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Buckland

CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST AT BUCKLAND.
This lovely little stone church, surrounded by a grave yard and large old pine trees, is on the right hand side of the road as you drive towards Coles Bay. It’s well worth stopping to go inside.
Its foundation stone was laid in August 1846 and it was consecrated in early 1848. The young clergyman responsible for its construction was Rev. F.H. Cox from Cookham Dean in Sussex. It’s a replica of the church there. I always wonder whether, on finding he had to build his own church in Tasmania, he sent his parents round to measure up the one with which he was most familiar at home.
Its most interesting (even amazing) feature is the east window above the altar depicting the life of St. John the Baptist. The window dates back to between 1350 and 1400 and is thought to have been removed from Battle Abbey, built by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings in Sussex.
How did this window reach Buckland? No-one is sure, as Rev. Cox didn’t ever say, but this is what probably happened. During the English Civil War Battle Abbey was known to have been selected by Cromwell’s soldiers for slighting (i.e. destruction). Indeed it was damaged almost beyond repair and has never been restored. The aristocratic Cecil family lived in the district and it is assumed that the window was connected with them in some way. Perhaps they donated it to the abbey in the first place. Did the Cecils remove it to prevent its destruction, storing it safely against the abbey’s eventual restoration? When this had not happened in 200 years could it instead have been given to Rev. Cox for his new church? Rev. Cox and Lord Robert Cecil, Secretary of State for the Colonies, were friends. It was also a tradition of the period for English parishes to give gifts to churches in the colonies with which they had some link. However the window reached Buckland there is no doubt that it does date back to the latter half of the 14th Century. On those grounds alone it is worth a look.
All the windows in St John’s are of stained glass, having been given as memorials to past parishioners. Other church furnishings and fittings are also old and interesting. The house across the road and slightly to the left was originally the rectory and later St John’s College, a “centre of education for the sons of pastoralists of the district”. As Triabunna Secondary College certainly didn’t exist then one supposes that daughters of pastoralists and any other children were either taught at home or missed out on schooling.
Reference: Parish of Buckland Tasmania. Church of St John the Baptist. “History of Church and Window”.


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