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1
St. Dominic’s Dursley
by Richard Barton (copyright)
St Dominic’s Church, Dursley – Golden Jubilee History by Richard Barton (1989)
INTRODUCTION
Sometime in early 1989, I was talking to Father Dee about St. Dominic’s when he casually
mentioned that later in the year, the church would be celebrating its Golden Jubilee. As a
member of the Gloucestershire and North Avon Catholic History Society I was immediately
interested in what archives existed – although as the church is so young I assumed that there
would be few records. However, Father Dee presented me with a log book, mainly covering
the period 1950-51, and suggested that I might like to produce a commemorative history.
With the background interest and knowledge gained from previous research into the
Woodchester Mission and the Leigh Family, I was only too happy to accept the challenge.
Soon there unfolded a story of determination, devotion and progress which has been
chronicled in this souvenir booklet.
I have dwelt mainly with the period stretching from the celebration of the first Mass in the
Y.M.C.A. in 1933 until 1965, the year which saw the departure of Father Patrick McCarthy.
This should not imply a lack of interest in, or disrespect for, his successors, but, obviously, the
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years since 1965 are still very fresh in the minds of many of the St Dominic’s parishioners. The
earlier mission which commenced during the Great War has, sadly, not been fully investigated
as the Dominican archives are at the present time unavailable.
It has been fortuitous that I have had the help of Mr. Patrick Lister of Coventry, who has
provided me with a wealth of detail concerning his mother, Mrs. Molly lister. His contribution
to the production of the booklet has been tremendous. I am also indebted to Mr. Szczepan
Rubin who has provided details concerning Dursley’s Polish Community and to both Father
Patrick McGovern and Father Patrick McCarthy who have shared some of their personal
reminiscences of their time at St. Joseph’s. Thanks are also due to Father Bill Dee and Father
Edwin Gordon for making their respective parish archives available as well as Father J.A.
Harding, who gave me permission to use the Diocesan Archives and offered much help and
guidance.
I am also grateful to Mr. Gerald Howell, Managing Director of Lister-Petter, and Mr. David
Evans for allowing me to reproduce an extract from ‘Lister – The First Hundred Years’ and also
the Editor of the Dursley Gazette and Mr. Derek Archer for giving their permission to
reproduce the photograph of the old Y.M.C.A. building. Readers are reminded that copyright
for this extract and of this photograph are the property of Lister-Petter Ltd and Bailey
Newspaper Group Ltd respectively.
Finally, I would like to mention my dear friend, Brian Torode, who helped me to edit the text
and, as ever, offered much support and encouragement.
Richard Barton, August 1989
PRE-REFORMATION BACKGROUND
Surrounding St. Dominic’s Church, and within its parish boundaries, are the remains of a
number of mediaeval places of worship built by clergy, parishioners and benefactors who
were part of an English Church fully in communion with the See of Rome. The churches we
know, today, as St. James at Dursley and St. John the Evangelist at Slimbridge retain
considerable pre-Reformation features. The latter has been described as, ‘probably the best
example in the County of the Early Gothic style of the C13th.’ Other churches with mediaeval
features include St. George’s, Upper Cam; St. Martin’s, North Nibley, and St. Cyr’s,
Stinchcombe. St. George’s was rebuilt in 1340 by Thomas, Lord Berkeley, supposedly ‘in
expiation of Edward II’s murder.’ All three churches have been altered and partially
reconstructed during the nineteenth century. Of the ancient church of St. Bartholomew at
Coaley, only the fine tower has survived. Two churches were totally demolished during the
nineteenth century. In 1779, Rudder, the County historian, described the old church at
Owlpen as, ‘very small and has a low spire at the west end’, whereas the earlier Church of St.
Giles at Uley, ‘has no aile… and a low embattled tower.’ Rudder also refers to pre-Reformation
chapels at Langley Hill, Stinchcombe, and at Cambridge but neither of these has survived.
