History of our church - The rebuilding in 1831
When Rev'd Henry Richards was appointed to the benefice of Horfield in 1828 the population of the Parish numbered no more than 200, nevertheless he set up a subscription fund for the enlargement of his church supported by his Church Wardens and local inhabitants.
By 1831 some £500 had been raised and the Parish population increased to 328. An architect was appointed and work commenced in 1831, however when the old roof was removed the whole structure except for the tower was in such a dilapidated condition that it was necessary to completely demolish everything except the west tower. It was decided to rebuild the church on its old foundations but with the addition of small North and South Transepts, each with a gallery over. A further gallery was to be erected at the west end over the nave and the chancel extended from the crossing whilst the north Transept was to be partitioned to form a vestry.
It is not known how long the rebuilding took to complete but there is a record that the work cost £580, all of which was raised by voluntary contributions and that the number of "pew seats" were increased to a total of 130, all of which were to be "free" seats.
1831 - 1846
Whilst the rebuilding of 1831 restored the church to its original mediaeval foundations, the accommodation remained limited for a growing congregation, and in 1836 Rev'd Henry Richards engaged Mr. John Hicks, a Bristol architect, to prepare drawings for an enlargement. A drawing dated 1st November 1836 shows a proposal to add North and South Transepts each with a gallery and another in the West end to give a seating capacity of 130 - all seats were to be "free". It is to be noted that the word "proposed" had been deleted on the drawing nevertheless there is no evidence that these alterations were ever carried out and photographs of the period indicate that no work took place until the enlargements of 1846-47 which followed proposals made by Mr. William Butterworth, the eminent Victorian church architect.
The original drawings of which photographs have been taken were discovered in the archives of the Incorporated Church Building Society held in the Lambeth Palace Library from which it is assumed that the Society was responsible for financing much of the alterations made to the Parish Church in the Victorian era.
(Left) Copy of an original drawing by Mr John Hicks, the Bristol architect, and dated 13th April 1830, was discovered in the records held in the Library at Lambeth Palace, and shows the proposal to erect galleries in the North and South Transepts; click on the image(s) to see a larger version open in a new window.
It would appear to have been signed and sealed by Rev'd Henry Richards, and although it is numbered "2" no trace has been found of any sequential drawings.
At the same time a third gallery was erected across the full width of the Nave at the west end against the wall of the tower but all these galleries were later removed Rev'd Fanshawe Bingham during the alterations carried out in 1846.
Mea Culpa – 1831-1836
This drawing of the ground plan of Horfield Church found in the archives held in the Library at Lambeth Palace in London had been produced by Mr John Hicks a Bristol architect and is dated 1st November 1836. This drawing was obviously produced at some speed since it was discovered by the Diocese that all the work, completed some five years earlier in 1831, had been carried out without the authority of a Bishop's faculty!
The drawing is endorsed by Rev'd Henry Richards and his two Church Wardens, (note that the word "proposed" has been deleted by Rev'd Henry Richards), and accompanied the petition which was presented to Bishop James Monk the then Lord Bishop of the combined Diocese of Bristol and Gloucester on the 14th December 1836.
Presumably, the pleas of omission or ignorance were accepted by His Lordship and the faculty was granted in retrospect.
