The Building - The Northeast Corner

Behind   the   Sacrament   Chapel   is   a   staircase   leading   to   the   Crypt.      This is    not    actually    a    crypt,    but    merely    a    downstairs    room    leading    to    a passageway under the North Aisle.  The   rather   more   grand   than   functional   design   of   the   staircase   hints   at the   former   use   of   this   downstairs   room   as   the   sacristy   for   the   church.     It   would   have   been   a   very   spacious   facility,   but   shared   by   servers,   choir and   clergy.      A   passageway   along   the   North   side   of   the   church   leads,   via a set of steps to a door into this lower level. When    the    Hall    was    completed,    the    sacristies    were established    on    the    same    level    as    the    Nave    at    the Southeast   corner   of   the   church.      The   Crypt   presently houses   the   heating   system,   the   organ   blower   and   the inevitable clutter of a parish church. The   western   face   of   the   Organ   is   also   a   War   Memorial   to those   who   fell   in   the   Great   War   (1914   -   1918).      This   lists only    the    names    of    those    who    had    lived    in    Saint Matthew's    Parish.        In    2019    another    memorial    was installed    next    to    the    South    door.        On    Remembrance Sunday,   we   also   include   in   our   prayers   at   the   High   Mass of    Requiem     those    from    the    parishes    of    Saint    Philip, Saint Augustine, Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Paul. On   Remembrance   Sunday,   we   sing   a   Mass   of   Requiem for those who fell in the World Wars. The Organ An   Organ   has   always   stood   in   the   Northeast   corner   of   the   church.      The   console   used   to   stand separately   between   the   choir-stalls   and   the   pulpit.      The   present   instrument   was   purchased   in   the 1980s   from   a   church   in   Cheshire   that   was   slowly   sinking   into   a   salt   mine.      It   was   built   by   Nigel Church, Organ Builders, and the console was moved to its present position.