3
No religious houses existed in the immediate locality although before the Dissolution of the
Monasteries the Benedictines of Leonard Stanley Priory were the patrons of both Cam and
Uley parishes. Similarly, Coaley living was held by St. Peter’s Abbey at Gloucester and, prior
to 1475, also the living of Dursley. In that year the title of ‘Rector of Dursley’ was linked with
the Archdeaconry of Gloucester so that from this date the Rectors were non-resident and
Dursley was cared for by a succession of assistant curates. Many of the Dursley Rectors were
influential men, five of them becoming bishops during the period 1475-1540. Three Rectors
of Slimbridge also became bishops, including Oglethorpe who was deprived as Bishop of
Carlisle because he would not accept the ecclesiastical reforms of Queen Elizabeth I. The
pastoral care of the parish clergy was also supplemented by the chaplains of the various
chantry chapels which existed prior to the Reformation period; two chantry chapels existed
in Dursley Parish Church and two in Slimbridge parish.
Dursley, like most of east Gloucestershire, was situated within the Diocese of Worcester until
1541. In that year the former Abbey of St. Peter in Gloucester became the cathedral for a new
county-sized diocese. James Brooks (1554-1558) was the only Bishop of Gloucester to be in
full communion with the Holy See although, at his death, a successor was nominated by
Rome.
FROM QUEEN ELIZABETH I UNTIL THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA
There is no evidence of any resistance within the Dursley area to the liturgical and other
reforms that we associate with the Elizabethan Settlement. Unlike the Forest of Dean where
influential families resisted these changes, paid fines and supported the illegal activities of
Catholic priests, there would appear to be no parallel movement in south Gloucestershire.
The main Catholic family in this area was the Poyntz of Iron Acton Court and Tockington Park.
Sir Nicholas Poyntz had earlier built Newark, near Ozleworth, from the stones of Kingswood
Abbey. Two members of this family left Gloucestershire to develop their religious life on the
continent. Robert Poyntz (1535-), the son of John Poyntz of Alderley, having studied at Oxford,
et out for the Catholic university of Louvain. Rudder described him as a, ‘learned author and
a great zealot for the Roman Catholic religion.’ Mary Poyntz (-1667) met her kinswoman, Mary
Ward, at Tockington Park and went abroad with her to share in the eventual founding of the
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Connected to the Poyntz Family were the Throckmortons
of Tortworth. They were resident there for much of the sixteenth century and they were
related to the Throckmorton Family of Coughton Court, a valiant Catholic recusant family.
Mary Poyntz was not the only local pioneer in setting up conventual life for English ladies.
Jane Berkeley (1550c-1616), Abbess of the Convent of the Glorious Assumption, in Brussels,
was the daughter of Sir John Berkeley of Beverston Castle. This abbey, set up by a Lady Jane
Percy, was one of the first English convents on the continent.
The Blessed Richard Sergeant, who was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, in 1586, for
being a Catholic priest, is believed to have been born at Stone, near Berkeley.
4
Whilst these threads indicate that members of some of the wealthier local families clung to
the old religion, little impact was made on the community as a whole. During the reign of the
Catholic King, James II, who passed through the village of Nympsfield on his progress to
Gloucester in 1687, an attempt was made to establish a proper Catholic mission in the City.
However, the place used for Mass was closed and the priest imprisoned during the ‘Glorious
Revolution’ of 1688, when King James’s attempt to give the general population religious
toleration and freedom of conscience was brought to an abrupt end.
In the list of ‘Papists and Reputed Papists’, of about 1717, there are no entries for the Dursley
area. The nearest principal families then were the Pastons of Horton Court, who supported a
chapel and chaplain, and the Jerninghams of Painswick. During the late 1770’s Mass was
probably celebrated in Thornbury Castle, the home of the Vaughan Family and, in 1782, a
Franciscan priest from Perthyre, near Monmouth, regularly celebrated Mass at Gloucester
and three or four times a year at Stroud. Ten years later a proper chapel was erected at
Gloucester, followed by one at Cheltenham in 1810. For a number of years, the priest at
Cheltenham, Dom John Augustine Birdsall, O.S.B., served a small congregation at Horton. On
his visits there, his diary records, that he also visited families in Stroud and at Leighterton and,
on one New Year’s Eve, there is a record of him baptising a child at Hunters’ Hall, near
Kingscote. These journeys were, sometimes, made on foot.
The widow of the Vicar of Old Sodbury, Mrs. Sarah Neve, was a Catholic and, in 1838, she
opened a chapel in the former Swan Inn at Chipping Sodbury. This would have been the
nearest Catholic place of worship to Dursley until the Passionists arrived at Woodchester eight
years later. However, there is some suggestion that Mass may have been celebrated at
Nympsfield from, as early as, 1842.
