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History of Holy Trinity Church
Street
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Introduction
The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity stands slightly remote from the busy
commercial and industrial life of Street, which is perhaps why it preserves
within the walls of its churchyard its ageless sense of quiet solitude and
peace. It is situated within the Vale of Avalon, whose history stretches
back in time until it merges with legends of King Arthur and Joseph of
Arimathea.
Street in Roman times
According to legend, the first Christian Church in England was built by
missionaries in or about 62 A.D., less than two miles from the site of
the present Parish Church. It was a small wattle church situated in what
later became the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. It is thought that a very
early Celtic Church dedicated to Saint Thecla, a Saint held in high
esteem in the Celtic Church, may have been built in Street soon afterwards,
but not necessarily on the site of the present Parish Church. At this
time an inlet of the sea separated what is now Street from Glastonbury,
but they were later linked when the Romans built a causeway from Wearyall Hill to the Mead parallel with, and slightly east of, the present road, and which reached solid ground at this point.
It was part of a road used by the Romans to transport lead from the Mendips
to the Southern ports. In those days this site would have been almost an
island and a tiny Celtic hamlet grew up here and became known as Lantokay,
which means 'the sacred enclosure of the dear Kay'. It is likely that a Romano-British dwelling or group of dwellings stood here or nearby, since many Roman remains have been found in the Churchyard, including fragments of an old wall, parts of two wells, pieces of pottery and a pre-Roman gold coin of the Dobunni tribe.
Gold stater of the
Dobunni like the one found in the churchyard. Click to enlarge.
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The coin was a gold stater of the Dobunni tribe, whose
capital was in Cirencester. Street lies near the borders of Dobunni
territory. The coin bore the name 'Corio'. Corio was King of the southern
Dobunni in Gloucester towards the end of the first century BC. Although
his coins are found throughout the Dobunnic territories, they are clustered
mainly in the south, while the northern lands appeared to have been
under the control of another Dobunnic overlord, Bodvoc, who issued his
own coins. It is possible that the splitting of the Dobunnic territories
occurred during his reign. Corio was succeeded at around the turn of the
millennium by Comux[...]. |
After the Romans left Britain in 410 A.D. the hamlet came to be known as
Lega.
St. Gildas
After Saint Thecla's, the next Church connected with Street to which
reference is made in early writings is that of
Saint Gildas
, and it is to him that this Church owes its dedication. St. Gildas was an
erudite man who wrote a book entitled
"Concerning the Ruin of Britain" (read it here) which dwelt on
shortcomings of both church and state - which has been dubbed by
historians as the 'Complaining Book'. He built many Churches, and was
reported to have performed many miracles of healing.
St. Gildas appears to have enjoyed travel at a time when this must have been far from easy, and he used to spend most of Lent in prayer and meditation in the solitude of either Flat Holme or Steep Holme in the Bristol Channel. In the writings of John of Glastonbury he was driven by pirates from Steep Holme to Glastonbury where he was welcomed by the Abbot. "The most religious Gildas again desired to lead the life of a hermit, and departing, by the river's bank near Glastonbury he built a Church to the Holy and Undivided Trinity and called it the 'Chapel of Happy Retreat'. Here he died and with great mourning and great honour was buried in the middle floor of the 'old Church' (of Glastonbury Abbey) in 512 A.D. Moreover, on that spot where he lived a hermit's life, is now a Parish Church dedicated to the name of this Saint."
The Middle Ages and a royal visit to Street
Street Church, together with six other neighbouring Churches, was given
into the care of Glastonbury Abbey, probably in the eighth century.
The Domesday Book does not refer to the name Street, but it does record
that Glastonbury held Lega with 300 acres of land. The Hundred to which
Street belonged at that time, was known as Ringoldsway and included
Ashcott, Walton, Greinton, Butleigh and "Lega". Lega, meaning a forest clearing, was the name then in use for Street and this name survives today in 'Leigh Road', and 'Overleigh'
In 1278, King Edward I and his queen, Eleanor, came to Glastonbury for
Easter.
The King had intended to hold his court at Glastonbury,
but was refused permission to do so by the Abbot as it would have infringed the privileges of the Abbey and the Assize was therefore held in Street.
Entries in the Somerset Pleas of the Rolls of Itinerant Justices speak of
permission being given to defer a lawsuit 'taken before the King in the
Chapel of Saint Gildas near Glastonbury on Monday the morrow of Easter
in the sixth year of King Edward'.
