The liturgical tradition of St Mary's is in some sense a story of its vicars and musicians. Its special place within the story of the Church of England begins with the arrival of its most famous incumbent, Percy Dearmer.

Percy Dearmer

The Parson's Handbook was published by Percy Dearmer in 1899 when he was a curate at St Mark's, Marylebone Road. This small book was an attempt to address the ceremonial situation in the Church of England at the time, which was frankly a mess. Whilst many churches were following an extreme protestant form of liturgical practice, other more moderate parishes had begun to adopt some mild ceremonial with the celebrant at Holy Communion in surplice and stole, and candles on the altar. At the more catholic end of the spectrum a tiny handful of parishes followed mediaeval English practices, usually of Sarum origin (Primrose Hill was an example), another faction adapted Tridentine Roman practice more or less accurately, and the vast majority of Anglo-Catholic churches used an amalgam of the two types of ceremonial, generally supplemented by a few practices of the incumbent's own devising.

There were a number of books available in this period that gave clergy directions on the conduct of divine worship, virtually all written in pious tones. Dearmer's book was a complete contrast to what had gone before, as it was actually rather well written, with occasional traces of a sense of humour in evidence. It was practical rather than antiquarian, although it drew heavily on the researches of mediaevalists much better qualified than Dearmer himself, and despite later jibes from the disaffected, these sources are acknowledged in the book itself. It gave authority for all the practices quoted, and made it quite clear that everything recommended was strictly legal, an important point at the time, when the threat of "Kensitite" demonstrations were still very real. It took the Book of Common Prayer as the authorised liturgy of the Church of England, and did nothing to encourage the use of other rites in conjunction with this. It also made allowances for a few post reformation practices that had become common, and on practical grounds recommended a colour sequence that was not totally dissimilar from that of modern Rome, simply on the grounds that this is what most churches were following at the time.

On his appointment at Primrose Hill in February, 1901, Dearmer lost no time in making the church a model for the English Use. The six candles on the High Altar were consigned to the boiler by the end of his first day as incumbent! Incense, which had not been used for some thirty years, was reintroduced within his first year. Congregational settings by Martin Shaw or Merbecke, otherwise Sarum Plainsong, replaced the elaborate Victorian choral settings beloved of the choir, and the congregation were positively encouraged to take their part in the singing. The chancel was whitewashed in 1903, and the rest of the church followed in 1915, complementing the newly introduced Lenten Array. Some members of the church found all this change difficult to take and left for other, more conventional, Anglo-Catholic shrines, but many more joined the congregation to fill their places, and soon the church was full on Sunday mornings.

1906 saw the publication of the English Hymnal, of which Dearmer was the editor-in-chief. He had the foresight to secure the services of Ralph Vaughan Williams as the musical editor. As in his other liturgical work, Dearmer drew upon traditional English sources with no recourse to borrowing from Rome, and the hymnal formed an ideal companion to the Book of Common Prayer. Many well known hymns and tunes that were popularised through this book were tried out for the first time in St Mary's, and it says much for the quality of the book that no major revision was undertaken until 1986, when the New English Hymnal was published, once again edited by a former Vicar of Primrose Hill, George Timms.

Life after Percy

Dearmer left the parish in 1916, and was succeeded by Arthur Duncan-Jones, who did much to enrich the liturgical year my introducing the appropriate traditional English ceremonies at various points of the Christian Year, most notably at Candlemas and during Holy Week, and many of these survive with surprisingly little adaptation today. But he made no changes whatsoever to the basic tradition left by Dearmer, which was to remain unchanged for many years. Duncan-Jones later became Dean of Chichester, and it was here that he was to put the principles contained in Dearmer's work into practice in the context of a cathedral. After the departure of Duncan-Jones, St Mary's became more inward looking and antiquarian, no doubt partly as a considered response to the success of the Anglo-Catholic Congresses and their strong promotion of all things baroque. In 1937 the Exultet on Easter Eve was sung in mediaeval latin using a sixteenth Sarum Manuale that is still in the possession of the church. A few specifically Sarum practices were introduced in this period, and a couple still survive today, but much of the more extreme antiquarianism has long since been dropped. A great deal of credit also has to be given to the Rev'd Anthony Hardcastle, Vicar during the war years, for keeping the church going through a very difficult period, and beginning to build up a stronger congregation.

By the 1950s it was obvious that changes were needed at Primrose Hill, and the appointment of George Timms as Vicar speeded up this process. The Litany on ordinary Sundays was dropped immediately, reducing the length of the High Mass by a good twenty minutes, and some concession was made to more modern liturgical practice, with the introduction of westward facing celebration at the Parish Communion. As the Church of England gradually authorised new rites, these were introduced at St Mary's in due course. By the mid 1960s major changes were in the air, as even the Roman Catholic Church began to adapt under the influence of the Second Vatican Council, and suddenly many of the liturgical principles for which Percy Dearmer stood were adopted by Rome itself. Ironically, many of these changes found their way into the more extreme Anglo-Catholic parishes by the usual route of blind imitation of Rome. There is little doubt that this adaptation was less traumatic in "English" parishes for the simple reason that the entire service was audible anyway, and there was far less extraneous ceremonial to cut. When St Mary's finally adopted Rite A for the High Mass following redecoration of the church in 1980 it was necessary to do little more than move the altar forward so the clergy could stand behind it.