THE DOMINICANS
In 1845 William Leigh, a wealthy convert to Roman Catholicism, purchased the Earl of Ducie’s
estate at Woodchester. Leigh had been influenced by the Oxford Movement and he chose to
express his faith by endowing a lavish mediaeval-style church, staffed by priests who would
celebrate the full liturgy of the Catholic Church. He had chosen a spot that would be the centre
of a circle a hundred miles in circumference and without a single Catholic chapel.
At about this time there arrived in England an Italian Passionist priest, Blessed Dominic
Barberi. Leigh invited Barberi to establish a mission at Woodchester, having heard of Barberi’s
reputation for sanctity and his ability to preach. In 1845 Barberi had received John Henry
Newman into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Passionists arrived at
Northfields, Nailsworth, and established a house of study with a public chapel and, later, a
school. Four years later the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation was consecrated by
Bishop, later Cardinal, Nicholas Wiseman. During the following year, the Passionists moved
on to Broadway and Woodchester became a Dominican Priory where the Friars established
their noviciate. A large ‘monastery’ was built adjoining the Priory Church and, over the years,
many notable Dominicans were trained there including Bede Jarrett and Vincent McNabb.
5
The Dominican Fathers later built a church at Stroud, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and this adjoined St. Rose’s Dominican Convent, founded by local
ladies, Elizabeth Matthews (1815-1905) and Emily Sandys.
From as early as 1847 the Passionists are believed to have celebrated Mass at Nympsfield,
but nothing is certain before the year 1852 when a room at the Cross was licensed by the
Dominicans and registered for Catholic worship. Mass was first celebrated in this room on
Sunday 21st March. The Chapel House, formerly the Red Lion Inn, continued to be a place of
worship for the Catholics of Nympsfield until 1923 when Miss Blanche and her sister, Miss
Beatrice Leigh, largely financed the erection of St. Joseph’s Church.
Nympsfield, although only a small village, had become a centre of Catholic activity, largely as
a result of the energetic involvement of William Leigh, Senior, his son and two daughters and
then his two grand-daughters, Blanche and Beatrice. During these years, many families moved
into the area; from about 1900 a Catholic school was provided, chiefly through the generosity
of the Leigh Family, and, later, a convent and orphanage were opened. Much could be said
about the development of Catholic life in Nympsfield but, in spite of the close relationship
which later developed between the Catholics of Dursley and their co-religionists in
Nympsfield, the village story is really a separate one. Also in studying the influence of the
Leighs upon the village of Nympsfield one needs to be aware that non-Catholics were not
always happy with the changes that occurred.
The Dominicans served Nympsfield from their Priory at Woodchester, the priest walking there
through the Park.
CATHOLIC THREADS IN DURSLEY
On 5th July 1826 Walter Buckle, later a priest of Plymouth Diocese, was born at Piers Court
and baptised at Stinchcombe. He became a Roman Catholic in 1847 and was followed, two
years later by his parents and his sister, Margaret, who later married Randal Edmond Lynch
Athy of Renville Castle, Galway.
In 1857 Henry Moore of Dursley wrote to Bishop Clifford saying that there were nearly a
dozen Catholics near Dursley, ‘with the exception of a family of high birth who also have
Catholic servants and live ½ mile from the town, the poor walk five miles to Nympsfield.’
Moore mooted the idea of converting a house, but the bishop said there was no money. Henry
Moore was for some years a Grocer and Tallow chandler of Parsonage Street.
In 1859 the Woodchester response to the bishop’s visitation questionnaire for that year
reported that there were fifteen Catholics at Dursley who found it almost impossible to go to
Woodchester for Mass. The Dominicans said they looked after them when they sent for a
priest.
6
During 1862 there was some discussion of a Methodist chapel going cheap at Dursley but
Woodchester Priory felt unable to care for it.
Mrs Mary Stapleton, née Dolman, and her husband the Hon. Bryan Stapleton lived for three
years from 1865-68 at a house near Coaley called ‘The Moors’. They attended Mass at
Nympsfield and were friends of the Leighs.
According to the 1871 Census Lionel Goodrich was living at The Chantry aged fourteen years.