The story of the building
The chancel
The earliest part of the present Church is the Chancel, built about 1270,
and the first recorded Rector was John de Hancle in 1304. In 1325, Street
combined with Walton and the two parishes were united for 581 years and
separated in 1866 when a new Church, also dedicated to The Holy Trinity,
was consecrated in Walton. In fact, as previously mentioned, the original
dedication of this Church was to Saint Gildas and the parish records refer
frequently to 'the Churchyard of Saint Gildas' when quoting wills made as
long ago as 1543, although elsewhere the name had become Gylds, Geld or
Gelys. (Likewise Street is variously spelt Strete, Streatt, Stret, Streate
and Streat.) The date of re-dedication to The Holy Trinity is not known,
but was probably after the Reformation. The influence of Glastonbury Abbey
over this Parish remained until the Abbey's dissolution but evidently the
Rector of Street and the Abbot did not always see eye to eye. At the back
of the nave is a photocopy and an abstract of an agreement reached between
them in 1454 as to tithe rights, clearly reached only after some dispute.
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The mediaeval chancel roof
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The priest's seats or sedilia
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The holy water basin or piscina
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The Chancel is thirteenth and fourteenth century with original window
tracery and a roof of a type rare in Somerset Churches. The sculptured
sedilia are a notable feature; these stone seats for the priests are
enriched with decorated arches and pinnacles with 21 tiny heads among the
leaves. There is also a decorated pinnacled piscina (washing place) with
a canopy. At one time there was a doorway in the north Chancel wall, the
position of which is clearly visible from the exterior. The Chancel arch
is also of note and now no longer partly obscured by an organ. A metal
inscription plate records the gift of a painted glass window, no longer
in existence, by a member of the Homer family of Mells, near Frome, who
were closely associated with Glastonbury Abbey.
On the floor on the north side near the altar rail is a brass to the memory
of Margaret, the wife of Thomas Dyer, who died in 1583.
The altar is modern and made of panelled oak.
The communion plate comprises a chalice and cover (1724) presented to
the Church in 1726 and a handsome silver flagon dated 1841. Records tell
us that in 1890 the choir was 'robed' and occupied the choir stalls,
where previously had sat the 'village farmers'. In 1843 a stained glass
East window was presented by the Duchess of Buccleuch, but this was later
replaced by a plain window. In 1951 a modem stained glass window, designed
and executed by Mrs. R. de Montmorency was given in memory of several
notable parishioners by their children and by friends. The subjects of
this window are The Madonna and Child, The Ascended Christ, the boys
Samuel and St. John the Baptist and two local Saints - Gildas and Dunstan.
The nave
The south wall and roof of the nave, the south porchand the tower belong
to the early part of the fifteenth century, a time when Somerset was
prospering as England's leading producer of woollen cloth. In 1730 a
gallery was built at the west end of the nave, but removed in 1886.
In 1826, at a time when perhaps church attendance was a social custom,
the incongruous north aisle was added and other restoration work done.
The vestry was added in 1843.
The organs
The first organ was installed at the west end of the nave in 1831 and was moved when the gallery was removed in 1886. A later organ was a gift from Miss Hickley in 1905 in memory of her father, who was Rector from 1850 to 1886. (The same benefactor left a sum of money by her will for the establishment of a new church in Street and this legacy helped to build
the new Mission Church in 1990.)
In the late 20th century the pipe organ, inconveniently sited by the chancel arch, was failing; it was replaced by an Eminent electronic organ. Specification, pictures, and videos of the organ in action are here.
Windows
The window in the north aisle was also designed and executed by Mrs. R. de
Montmorency and given by Preb. J.A.L1. Armstrong (Rector from 1950 to 1956)
and his wife in memory of their respective fathers. Glastonbury Abbey is
the subject of this window, represented by the figures of St. Joseph of
Arimathea and Abbot Whiting - the last Abbot of Glastonbury at its
dissolution in 1539 and cruelly put to death on nearby Glastonbury Tor.
The stained glass window in the south wall was added at the same time.
Traces of a former stained glass window can be seen in the other window in
the south wall.
Furnishings
The carved oak pulpit was given in 1927 in memory of Mrs. F.J. Clark by
her children and at the same time the oak lectern was given in her memory
by the parishioners. When the interior of the Church was restored and
re-decorated in 1947, several pews were removed so that the font could
be placed in its present position. Like many fonts in nearby Churches,
it is made of coarse-grained limestone, probably from Doulting Quarry,
and, although it is not classified as a good one, it is of the 'decorated'
period of architecture and would have been installed when the Chancel was
built, so that it is about 650 years old. Fonts are usually carefully
preserved as they used to demonstrate the right to administer baptism and
therefore full parochial status. Marks of pre-Reformation cover fastenings
are visible on the rim of the font. The inner basin is 12" deep, so that
total immersion was presumably still the general practice when the font
was made. The text on the lead-lining on the rim is probably Victorian.
