Holy Trinity Street and Walton

St Boniface College in Warminster in 1908, and gained a First Class in the Preliminary Theological Examination in 1911. About this college the Wiltshire Community History website writes:

Founded by the very energetic vicar of Warminster, the Rev. James Erasmus Philipps, whose family were interested in missionary work. The original intention was to train boys and young men, who had little previous education but were capable of becoming good workers. Later on the aim was to train them for entry into missionary colleges, both at home and abroad. The Mission House was formally opened on October 5th 1860 with 10-12 students in a house near the church.

This suggests that Henry had not had good schooling, but he must have had ability. He may also have had thoughts of going abroad as a missionary, which for a short time he did.

He gained a Licentiate in Theology from Durham University, and was ordained Deacon, and began his curacy in Street, all in that same year, 1911. A reference work states:

The Licentiate in Theology or the Licence in Theology (LTh is the usual abbreviation) is a theological qualification commonly awarded for ordinands and laymen studying theology in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The academic rank varies from undergraduate degree to masters degree.

He was Curate of Street from 1911 to 1914, when he went out to South Africa as Rector of Butterworth with Xlilinxa. He stayed there only two years.

Returning to England during the Great War, he became Curate of St Mary Taunton in 1916 and Forces Chaplain in 1918.

With the end of the Great War he was able to return to parish life, and in 1919 he went as Vicar of St Anne, Brislington, on the edge of Bristol. This parish was then in the Bath and Wells Diocese, before Bristol Diocese took it on.

Unusually, he returned to the parish where he had served as Curate, and became Rector of Street in 1924. He was here until 1931.

A website gives something of the local connections of the name Urch:

We managed to trace the family back sixteen generations, back to Edvardi Urch born in 1541 in Wedmore, Somerset, England. Edvardi Urch is my 13th great grandfather. It would appear that our family name has been in or around Wedmore, in the old Kingdom of Wessex since the middle ages.