His parents had previously lived at Maisemore Court. He was received and trained for
Westminster Diocese and was Chaplain at Farm Hill Park, Paganhill, Stroud, during the period
1918-21.
James Russell Madan, the second son of the Reverend George Madan, M.A., was born on
20th October 1841 at Cam Vicarage, Gloucestershire. The baptism took place at Cam (now
Upper Cam) on 5th December 1841. After taking Anglican Orders in 1865, and Priest in the
following year, he became his father’s second Curate at Dursley. He was received into the
Catholic Church by Bishop Clifford of Clifton on 24th December 1872 at the Pro-Cathedral (See
‘Convert Clergy associated with Clifton Diocese’).
The Honourable Mrs. Gifford, who lived near the neighbouring town of Berkeley, was mainly
responsible for the opening of the Chapel of Our Lady Star of the Sea, in 1883, at Sharpness
Dock. This mission was served for a time from Woodchester but it was closed five years after
the building was erected.
From 1914 Mass was also celebrated at Wotton-under-Edge and, shortly after that, in Dursley
itself. Tradition has it that from about the year 1915 Mass was celebrated in a converted barn
which was situated in Broadwell Lane. The reason for commencing services there is uncertain
but there were, apparently, some Belgian refugees residing in the town.
In February 1920, Father Hugh Pope, the Dominican Provincial, wrote to the Bishop of Clifton,
regretting that, for a number of reasons, the Dominicans were compelled to close the
Wotton-under-Edge mission and that he feared Dursley would have to follow suit. ‘We have
been dogged with ill luck, only four or five people are left in each place and the cost of motor
cycle and threatened tax etc. make it necessary to withdraw.’
After the Dursley mission closed, local Catholics again travelled to Nympsfield for church and,
from about 1929, for school as well. The late Father Edwin Essex spoke of a man from the
Dursley area, named Walsh, walking up to Nympsfield, regularly, for Mass. This man, who was
quite elderly, had a reputation for being very devout and it was said of him that, even in
stormy weather, he never seemed to get wet.
In 1932 Father Bede Jarrett wrote to the Bishop asking him to take over pastoral responsibility
for Nympsfield. As a result, the Reverend, later Canon, Denis Ryan (1898-1963) was appointed
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as the first resident incumbent at Nympsfield, an area which then included Dursley. Father
Ryan originated from County Limerick and, after studying for the Priesthood at Thurles and
the Venerable English College in Rome, he served in the Diocese of Clifton as curate at the
Pro-Cathedral in Bristol, later Salisbury, and then, for about nine months, as Parish Priest at
Chard.
THE LISTER FAMILY
In about the year 1817 George Lister settled in Dursley where he worked as a cardmaker,
quickly establishing his own business. Gradually he built up a factory and, with the help of
Daniel Budding, the inventor of the first rotary lawnmower, he turned to the manufacture of
machinery for producing woollen cloth. His son, Sir Robert Ashton Lister, did not inherit his
father’s business as the two had become estranged. Instead he built up his own company. In
1867, R.A. Lister & Co began with a staff of three men and a boy. Within a century that number
had grown to seven thousand.
Ashton Lister’s firm started by selling and servicing agricultural machinery but, later, moved
into manufacturing. It remained a small scale agricultural engineering concern until the year
1899 when it began to sell, and then to produce, cream separators. The firm expanded rapidly
developing stationary petrol engines, sheering sets, generating sets and, of course, the
Pederson bicycle.
Sir Ashton’s son, Charles Lister, who had earlier introduced the petrol engine to Listers,
became the Managing Director and, gradually, his sons entered the business – Percy, George,
Robert, Frank and Cecil. In 1925 Sir Percy Lister became Managing Director and, later,
Chairman. The Company’s vast expansion developed around a range of diesel engines which,
together with other Lister products, were exported throughout the world. The impact upon
Dursley was tremendous. The factory came to Dominate the little market town, offering
employment to local families as well as to many newcomers.
The dramatic rise of the Lister Family and their Company had its effects on the local religious
scene – Sir Ashton Lister had been an active Congregationalist, however, Molly, the wife of
his grandson, Robert, was to play her part in establishing a Catholic church for Dursley.
