Early pictures of the tower suggest that it was first built in the 15th Century. Unfortunately, disaster struck in January 1882, when the tower fell down causing great destruction, not only to the tower and its bells, but also to the nave.

The rubble was cleared and £1,600 was raised by public subscription for repairing the nave ceiling, the chancel arch and the aisles, as well as  bricking up the arch between the nave and tower (1887-8). The architect was Samuel Knight of London. The surviving bells were moved to the churchyard and housed in a wooden cage near the east end of the church.

There matters rested until 1933, when the Harveian Society of the Royal Society of Physicians agreed to fund the rebuilding of the tower in memory of William Harvey.  But the work had to stop when it reached nave height, because they were £1,000 short.    

“From his discovery has grown a mighty tree of knowledge, fruitful of blessings to mankind.  His vision, his patient searching penetrated the darkness of centuries of error.  He had to his hand no new aids or method.  From within, or through himself, came the new spirit which found truth and set it forth. 

No darkness can be as great as that of established authority.  Time gives it the appearance, acceptance and sanction of truth. To attack it becomes first and impiety, then an offence.  During the centuries, the influence of Galen had become so paramount as to forbid thought. Thus the lamp delivered by the ancients became extinguished. Harvey unfolded his discovery with convincing directness and restraint. A few pages contained the refutation of nineteen centuries of tradition and error.  Despite ridicule, disparagement and even damage, he implanted the new knowledge with courageous yet courteous insistence.  He preached that Nature must be pursued ‘through assured ways till they reached her in the citadel of truth and in such pursuits it is sweet not merely to toil but to grow weary.’ 

There belongs to Harvey a distinction rare among those great men who are makers of epochs, in that there has come down to us knowledge not only of his discovery but of the man himself – ‘he, being dead, yet speaketh’.  The spirit of his teaching, his inspiration, his sense of friendship, are living forces today within the profession of medicine. It is not only a memorial – for Harvey needs not such, he already belongs to the immortals – it is also the fulfilment of a desire, a piety, to preserve in the minds of men, the association of his life and pilgrimage.”

Lord Dawson of Penn, GCVO KCB KCMG, President of the Royal College of Physicians, at the laying of the foundation stone on 14 July 1933.

During the 1950s, retired Colonel SA Smith of the Royal Engineers moved to Hempstead and grew incensed by the view of the stunted tower from his bedroom window.  He told the vicar that, if the money could be found, he would oversee the completion of the tower to its original height.   One evening, Arthur Dickson-Wright (the President of the Harveian Society and father of TV chef Clarissa) happened to call on the vicar, who told him about Col. Smith’s offer.  Sir Arthur gladly accepted, saying that he had come to say that funds had been set aside for this express purpose.   

The work restarted in 1959.  By then, however, inflation had caused the £1,000 shortfall to grow to £14,000. Some compromises to the design of the windows were needed in order to stay within budget.   By 1962, the work was complete and the bells had also been restored, with the old tenor bell being recast as two new bells. The newpeal of six bells was rung at a dedication ceremony, conducted by the Bishop of Colchester on 3 June.   So many people attended the ceremony that the proceedings had to be broadcast over a loudspeaker to the crowds in the churchyard.

The curate, John Escreet, who had warned about the state of the tower three years before it collapsed, played a big part in the restoration: a skilled wood carver, he designed and created a new pulpit, lectern and reading desk, as well as a new porch. This is described further in the section on Incumbents.

Here is a copy of John Escreet’s parish register for the day of the collapse and the immediate aftermath.

Press coverage of the dedication ceremony

Essex Countryside Magazine, March 1961

The order of service