No.127
King’s Chorister
The boys sang brilliantly. It was
easy: they copied him. Winning the
national TV competition Fanfare
for Young Musicians in 1981 with
The Trusty Servant
a performance of Schubert’s song
‘Nacht und Träume’, they received
the prize from the renowned singer
Thomas Allen. Hilary Finch writing
in the TE summed up what many
others perceived: ‘The Winchester
College Quiristers - a unique
combination of alertness, happiness
and real sense of performance.’ As
well as the commitment to liturgical
music, a thrilling secular repertoire
was developed. There were operas,
European tours and prestigious
concerts and recordings, including
the European premiere of Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s Requiem in Vienna
with Lorin Maazel and the Churchill
Memorial Concert at Blenheim
Palace. The 1990 recording of
Mozart’s Salzburg Masses was heralded
as one of The Times newspaper’s
recordings of the year. ‘I am
spellbound by the quality’, wrote the
reviewer in The Musical Times.
on a prescient tribute paid by CM
Fiddian (Headmaster of King’s
College School) at the conclusion
of Julian’s choristership: ‘I am not
looking forward to losing him. He
has during all his time here been
unfailingly cheerful and contented
and he has helped to make others the
same, a strong influence for pleasant
behaviour and for a nice spirit.’
Ably and loyally supported by his
wife Fiona (also a visiting music
teacher at Winchester, and an
absolute stalwart of the Winchester
College community), JJHS made
singing vibrant and fun for
generations of Wykehamists. His
legacy lives on.
A Memorial Service for Julian will be
held in Chapel on Saturday 29th June at
2.30pm. All those wishing to attend are
asked please to email:
[email protected]
Most obituaries chronicle events
and achievements in calendar order,
but in this case it is worth reflecting
Re-ordering Michlā
Fiona Hudd of Seymour & Bainbridge
Architects reports:
St Michael’s Church, better known
to Winchester College as Michlā, is
a relatively recent addition to the
school, having been loaned from the
Diocese of Winchester in 1966 for
use as a chapel when the church was
made redundant and then purchased
in 1972. Recognising that Michlā
was looking a little tired and was
underused, the College appointed
a project team, led by Seymour &
Bainbridge, to explore the potential
for adapting the church for a wider
range of uses, including choir and
orchestra-rehearsal space, and to add
toilet facilities.
The church is set within a small
churchyard bounded by St
Michael’s Passage on the south side
and Quiristers to the east. It was
immediately clear that extending
the church was not an option and
that any improvements had to be
accommodated within the existing
footprint. Internally, the layout
of fixed pews and choir stalls was
limiting the use of the building and
repairs to the building fabric were also
needed.
The challenge was to identify those
aspects of the church which could
be changed and those which had
to remain in order to retain the
character and significance of this
Grade II* church. Investigating
6
the history and development of the
church was the first task to inform
proposals for re-ordering.
Although not widely known, the
church is one of only six remaining
mediaeval churches in Winchester
and is recorded in the register of John
of Pontoise, Bishop of Winchester
(1282-1304). Previously called St
Michael-in-the-Soke or St Michael-
without-Kingsgate, the church
served the eastern suburb of the city
and retains significant elements of
mediaeval fabric, including parts of
the nave walls and a scratch, or mass,
dial positioned centrally on the south
side. The west tower dates from the
15th century and contains a set of five
bells, no longer rung. Internally, there