8
Three photographs of Mrs Molly Lister (1900-1950)
9
Charles Lister’s second son, Robert Browning Lister, was born in the year 1894. After studying
Engineering at Glasgow University he served in the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Royal
Engineers during the First World War. In 1921 Robert married Millicent Eva Allsopp, who was
at that time working as a secretary in London. She had been born on the Island of Mauritius
on St. George’s Day, 1900, as her father, a Captain in the Royal Ulster Rifles, was then on
garrison duty there. Her mother died when she was quite young so she and her sister, Patricia,
were brought up by a stepmother. Molly’s father died of a stroke during the First World War
and, after the Armistice, her sister emigrated leaving Millicent, or Molly as she preferred to
be called, without any close family.
After the Listers married, Robert worked in the family firm for a time, taking up the position
of Director of the Horstmann Car Company in Bath, before moving to Dursley, in 1922, to
become Works Director, with A.E. Mellerup, in charge of the cream separator department.
The family took a small house in Stinchcombe before acquiring ‘The Elms’ at Stone. Robert
Lister, who by this time was father of Patrick, aged three years, and Georgina, aged one year,
developed his career taking charge of auto trucks and, later, marine engines.
Meanwhile, Molly Lister spent her time raising small livestock, as a hobby, besides becoming
an expert gardener. From this time social work became a strong interest too. Throughout the
years which followed she worked for the blind, Stone Girl Guides, Dr Barnardo’s Homes, Junior
Imperial League and the British Legion. She is remembered, by many, for her interest in the
10
Lister Recreation and Social Club, especially the Ladies’ Section. She supported village life in
Stone with garden fetes, whist drives and so forth – becoming a welcome figure to open these
events. She was much sought after as a committee member. Molly Lister has been described
as a sparkling personality – a great hostess who liked to dress well – a lady with a high sense
of values and service.
In about 1931 the Listers moved to ‘Longacres’, Cam, where they remained until 1937 when
they took up residence at ‘The Gables’ at Falfield. In Falfield Molly Lister soon became
involved with raising funds for the village hall there.
Molly Lister was a devout Catholic but the practice of her religion was limited in a non-Catholic
household situated many miles from the nearest churches at Nympsfield and Chipping
Sodbury. This lady became the driving force behind the establishment of a parish in Dursley.
She had no inherited money of her own so her efforts were always directed at the community
sharing in the enterprise in question. Her husband, Robert, was not a Catholic, although he
began instruction but never pursued it. Any monies he may have given towards building the
new church would have been in recognition of his wife’s commitment and sheer hard work.
Listers Factory also provided another leading personality in the early days of Catholic revival
in Dursley, namely, William John Wigmore. He was buyer and right hand man to Frank Lister,
besides teaching short hand to many at evening classes at Dursley Technical College. He came
to Dursley and lived, initially, in lodgings before marrying and taking up residence, for many
years, in Uley. From here he moved to his home in the Knapp. William Wigmore seems to
have become quickly associated with the nascent Catholic community and, in December
1932, he was received, by Father Ryan, into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
He was, at this time, aged thirty-one years.
As Listers had grown, a trickle of Catholics found employment in the factory and they settled
with their families in the Dursley area. Their increasing numbers necessitated the provision,
once more, of Mass in the town itself.
FATHER DENIS RYAN (1932-1934)
Father Ryan arrived in the village of Nympsfield on 3rd August 1932. At that time he was thirty-
four-years-old and he had worked in the Diocese of Clifton for nine years. During his first
eighteen months at Nympsfield he maintained a diary of principal events in his new parish
and we are fortunate in having an account of his first celebration of Mass in Dursley. He
mentions in the diary that arrangements had been made, with the Y.M.C.A., as early as
December 1932 but, for various reasons, the first Mass was postponed. He later wrote:
‘The snow prevented the Bus bringing the Dursley people to Mass on the last Sunday in
February. On the following Sunday, the First Sunday of Lent – 5th March 1933 – Mass was said
in Dursley itself. The Y.M.C.A. lent the lounge of their hall for 3/6d the Sunday. There were
about twenty-five people present – quite a nice little crowd. Took Collins’ taxi from here (he
charges 5/- the Sunday). Took server, vestments etc. Left some of the things with one of the
11
Catholics of Dursley – altar linen, cards etc. and they had altar ready when we arrived there
about five to nine on the Sunday morning. Heard confessions in a little ante-room. Said Mass
on table – very low. (By the next Sunday) one of the men – Mr. Fanning – had top made to lay
on table – which makes a very nice altar now. Someone brings a bunch of flowers each Sunday
to decorate it. Mass said there now every Sunday… Vestments for Mass had to be got – two
sets (white and red) were given by the Convent here and the Franciscan Convent at
Woodchester gave purple (and promised a green one).’