English Use Today

It is debatable how many churches adopted Dearmer's ideas in all their fullness apart from his own former parish of St Mary's, Primrose Hill. But there is little doubt that a recognisably "Anglican Use" is to be found in every English Cathedral and many other churches throughout the country. The detail of Dearmer's work is often diluted, and details may be occasionally borrowed from Rome, but the overall effect is without doubt still recognisably English. This distinctive style of liturgy continues to characterise not just identifiable Anglo-Catholic parishes, but a way of being and worshipping as Anglicans which has become so familiar as to become normative.

Of course the situation today, when clergy can use a multiplicity of rites perfectly legally is a far cry from that of Dearmer's own time, when prosecution for ritual offences was an ever present possibility. Dearmer himself spoke very forcibly in favour of the much derided 1928 rite, and was strongly in favour of greater liturgical freedom, provided that Anglican authority was still respected. In his old parish at Primrose Hill flexible use is made of Rite A, but strictly within permitted guidelines. Much of the old English ceremonial still survives here, especially in the way processions are ordered and in the ceremonies of Holy Week, but new and imaginative services are also regularly used. Even the vesture of the ministers remains as before, and some of Dearmer's own splendid vestments, which were considered very modern at the turn of the century are still in regular use.

Not so very long ago, it was contended by many Anglo-Catholics that the "English Use" was a figment of Percy Dearmer's imagination. Within the past few years the publication of Eamon Duffy's book The Stripping of the Altars has proved that this is far from being the case. After some rather austere years in which liturgical simplification and austerity was very much the trend, it has now once again become respectable to enrich worship and draw once again on traditional sources, as shown by the adoption of the Revised Common Lectionary and the rubrics it contains. Whilst acknowledging common ground with other Christian traditions, including a greatly reformed Roman Catholic Church, there is still much to be said for enriching worship with indigenous ceremonial. Next year will see the publication of a new communion rite already in experimental use in a few churches. Maybe the time has come for a through revision of the Parson's Handbook that will enable the Church to continue the English ceremonial tradition into the twenty-first century.

In 2002 the Friends of St Mary's Primrose Hill published a History and Guide, compiled by John Hawes, Christopher Kitching and Bryan Almond. Copies are available from the Parish Office, price £5, plus 75p p+p.

Vestments and Textiles

There is a very fine collection of vestments here at St Mary's, some of which date back to the last century. They are all still in use, although it is not possible to use some of the older items as much as we would like. We follow a colour sequence that is basically that recommended by Percy Dearmer and based on old English practice, but we have made a few changes to bring our use into line with the Revised Common Lectionary now used here. The vestments are described in the order they are used in the course of the Liturgical Year.

Advent

The High Mass set date from about 1900, and was made for the church in the Dearmer incumbency. It is of stamped dark blue velvet, includes a cope, and is virtually without decoration. Blue is also used between Candlemas and Lent, and for Requiems. The church also possesses a very fine modern chasuble and frontal made by Gabriella Hunt. The blue frontal is very fine, and uses textiles designed by William Morris.

Christmas

The best vestments are a very fine set in blue and gold that date from the 1920s. They were restored in 1988. A second white High Mass set date from the 1960s and is late work by the Warham Guild. There are also a number of good white low mass sets.

Lent

The Lenten chasuble is excellent work of the late 1960s, and it is supplemented by another chasuble of unbleached linen for weekday use. All the crosses and images in the church are veiled throughout Lent: the painting on the veils dates from the 1920s and is the work of the Warham Guild, who were also responsible for the Lenten frontal. From Passion Sunday onwards a dull red frontal and chasuble are used: these are unexceptional work by the Warham Guild. The Passiontide Cope belonged to Percy Dearmer and is very striking.

Whitsun

The best red High Mass set date from the 1890s and was made locally. The second red set is of good shape and design, but otherwise relatively plain. They are used for feasts of Apostles and Martyrs, and the four Sundays before Advent. The two red frontals are very fine indeed.

Trinitytide

The green vestments are modern, and not particularly notable. Sir Ninian Comper designed one of the green low mass sets.

Other Vestments

The yellow High Mass set is only used when the feast of St Mary Magdalene occurs on a Sunday due to their fragile condition. This is unfortunate, as they are very fine indeed, and show the influence of the young Ninian Comper, who was working on glass in the church at the time.

There are two very fine black tunicles that are used by the clerk and crucifer on All Souls Day. They appear to date from 1900, and are probably the work of Watts and Company of Westminster.

A Clerk's Tunicle, which has Percy Dearmer's name in it, is now too fragile to be used. It is of mixed colours, and is unusual in that it is seamless.