there will be a free history tour of the church and graveyard, which will be run by the chair of the Tooting History Group (Cllr. Rex Osborn) with the help of his wife. The history tour is free of charge and it will be run every hour and will last about 20 – 25 minutes. The history tours will be at approximately 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm and 2.15pm.


The above information is just some of the stuff which will be happening on the day. Further details can be found on the Fun Day section of the St Nicholas Church website.


St Nicholas Church can be found close to Amen Corner in Tooting, it is at the bottom of Church Lane just off Mitcham Road.

(Don't forget if you are a registered member of this forum you can request an email reminder for this event from the listing for it in our event calendar here.)

[Ali]

A Free History Tour of the Church & Graveyard:
There is also a special treat for those of you who are Tooting history buffs, as there will be a free history tour of the church and graveyard, which will be run by the chair of the Tooting History Group (Cllr. Rex Osborn) with the help of his wife. The history tour is free of charge and it will be run every hour and will last about 20 – 25 minutes. The history tours will be at approximately 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm and 2.15pm.

Just a quick update, Rex's history tours are actually approximately 40 minutes in duration - 20 minutes outside and about 20 minutes inside.

[Editorial]

Event Review by Tooting Online

Councillor Rex Osborn, who is the chair of the local history group, conducted an interesting history tour around St Nicholas Church and Graveyard in Tooting, as a part of a Fun Day for Tooting people held at the church on Saturday 23 June 2012. He held his audience captive with interesting stories about the lives of various people who had once lived in Tooting long ago.

Amongst the interesting Tooting people mentioned was Mrs Frances Clarke. She single-handedly saved an ancient book of illustrations made in 1590-1595, called the Akbarnama, about the Mogul Emperor Akbar the Great. The book had come into her position via her husband Major General John Clarke, who had obtained it in India while he was serving as Commissioner of Oudh between 1858 and 1862. She devoted her life to studying this book of illustrations and ancient Farsi writing. This book is thought to be the very first illustrated Akbarnama and is of extreme historical significance and it currently resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mrs Clarke is buried in St Nicholas Graveyard next to her husband.

Another famous resident buried here is Philip Gidley King R.N. who was a captain of the First Fleet to sail to Australia and he was then the third Governor of New South Wales (Australia, as it was then known). In the St Nicholas Church there are two paintings belonging to the Queen which are on permanent loan to the church (as he is buried there). Both paintings show him standing with a group of his ship mates just after they have landed in Australia (Jan 1788) with a Union Jack flag being hoisted up on a flag pole. Of all the members of the First Fleet, Philip Gidley King is thought to have made the greatest contribution to the early years of the colony and the development of modern day Australia.

There were many other tales and plaques including those commemorating: the many children who died at Peter Drouet’s Pauper Children’s Asylum in Tooting, in an outbreak of cholera in 1849, and are buried in the church yard (Charles Dickens wrote about this tragedy), and memorials to Tooting people who died in the Boer War and WWI.

Also to be seen in the church were stain glass windows showing the current church which was built in 1833 and the previous one which used to stand on the site and was removed around 1834 (after the current one was built). A model of the old church, which was mentioned in the Doomsday Book, is also available to view in the church.

It was an interesting history tour, conducted for free for Tooting people, by local councillor for Tooting Graveney ward, and Tooting resident, Councillor Rex Osborn. No doubt this tour was much appreciated by all those who attended.


Further Reading
An example page from the Akbarnama on the V&A website
Wikipedia's listing for Philip Gidley King


(If you attended this event and would like to leave a comment please feel free to do this below.)