The Parish log book includes a list of families known to have attended Mass at the Dursley
Y.M.C.A. at this time, namely:
Cross 5, Pates 3, Webber 5, Whiting 5, Sheridan 3, Neale 1, Fanning 1, Wigmore 1, Everall 6,
W.H. Smith 1, McNulty 1, Mrs Lister 1, Powers 1, Uley 1 and Littleton 4.
The old YMCA Hall (with permission from the Gazette Series)
Mass was celebrated every Sunday at 9.00am, allowing Father Ryann to return to Nympsfield
for the 10.30am Mass there. The old Y.M.C.A. Hall was situated in Long Street and it was
originally fronted by two substantial houses – Enderley House and Florida House. The old hall,
a timber and corrugated iron structure, was erected in the early 1920’s and it consisted of a
large function room for dances, concerts and indoor events. In addition, there was a billiard
12
room which contained two full size tables. In 1939 the hall was sold to Listers Factory and
they used it mainly for storage until it was demolished in 1981.
Father Ryan clearly saw the need for the erection of a proper church in Dursley and
correspondence has survived, written to him by Molly Lister, concerning possible sites which
were available in the town. This letter is dated 29th September 1933:
‘Sites on Kingshill Road belong to a farmer called Hatherall of Blackboys Farm and Francillon
of Dursley (Solicitor) has the selling of them. I understand the cost has a great deal to do with
the frontage taken, but you can take a smaller frontage and go back further off the road at a
much cheaper rate. But the catch is that the existing new homes on the Kingshill Road all paid
at the rate of about £130 per ½ acre – which is terrible. However, the field running behind it,
the price runs about £60 to £70 per ½ acre and a rough road has been cut to reach a few
houses already built there. Also there is one side left in the Knapp, behind the Recreation Field
and this belongs to Mrs. Owen of York house, Dursley.’
Father Ryan not only considered possible sites for a church but he also started fund-raising as
well. The Nympsfield notice book refers to plans for a jumble sale in Dursley during January
1934 and entries from the following month include regular acknowledgements from Father
Ryan, to his parishioners, for money left in the ‘Dursley Church Building Fund’ box in St.
Joseph’s Church.
Father Ryan’s labours in Dursley clearly bore fruit and the need for a proper church building
grew. However, in 1934 he resigned the parish. Before he departed from Nympsfield he
forwarded a cheque to the Bishop for the amount collected at Dursley.
Father Ryan was succeeded by the Reverend James Murtagh, a thirty-one-year-old Irish
priest. Father Murtagh had trained for the Priesthood at the Seminary of S. Sulpice in Paris,
after which he served as a curate at Weston-Super-Mare and then Gloucester. He was to be
Parish Priest of Nympsfield from 1934 until the autumn of 1949.
EVELYN WAUGH AND STINCHCOMBE
During December 1936 Evelyn Waugh and his future wife, Laura, were house-hunting in the
West Country. As a result, they visited Piers Court at Stinchcombe which was then on the
market. Waugh was, at the time, thirty-three-years-old. He was the son of a publisher and
literary critic and, in 1930, he had been received into full communion with the Roman Catholic
Church. In 1928 he published his first novel, ‘Decline and Fall’, and in the years which followed
he wrote numerous other books including the biographies of St. Edmund Campion and of his
old friend, Monsignor Ronald Knox. Waugh was a complex personality and it would be
inappropriate to attempt to summarize his life in just a few paragraphs. Certainly, he made
an impact locally, both as a colourful figure and as an enthusiastic Roman Catholic.
Piers Court was purchased by the Waughs and an extensive programme of alterations was
undertaken. When he eventually sold the property, in 1955, he described it as, ‘occupying a
13
lovely position overlooking the beautiful Berkeley Vale… a fine example of an 18th century
manor house (with extremely fine façade).’ The house was surrounded by a large garden and
extensive grounds and there was a cottage and farm. In all the small estate covered forty-one
acres and it cost £3,500.
