Our new Head Verger, Chris Harpham, has been presented with a beautiful new Top Gown, worn over his Black Cassock. The Friends of Romsey Abbey was delighted to fund this gown and Chris was presented with it by the Chair, Jill Hall, at the Harvest Festival Service on Sunday 1 October.
The Meaning of the Blue Markings and tassels on Chris’s Top Gown mark the two Saints in Romsey, Our Lady Virgin Mary and St Ethelflaeda, so the colour of the markings is Marian Blue in honour of Mary. The Top Gown is worn by Chris when on Duty for Services, Weddings and Funerals.
All Vergers wear a Top Gown, which has a great connection with the work of both Churches and Cathedrals. The Office of Verger goes back to early days of the Church, but here in Romsey the first person we know who had the title of Verger was in about 1835; the Verger was also called the Parish Beadle.
Ken Gibson, The Friends of Romsey Abbey