The Third Church

The project of the new church was first brought forward in November 1875. This was before the days of Parochial Church Councils and so in 1876 the parishioners, as represented by the Vestry, were unanimously of opinion that such a course of action was definitely desirable. There was no difference of opinion as to the need of a new church although there was a divergence of opinion as to the sort of church which should be erected. The old church was not an architectural gem. Its acoustic properties left much to be desired, the seating accommodation was inadequate, and the position of the pulpit was inconvenient.

The Vicar, the Rev. Benjamin Gibbons, took the initiative and asked Sir George Scott to design a Gothic Parish Church which would be a worthy building. The architect produced two sets of plans, one of which would cost about £29,000 and another which might be erected at a cost of approximately £11,000.

The more expensive plan was adopted, and work began. In 1887 the porch was built, and soon the south wall was erected. By 1908 the nave was roofed, but neither the east end nor the west end was closed in, there were no doors and the interior of the building was exposed to the weather. The sum of £18,000 or thereabouts had been spent on the foundation and the nave, the bulk of which had come from the private purse of the Rev. B. Gibbons.

The Bishop of Worcester, Dr. Yeatman Biggs, insisted that vigorous steps should be taken to equip and complete the nave for use as a parish church.

The church was never completed. The picture above shows the completed nave which was bricked up at both ends, consecrated and came into use in October 1910. In spite of his advanced age, the Rev. Benjamin Gibbons was able to be present.

The picture on the right is of a model of the church as proposed and shows the final proportions of the Church as originally designed. The Tower and the Chancel were never built.

The old church of 1792 stood unused until after the first World War, when, having suffered vandalism, it was pulled down.

By the 1970s the church was proving itself unsatisfactory. It was still unfinished. It was extremely expensive to keep warm, the heating system was old, its huge capacity was used on only two or three occasions in the year; moreover, the soft sandstone of which it was built was eroding badly, especially the high parapets below the steeply sloping roof which were, as a result, becoming unsafe.

On January 2nd, 1976 a storm ripped off part of the roof at the west end, thus precipitating a decision that would have had to be made sooner or later. When the Ecclesiastical Insurance Office settled for £13,247 it became apparent that to repair the church would only be to perpetuate its inherent problems. Instead, after extensive discussions, the insurance money was used to start a fund to rebuild.

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