On April 17th, 1937, Waugh married at the Church of the Assumption in Warwick Street,
London, and, by August, he was installed at Piers Court. He was obviously not impressed by
the arrangements for the celebration of Mass at Dursley. He wrote in his personal diary, ‘Mass
among the cigarette stubs at the Dursley Y.M.C.A…’ A fortnight later, he attended Mass at
Nympsfield and wrote, ‘afterwards, by appointment, I took Laura into the convent… We drank
coffee in a group of nuns. I was reproved by Mother Superior for suggesting that the time of
the Dursley Mass was inconvenient – “you should have arranged things differently”.’
Waugh is remembered by many locals for dressing flamboyantly, arriving late for Mass and
voicing the thoughts of a congregation, in loud whispers, during a long sermon or a second
collection. The Waughs did not live continuously at Piers Court, they were often abroad, and
the family moved away from Stinchcombe for the duration of the Second World War.
Stinchcombe had once received a visit from an even more influential convert, namely, John
Henry (later Cardinal) Newman. Soon after Easter in 1865, Newman visited the Reverend Isaac
Williams at the Old Vicarage, Stinchcombe, a friend and former curate from his Anglican days.
In spite of poor health, Williams had earned a reputation as a poet and an important
devotional writer. Shortly after the visit, Williams died and Newman first thought that he
might have contributed to the death of his old friend as Williams had insisted on driving him
from Stinchcombe back to the railway station.
For a number of years, one of Evelyn Waugh’s neighbours was Dr Thomas Parkinson Leighton
O.B.E. (1887c-1957), the Chairman of Gloucester Medical Board. He was a cousin of the late
Archbishop Thomas Leighton Williams of Birmingham. After a successful career in Lancashire
he retired to Langport Court, Stinchcombe, where he was later to become choirmaster at St.
Dominic’s, Dursley.
During the 1960’s Captain Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart was living at Stancombe Park. He was
the son of the 4th Marquis of Bute and was a prominent Catholic personality. In 1963 he was
a Privy Chamberlain of Sword and Cape and President of the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta. During this period, Melksham Court, Stinchcombe, was the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Maxwell Joseph. He was a wealthy Jewish hotelier with a Catholic wife and a staff which
normally included a number of Italians.
FUND-RAISING
One of the earliest references I have found to the raising of funds for St. Dominic’s Church is
in a letter, dated 19th November 1937, from Molly Lister to her son, Patrick:
14
‘Father Murtagh is arranging a whist drive at the Y.M.C.A. Hall in aid of the building funds for
the church and I am going. I am working terribly hard to make it a success as you know the
difficulties in Dursley. I rang Mrs. Pepworth who is a great leader of affairs in Dursley and she
has promised to come and bring others – so that’s a help.’
A week later, she wrote:
‘Today I go to Dursley to a whist drive at the Y.M.C.A. for the church. It ought to be alright and
I hope it will bring in a lot of money as we must do something soon about a church as we have
been told that the Y.M.C.A. is up for sale and that soon we shall not be able to have our services
there.’
The November whist drive was followed by one at Christmas and soon fetes, jumble sales and
other fund-raising events became a way of life for the small Catholic community in Dursley.
At the parish church at Nympsfield there was still the offertory box for the building of the
chapel-of-ease at Dursley.
In March 1938 the Diocesan Trustees purchased the site in Jubilee Road for the sum of £360.
Also, in that month, Mrs. Lister organized the first Shamrock Ball in the Lister Social Club. The
Dursley Gazette advertised beforehand that the, ‘St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Ball will be held
at Lister Club Hall, Dursley, on Thursday next.’ The ball was organized under the patronage of
the Countess of Westmorland, who was a Catholic lady from Badminton, Lady Tubbs and
Captain and Mrs. W.F. Eyre.
‘Green and white were the principal modes of decoration. Lilies, tulips and narcissi were
tastefully distributed among all types of fern and palms and pale green lighting effects added
a refreshing lustre to the decorations. All arrangements were made by Mrs. Robert Lister to
whom much credit is due. Mrs. Lister, through the Gazette, wishes to express thanks to all her
helpers and particularly to Listers Social Club Committee for their willing assistance. Mr. L. J.
