History of our church - Rev'd Henry Richards M.A.
Perpetual Curate
1828-1864
Born in 1799 at Farlington in Hampshire he was educated at Exeter College Oxford where he obtained his B.A. in 1822, M.A. in 1825 followed by a B.D. in 1833. Ordained Deacon in 1822 and Priest in 1823, both by Dr Buckner, the then Bishop of Chichester, he was later appointed as Perpetual Curate of Horfield in 1828, his patron being the then Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The living at that time was financed by Parish Tithes plus income from the Manor which provided income in excess of £230 per annum, whilst the total gross income of the Parochial Church Council was only £79 per annum!
Rev'd Henry Richards was the first occupant of the Rectory which had been only recently built by his predecessor Rev's S. Seyer, and took up residence in 1828 with his wife Caroline and their two children Helena and Edward who had been born in 1825 and 1827. Two further children were born at the Rectory, Charles in 1830 and Mary in 1834. Sadly the records show that all his children pre-deceased him and before they reached the age of 30 years, except for Edward who died in 1863 aged 36 years.
The Nave and Chancel of the mediaeval church were demolished and rebuilt by Rev'd Henry Richards in 1831 leaving only the West Tower of the original building – a date of 1612 on the South West buttress of the tower is believed to be authentic.
Also responsible for building the original Nave to Saint Michael & All Angels Church Bishopston in 1861 as a memorial to his family.
Rev'd Henry Richards passed to his eternal rest at the Rectory in 1864 after which his wife Caroline moved to Clifton where she died on the 30th April 1885 and was laid to rest in the North West corner of the churchyard with her husband.
Requiem Aeternam Dona Eis Domine Et Lux Perpetua Luceat Eis.
Expansion of the Parish
When the Reverend Henry Richards was appointed to the Perpetual Curacy of Horfield in 1828, and moved into the Parsonage House newly erected by his illustrious predecessor the Reverend Samuel Seyer, Historian of Bristol, he found that his Parish Church was becoming too small to accommodate the increasing number of parishioners. Although Horfield was not a compact village (Church, Inn and Manor House) in the accepted sense, being rather a scattering of farms and cottages, much new building was going on in the Parish, which then stretched from it's junction with the out-Parishes of St.James and St.Paul up to that with Filton in length, and from the meeting with Stapleton Parish on the slopes of Purdown to the borders of Westbury-on-Trym in width. Quite a few country villas had been recently built on or near the relatively new turnpike road to Gloucester, as well as on the slip road running down to the City from it's junction with the Gloucester Road at the ancient Royal Oak Inn via the ridge of Ashley Down, where a number of small cottages in groups or terraces were also built.
With the increase in the population, there was no room for them all in the Parish church; many would-be worshippers were obliged to travel distances in order to attend other churches. Depending upon whereabouts in Horfield one lived, the nearest Anglican churches would have been Westbury, Filton, Stapleton, St.Paul's, St.James, or St. Michael-on-the-Mount-Without. There was also the chapel of the Orphanage at Hooks Mills at the bottom of Ashley Hill which was opened in 1827.
Very little is known about the then existing mediaeval building, which is shown in an old sketch as being a simple nave with chancel with Early English double lancet East window, and a South entrance porch. The tower is a later addition, probably mid 15th. Century.
It is certain that the foundation is very ancient, as the Church lies in what was until fairly rencently a circular enclosure containing springs (the remains of an old pump still existing against the wall of the old school, the boiler room of which persistently floods from a spring seeping through, which rapidly refills as soon as pumped dry). The Churchyard is bounded on the East side by a very ancient trackway the route of which can still be followed on foot from the old City up to the Common, later diverging towards the crossing at Aust, and carrying on as the old Ridgeway later taken over by the Romans as the route from Gloucester to their Port at Abona (Sea Mills).
Local tradition referring to the mission of Augustine to convert the English, and especially his journey to meet with the Welsh Bishops, tells that this was following his visit to St.Jordan on the site of College Green, thereby maintaining that he must have taken this ancient trackway to the crossing of the River Severn at or near Aust. Following the instructions of Pope Gregory, he was not to abolish existing pagan places of worship, but rather to consecrate them to Christian use, erecting a cross or simple edifice. As the site of Horfield Church falls into this category - a circular enclosure, springs and a nearby track, and also that Augustine would have had time on his hands between the two meeting, it could well be that the foundation dates from this time - i.e. about the year 603 A.D. There is, alas, no documentary evidence of this, unlike the neighbouring Church at Westbury, which from documents dated 804 A.D. claims a foundation date of 717 A.D.
Be this as it may, the then existing Church appears to have dated from the period between 1175 and 1275 A.D. although there was undoubtedly an earlier building which this replaced. When the mediaeval Church at Filton was demolished and rebuilt in 1845, it is recorded that some Saxon herring-bone work was discovered, and it is frustrating that the missing documents may well have recorded the same at Horfield.
The Reverend Henry Richards seems to have set up a Subscription for the enlargement of his Church, supported by his Churchwardens and some of the local inhabitants; when this reached the sum of about £500, Contracts were entered into with Masons, Carpenters and Plasterers for the work. Apparently an Architect was engaged, but regretfully all trace of his name, together with any plans, builders' specifications and accounts have disappeared.
Work started in 1831, but when the old roof was removed, it was found that the whole of the fabric except the Tower and part of the roof was in such a dilapidated and ruinous state that the unknown Architect advised that it would be necessary to demolish the main walls, Chancel and Roof.
It was therefore determined that this would be done, and a new Nave and Chancel built, but with the addition of two 'Wings' or Transepts at the East end of the nave, with a new Chancel extending from the crossing. The total length of the nave and chancel was 61ft. 5 ins., which was the dimension of the old building, and similarly 16ft. 3 ins. wide. The transepts projected 12ft. from the main building, and were 16ft. wide. The ground floor of the North transept was partitioned off to form a Vestry room, with four pews in front.
Galleries, each with a flight of stairs, were erected in the North and South transepts, the latter with eight pews on ground level; each of these galleries contained nine pews. A third gallery was erected at the West end over the whole width of the nave and extending into the Tower, the ground floor of which formed the entrance vestibule. Presumably the ringers stood at the rear of this gallery under the bell chamber in order to perform their function.
The reading desk and pulpit (a two-decker?) was in the centre of the Church between the two transepts, and the new walls were of stone, 2ft. 6 ins. thick.
Finally, the previous South porch and door were removed, and a new door made in the Tower leading into the vestibule.
During the rebuilding of Filton Church previously mentioned, the stone from the old Church was re-used. Could this have been done at Horfield? Five years later, when the Sees of Bristol and Gloucester were united by an Order in Council dated the 5th. October 1836, it was apparently discovered that no Faculty for the re-building had been applied for, so a Petition addressed to The Lord Bishop (James Henry Monk) was hurriedly drawn up, and presented to His Lordship on the 14th. December, 1836. Presumably the plea of ignorance was accepted, and the Faculty granted in retrospect.
As the alterations and additions were said to have nearly trebled the number of 'sittings' it can be hoped that the expenditure of about £580 raised by voluntary subscription was considered to be justified by those previously unable to find room at the services.
The Petition was signed by:-
John Shadwell, Lay Rector
Henry Richards, Minister
John Bailey, Churchwarden
J. Marmont, Churchwarden
together with:-
F.K. Barnes, John Hember, Luke Williams, and Peregrine Rosling described as 'Inhabitants'.
