History of Holy Trinity Church.

hOW IT ALL bEGAN

Industrialisation progressed rapidly through the 19C, accompanied by a demographic shift from rural to urban dwelling. The population of Clifton more than doubled from 4,500 in 1801 to 10,772 in 1826. The parish church of St Andrew’s, with Dowry Chapel, built to accommodate visitors to the Hot Wells, had seating for only 2,317.

 A committee addressing the problem in a report published in 1827 noted: “This leaves 8,455 inhabitants destitute of the means of attending public worship of the established church.” The committee further commented that: “It is impossible to calculate what degree of vice and disorder may emanate from a large population living in total neglect of their religious duties.”

 The proposed remedy was to erect a chapel designed to accommodate up to 1,800 people, with half the sittings being free, as opposed to the 1/5 prescribed by law at the time, when the practice was to rent or sell pews to fund the salary of the incumbent.

 Fundraising was begun, headed up by a Mr Thomas Whippie, who gave the land and £4000, the balance of £4000 was given by personal friends of the first incumbent, the Rev John Hensman. The architect was Professor Charles Cockerell, the leading authority on Classical and Renaissance architecture at the time.

On the 18th May 1829 the foundation stone was laid and on Wednesday 10th November 1830 the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop Copleton, at the request of the Bishop of Bristol, Bishop Gray in the presence of 2000 people and dedicated to the

HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY

Originally the church space stretched back to the West door on Clifton Vale, now the entrance hall. 4 pillars supported the roof and galleries, which ran round 3 sides of the church, and were tiered.

The West end gallery stretched as far back as the 2nd set of pillars. The choir was accommodated in the gallery pews on the South side, and the organ was originally sited at the East end of the church, over the clergy vestry, and behind the Holy Table. The pulpit rose 8’ or 9’ in a central position, the preaching being the main focus of the service at the time.

ADAPTATIONS TO THE BUILDING & CHANGES within the Parish

From 1830 onwards the original parish of Clifton was divided into 8 ecclesiastical districts to further cater for the expanding population. In addition to the parish church of St Andrew’s, and Holy Trinity, there was in 1841 St John the Evangelist, 1844 Christ Church Clifton (which became the parish church in 1940 after St Andrew’s was bombed), in 1845 St Paul’s, 1868 All Saints Clifton, 1873 St Andrew-the-Less in Chapel Row, close to Dowry Square, and then St Peter in Cliftonwood (demolished in 1938 and united with Holy Trinity and St Andrew-the-Less).

 Over time many changes were made to the church: 2 small doorways were formed in the West end wall to give direct access onto the galleries and relieve congestion in the main doorway. These are still visible, but were fixed in 1979 when the present church hall was created.

 In 1881 the Great West Gallery was cut back, at a time when around 600 congregants might attend morning service, with 550 at evening prayer.

 In 1887 two more faces were added to the clock face put in place in 1871, and 3 more bells added

to commemorate Victoria’s Jubilee. The bells were named Love, Joy, Peace and Hope.

In 1920-23 a Sanctuary was provided and the pulpit moved to one side, reflecting a shift in emphasis away from the preaching, to a focus on the Holy Table, indirectly a product of the thinking within the Tractarian movement.

THE BLITZ AND RE-BUILDING

On the night of 3rd/4th January 1941 incendiary bombs fell on Holy Trinity Church destroying the interior but leaving the walls intact. The lectern, brass cross and vases were also salvaged.

 Initially worship took place in the church rooms located on the corner of Merchant Road (now demolished and replaced by dwellings) until the church of St Andrew-the-Less which had closed in 1940, could be made ready for use again.

 Post war, it was agreed by the authorities that Holy Trinity Church should be rebuilt. The total cost of rebuilding was almost £60,000, most of which was met by the War Damage Commission, the rest from public fund raising. A Mr T H Burroughs, who believed Holy Trinity to be the most important of the bombed churches in Bristol to be restored, was appointed architect.

 The original walls were retained as a memorial to Professor Cockerell; the East end stained glass windows were replaced by two engraved windows, installed in the Lady Chapel and Baptistery, and dedicated as war memorials.

The engraver was a Mr John Hutton, who undertook work in several churches, including Coventry Cathedral.

One of the four bells had disappeared, and the remaining 3 were recast into one, with lettering proclaiming ‘I have arisen’ and weighing 8cwt ‘with a deep pleasant tone of C major’. Only one gallery was installed, at the West end of the church, where the organ console was placed, and where it remains. The dome was replaced with an elliptical design (the elliptical dome is very rare and in large part accounts for the Church’s Grade 2* listing), and the East end faced with cork tiles.

 The decorative features were designed to reflect the nautical links with the harbour side. Mouldings from ships’ roping were taken and formed from plaster as a surround for the edge of the dome, the outline of the East end wall, and the cross. In line with the nautical theme, the pulpit was designed to evoke a crow’s nest, and the cover of the font depicts a compass.

 In 1965, the glass window above the South door was put in place to cover a draughty aperture. The dove above that door on the external wall represents the Holy Spirit. Major changes were made in 1978/79 when the old church rooms in Merchant Road were sold, and the funds used to construct a new hall, with additional rooms and toilets, from within the body of the church (see plaque above the kitchen hatch).

 Since then, a bequest from a long-standing church member, Mr Bert Sayer, facilitated the addition of the glassed-in church office and the meeting room on the balcony.

 The original pillars, erected with the post war rebuilding, can still be seen embedded in the church walls of the hall. Inscriptions on the ceiling above each of the pillars give, at the back of the church, the symbols for alpha and omega, and at the front, on one side IHS, the first 3 letters of the Greek spelling for Jesus, and on the other side X R, the first letters of the Greek spelling for Christ (X being the equivalent for ‘Ch’ in English).

 Further changes were made in the 1990’s when the altar rail and choir stalls were removed, and the Sanctuary platform extended to provide greater flexibility for musicians. The pews were also rearranged to give a greater sense of informality. The church space was rendered ‘out of bounds’ in 2005 when scaffolding had to be erected to facilitate the removal of asbestos from the dome followed by its reinstatement.

And Finally

Holy Trinity Church was built in response to social and demographic change. At one time populated by an affluent middle class, Hotwells developed into a strong working class community, with the dockside providing opportunities for employment.

 In 1918 the church could no longer be supported through pew rents, and these were abolished; the stipend was then funded by the national church body, and private funding.

 Over the years, the docks have declined, and buildings demolished or transformed into residential accommodation. The use of the church hall is adapting to these changes and now embraces not only worship, but provision for wider community activity such as our Trinity Lunch Club and being a venue for the annual West Bristol Arts Trail.