‘Respectful rustics’
The church was consecrated by the Bishop on Wednesday 30 April 1851, and a report on the service appeared in the Gloucester Journal on the following Saturday. It described St Philip and St James as ‘the little new church erected in this pretty village … The sacred building, which lies a short distance off from the left of the road, was crowded by an attentive congregation, including the principal residents of the neighbourhood and numerous rustics, who, however, demeaned themselves in the most respectful manner.’
Hucclecote hazardous to health? Cesspools and Coke stoves
Not only was the bishop on consecration day suffering from ‘chest complaints’ that required the ‘the stimulus of cordial medicine,’ but also, the first two ministers of the church resigned due to health issues. The second, Revd James Pruen (Hucclecote 1957-1959) developed TB. As his friend later reported, ‘ill health, promoted if not induced by deficient drainage, for I believe a cesspool then ran under the foundation of the parsonage house, compelled Mr Pruen to leave after a short time, and he went to reside at Weston-Super-Mare…’
A rather alarming report in the Gloucester Citizen in January 1895 described how the members of the congregation were nearly asphyxiated during a service due to faulty ventilators in the coke stoves used to heat the church and ‘… ‘the service was abruptly brought to a conclusion …’
Calming the cows
On a happier note, one musically gifted vicar’s daughter, Helena Heather, crops up several times in the early years of the church in the local press. In October 1881 she is reported as ‘presiding on the pianoforte’ during a parish concert in the schoolroom. And in April 1890 she sang solo and played a piano solo in a grandly titled Hucclecote Philharmonic Society concert also held in the school room. In May 1891 she reported that on a trip to Colorado with her brother she had been looking for ‘sketchable bits’ when she was surrounded by menacing looking cows who she apparently calmed by singing them the Soldiers Chorus from Gounod’s opera Faust!
If you have found these snippets amusing do take a look at the page on our website titled The History of the Church for more historical (usually serious!) insights. You can also take the Tour with the file attachment below.