It is interesting to note that the font is cracked horizontally around the
bowl below the top moulding, perhaps due to freezing of the water, which
was kept in the bowl for long periods prior to the Reformation.
Bells
The belfry houses a peal of eight bells, the tenor being 51" in diameter
and weighing 23 ½
cwt. In 1777 the first four bells were installed, being the present 3rd,
4th, 6th and 7th bells. The 3rd bell bears the inscription 'My treble voice
makes hearts rejoice.' The 5th and tenor bells were added in 1805, the 5th
being recast in 1891 when the inscription 'God be our Guide' was added.
The treble and 2nd bells were installed in 1903 and the 2nd bell bears
the reminder 'Keep Holy the Sabbath day, worship God'. There is sufficient
room for the installation of two further bells. The bells were formerly
rung from the ground floor and the present ringing chamber was added in
1958, two years after the bells had been rehung. A remarkable set of 37
handbells was kept in the ringing chamber and is now housed at the
Mission Church.
Clock
The clock was originally installed in 1865 and the face restored and
electrical mechanism added in 1953 by a bequest of the late Mrs. M.
Voake.
Registers
The earliest Parish Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials dates
from 1599, one year after Queen Elizabeth I had commanded that every
parish should provide itself with a parchment register, and records are
fairly complete since that date. The earliest records are written on vellum
and contain references to wills made as early as 1543. The Churchwardens'
accounts date from 1684 when the wardens were John and Daniel Rood and are
prefaced by the sober warning:-
'Whosoever this office take,
Many heads at him will shake.'
These records made interesting reading and contain such curious entries
as:-
1700 Paid for a nomination warrant for ye Highwayman - £2.6.0d,
and
1790 To the ringers for rejoicing for his Majesty - 5.6d
To gunpowder used on ye same Occasion - 1.6d.
Rectors
There have been 46 Rectors since 1304 and
a list of incumbents can be seen on the wall of the south nave near
the door. From 1325 until 1554 the Patrons of the Living were the Abbot
and Convent of Glastonbury and since then it has changed hands many times
and is now vested in the Diocesan Board of Patronage. Notable among the
Rectors and Curates have been The Hon. John Thynne, who was Rector from
1823 to 1850 and a sub-Dean of Westminster, also a Curate-in- Charge
Nathanial James Merriman, who later became Bishop of Grahamstown in South
Africa in 1840. Merriman Gardens are named after him. Perhaps the most
interesting figure is
Walter Raleigh, M.A., a nephew of the great Sir Walter, who became
Rector in 1635 and Dean of Wells in 1641. He was also Chaplain in Ordinary
to King Charles I. He was an ardent Royalist and during the Civil War was
taken prisoner at Bridgwater and later brutally murdered at Wells in
1646 by his Parliamentarian gaoler.
Looking back and looking forward
It comes perhaps as a surprise to realise that this Church has a history
at least as long as its renowned neighbour - Glastonbury Abbey - and
that the present building is in parts considerably older than parts of
the Abbey.
As has been shown, the building has undergone many changes over the
centuries reflecting different times and needs.
Major works have now been undertaken to improve the heating and
lighting in the Church, to provide a more adaptable seating arrangement
and a 'Lady Chapel' for quiet prayer and contemplation.
Because the Church stands within a Celtic enclosure, the new layout has
been based on a Celtic Cross. The work could not have been considered but
for a legacy from Mrs. Joyce Bailey, who, with other members of her family,
was a long serving member of the Choir.
Will you help?
The proceeds of this short history in its printed form go to the Parish
Church fund, which exists purely for the preservation, repair, maintenance
and improvement of this Church. Any contribution made either to the Rector
or Hon. Treasurer, whose names and addresses follow, enabling this work to
be continued, will be very much appreciated and gratefully acknowledged.
Rev. F.J. Greed
Rector,
The Rectory, Vesfry Close,
Street, Somerset. BA16 OHZ.
Mrs Mary Coniford,
Hon. Treasurer,
Somerton Road
Street, Somerset. BA16
September 2000.
This history is almost entirely based on that prepared in 1977 by
Mr. Roger Burdock, then Churchwarden of Holy Trinity. We are most grateful
to him for his kind permission to use his work.
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Friday 25th of July 2008
