Vestries

The Vestry is a room where the Clergy and Choir robe. At St John's there are two Vestries, the Vicar's Vestry and the Choir Vestry. The term presumably derives from the Latin root vestis, a garment.

The Vicar's Vestry is where the Clergy and Readers robe before the service and their vestments (the robes that they wear during the service) are kept there. The readers wear a Cassock and a Surplice for all services and at services other than the Eucharist can wear an academic hood. The Clergy have a wider range of Vestments, at St John's the current Vicar wears a Cassock and Surplice for services other than the Eucharist when he wears an Alb and Chasuable

The wearing of Vestments and their type is an indication of Churchmanship. Within the Church of England is a wide range of Churchmanship. The Anglo-Catholics (or High Church Party) emphasize the importance of the Eucharist and use rituals and symbolism to express this while the Evangelicals (or Low Church Party) emphasize the importance of the Word, putting much emphasis on the authority of the Bible and therefore on the sermon which aims to explain and elucidate God's word. These difference stem back to the Reformation, when the Church of England and many other groups split from the Catholics (More information on the origins and set up of the Church of England is available on our links page). Some Evangelicals do not see the need to wear Vestments but the argument for them is that they emphasize the Priest's role rather than his (or her) personality. They emphasize the continuity and timelessness of what is being done and avoid people being distracted by what the priest is wearing.

The Choir Vestry is where the choir robes and stores books and music. It is an addition to the original building, being built in 1923. It used to have a bell turret that contained a bell that was rung five minutes before the services, however it was unsafe and the turret was removed in the late 1980's. The bell is now in the church garden. It is still possible to see where the rope came through the false ceiling in the vestry.

The term Vestry can also be applied to a meeting about Church or Parish business, originally because such a meeting would be conducted in the Vestry. Before the Annual Church Meeting we have an Annual Vestry Meeting at which the Churchwardens are elected, but this no longer takes place in the Vestry, probably because it is not big enough.

Vestries

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