Incumbents.—H. Berkin, 1817; H. G. Nicholls, 1847.
Curates.—J. Morse, 1820; J. Bridgeman, 1821; J. Herbert, 1822; W. Marshall, 1822; W. Burkitt, 1824; J. Chell, 1827; R. T. Budd, 1840; W. C. Badger, 1844; J. G. Croker, 1846; G. Tatam, 1848; H. Algar, 1851; W. Nickisson; W. Duckett; J. Ashton; H. W. Thornton; W. A. Whitestone. Most of these gentlemen served at Lydbrook, although occasionally at Holy Trinity Church; they likewise attended the Chapel Schoolroom on Little Dean Hill.
The annual number of christenings at Holy Trinity Church is 80; of weddings, 15; and of funerals, 40. The morning congregation on Sunday comprises about 100; that in the afternoon, 350; and the two evening school-room services, 120. About 250 scholars attend school weekdays and Sundays.
Having thus related the progressive efforts made for the welfare of the people occupying the north-east portion of the Forest, it is necessary that we return to the date of 1813, being the year in which the Rev. Mr. Procter opened his chapel school-room on the west. He tells us that “in the course of this year the Bishop of Gloucester was pleased to call my attention to the clause introduced by Mr. Perceval into the Act of 52 George III., cap. 161. I went up to town, and had the honour of an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable N. Vansittart, who was pleased to advise with the Earl of Liverpool on the subject, which resulted in a grant of five acres of land, a donation of £100 to the building fund, and an endowment of £20 per annum to the school.” He proceeds to remark that “the crowded state of the chapel became a matter of astonishment to the Foresters themselves, and painfully inconvenient to the
congregation, as well as dangerous to the health of the officiating minister, from the intense heat, besides excluding the children, all showing the necessity of an enlargement; so that, after a probationary period of three years, another appeal for aid came before the public, whereby the building was increased to twice the size, provided with a children’s gallery, and, excepting two pews, kept perfectly free and open to all. It now became my duty,” observes Mr. Procter, “to secure to the Foresters in perpetuity these extraordinary blessings which Divine Providence was progressively granting to them. This could only be done by consecration, and to authorize such an act, an endowment being considered necessary, another public appeal was made in June, 1813, for assistance to place amongst these poor people a clergyman who would not only publicly preach, but reside, privately visit their cottages, disseminate the Scriptures, and assist the master of the National School in impressing upon the minds of the children the principles of the Christian religion,” as, “without a resident clergyman, an experience of fourteen years convinced him that all efforts would prove abortive. It had likewise become necessary to discontinue using the chapel as a school-room, since the doing so had been found to lessen the reverence due to the sanctuary in the minds both of the parents and children. A new schoolroom was therefore immediately built of the best stone, with two fireplaces, and a partition in the middle; over the door is the following inscription,—‘The Forest Day School, for Boys and Girls, on the National plan, established 1812, supported by voluntary subscriptions.’” The cost of erection was almost £300, and the expenses of conducting the school averaged about £70 per annum, for two-thirds of which Mr. Procter was himself answerable, and only dependent on annual donations.
With the view of forming such an endowment for the church as would make it eligible for consecration, a freehold estate near at hand was purchased in the month of November, 1816, although the price of it
exceeded the sum subscribed by £200, but which amount it was expected the Parliamentary Commissioners would repay. Thomas Morgan’s house, garden, buildings, and lands adjoining the chapel were also purchased for nearly £400, the former being partly preserved in the back part of the present parsonage-house. Thus the property appropriated to the new church consisted at this time of the five acres of Crown land, the purchased freehold, and Thomas Morgan’s property, on which, as an ecclesiastical endowment, the consecration of the church, under the name of Christ Church, took place, on Wednesday, 7th July, 1816, by Bishop Ryder, and was duly conveyed to the following gentlemen as trustees, viz., the Right Honourable N. Vansittart, Lord Calthorpe, James Jenkins, George Baring, T. T. Biddulph, Esqrs.; Reverends J. Hensman and E. Mansfield.
The body of the building forms a parallelogram 50 feet by 42 feet; the tower, upwards of 60 feet high, was built some years afterwards, at a cost of £1,000. Unfortunately, serious inconvenience ensued to Mr. Procter by his having caused the whole of the above-named endowment property to be conveyed to the church previous to its consecration, since, on presenting the memorial to the Board for the payment of the accustomed Parliamentary grant, the case was pronounced “irregular,” rendering Mr. Procter liable to a debt of £950, although £500 of the amount was eventually paid by Pyncombe’s Charity and Queen
Anne’s Board. The sum of £2,000 was granted, however, by the Parliamentary Board to be laid out in the purchase of land, yielding in the mean time an interest of £4 per cent., and raising the total income of the living to £118 10s. 6d., or thereabouts. Mr. Procter died on the 8th May, 1822, aged 52, worn out by excessive devotion to his pastoral duties, and was succeeded by the Rev. T. R. Garnsey, who, after a life of similar usefulness, expired in March, 1847. His funeral sermon was preached on Sunday, the 14th of March, by the Rev. H. Poole, from Hebrews xii. 2. The church was densely crowded, many could not obtain an entrance, and all appeared deeply to feel the loss they had sustained.
In the mean time, under the Act of 1842, an addition of £31 9s. 6d. was made to the salary of the incumbent, by the purchase of an equivalent amount of 3 per cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, raising its annual income to £150, the nomination to the incumbency being transferred to the Queen and her successors. The Rev. J. Banks succeeded to the living in 1847, who, previous to his relinquishing it in 1852, effected several improvements in the interior of the church. The Rev. W. H. Taylor followed him, and still remains the minister. The adjoining school premises have been made much more complete and capacious by him, so as amply to accommodate 150 children, and a teacher’s house has been erected. A permanent redemption of the land-tax charged on the living, at the cost of £150, has also been presented by Thomas Graham, Esq. There are three tablets on the north side or oldest part of the church, to the memories of Edward Hawkins, the first teacher in the school, the Rev. P. M. Procter, and the Rev. T. R. Garnsey, and a flat paved stone records the grave of Thomas Morgan. About ten marriages, forty-three baptisms, and thirty-five funerals take place yearly. The church is well attended on Sunday, especially in the afternoon, when 300 or 400 persons are usually present.