Sinjun's century - St John's, Saint-Raphaël,

Written by Reporter, July 2007

Actually talking about a century of St John’s, Saint-Raphaël, calls for a slight qualification. During and after two world wars the church was closed and in the Forties it was at one time rented out by John Taylor to a French Protestant sect. This was something I learned, amid much else, from Lindsay Benoit’s lecture on the history of St John’s which kicked off a weekend of centennial celebration at the end of April.

The building of the church was part of a decades-long drive to provide suitable places of worship along the Coast for the increasing number of English-speaking residents and visitors, much augmented by the coming of the railway in the eighteen-sixties. A hundred years ago there were nineteen Anglican churches between Saint-Raphaël and Menton. There was a strong self-protective thrust in all this. Attractive as it was, scenically and climatically, the Côte d’Azur was perceived as morally dangerous (“vines and vices” was the phrase of the time) and there was also the need to inoculate servants against this pervasive threat (the Plowden family in Saint-Raphaël had no fewer than ten domestics under their roof!).

Ups and downs

Lindsay Benoit outlined the growth of the British population in the area and the measures taken for its spiritual welfare. Two churches were built, just two miles apart: All Saints in Valescure, a place much favoured by golfers, and St John’s on avenue Paul Doumer in Saint-Raphaël. Originally, the pioneer chaplain, Alexander Dyce, who arrived in 1883, conducted services in his drawing-room. Luckily, the mayor of Saint-Raphaël, Felix Martin, realised the economic advantage of the British presence and he allowed the foundation of two successive “shop-front” churches ... and even contributed to the chaplain’s expenses.

There were ups and downs, of course, and incidents of conflict within the local British community, a varied group which over a century has included Charles Darwin’s ageing daughter and Camilla Parker Bowles’ mother. St John’s was constructed in 1907; All Saints’, Valescure, opened some years earlier, eventually proved surplus to requirement and was closed in 1958 and transferred to the Catholic diocese of Fréjus.

In recent years St John’s has greatly flourished under the energetic leadership of chaplain Ben Eaton and his wife Anne. During that April weekend of celebration there was a record attendance. At the Sunday eucharist the church was packed to the doors. For some it was a first sight of the building’s renovation (see picture). Those who worked at this and raised the necessary funds must be very satisfied. Ben Eaton likes to speak of his church community as “a family”. A banality, it might be said, but talking to members of the congregation I realised what a warm and supportive atmosphere has been created. Even the faithless have to agree that a church like this makes an invaluable contribution to our community. Ad multos annos!

P.M.