Watts was an efficient M.C. and the catering arrangements with cocktail bar, carried out by
Mr. S. Hodgson, were excellent. Messrs. F. Brinicombe and son had charge of the decorations
and the lighting scheme was carried out by Mr. S. Morris. Mr. Eames was the fortune teller
and Mr. Gabb was the door steward. Music during the evening was supplied by the Lister
Rhythmic Orchestra – the members of which were obviously enjoying themselves as much as
the dancers – under the conductorship of Mr. S.T. Webber A.R.C.M., R.M.S.M.
Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. R.B. Lister, Captain and Mrs. Eyre and party, Mr. and
Mrs. Pain Mminchinhampton) and party, Mr. and Mrs. Bracher and party, Mrs. Faulder Burn
and party, Captain O’Flynn, Mrs. Mervyn King (Bristol) and party, Mr. Allen and Miss Nurshaw
(Falfield), Mr. W. Sallusbury-Baker and Miss Vowles and Father Murtagh (Nympsfield).’
Molly Lister wrote to Father Murtagh, some six weeks later, with details of her fund-raising
activities:
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‘Enclosed is my cheque for £84-4-6d which sum is profit on the Shamrock Ball – £57-15-6d and
the takings of the Dursley share of the fete at Woodchester on Easter Monday – £25-9-0d. will
you please send it to His Lordship… I have booked the Club Hall for September 30th together
with the big accordion band for a 2/6d dance to meet the needs of the less well-off people,
and also a vaudeville show for a fortnight later, so the autumn season should start off well for
us all. My chauffeur is bringing this up to you as I have missed the post and am so impatient
for His Lordship to receive this cheque so that he may know what Dursley is doing for itself.’
Father Murtagh, in forwarding the cheque to the Bishop, remarked, ‘It is proving easy to find
money for the fund since Your Lordship set your hand to buying a site for the church.’
Mrs Molly Lister bowling
Mrs. Molly Lister became well-acquainted with the Misses Leigh of Woodchester Park and
they are referred to in correspondence between herself and her son. The share in the Easter
Monday fete at Woodchester Park paved the way for the most publicized of all the fund-
raising events – the Woodchester Park Open Day of Whit Monday 1938. The Dursley Gazette,
along with the Gloucester Journal, fully reported the occasion in its columns:
‘People from all parts of the country, visited the famous Cotswold beauty spot and sightseers
made a tour of the mansion which never fails to attract interest because of its unfinished state.
Buses carried people from the gates to the house where stalls and competition booths had
been erected and in the evening dancing took place on the lawn to the accompaniment of
music from loudspeakers. Father Murtagh (Parish Priest of Nympsfield) was M.C. for the
entertainments. After tea had been served in the dining room of the house, an address on the
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‘History and Associations of Woodchester Park’, was given by Mr. Evelyn Waugh, the well-
known author and novelist. A large crowd assembled in the quadrangle where the address
was to be given and Father Murtagh introduced Mr. Waugh… (Afterwards he was) besieged
by autograph hunters and he complied with their requests good humouredly.’
Fund-raising continued into 1939 and the Dursley Gazette was able to report that,
‘a successful jumble sale was held in the Town Hall, Dursley, on Saturday in aid of the Catholic
Church Building Fund. A profit of £16 was realised and the organizer wishes to thank the many
helpers and supporters.’
On June 24th 1939 a fete was held at Piers Court but, by this time, the Church of St. Dominic
had been erected and opened.
ST DOMINIC’S CHURCH, KINGSHILL
The Dursley Gazette for Saturday, 3rd September, 1938, gave the following account of the
laying of the Foundation Stone:
‘The Bishop of Clifton, Dr Lee, visited Dursley on Saturday to lay the foundation stone of the
new Roman Catholic Church in Kingshill, which is to be called St. Dominic’s. Included in those
present were the Rev. James Murtagh of Nympsfield, several Bristol ministers, two Dominican
Fathers from the Priory at Woodchester and one of the Benedictines from Cheltenham. After
he had laid the stone Dr Lee blessed the foundations and at the end he gave a short address
in which he said he had named the church St. Dominic’s on account of the good work the
Dominican Fathers had done in the area.’
The architects of the church were Messrs. Roberts and Willman of 2, Hammet Street, Taunton,
and the builders were Messrs. A. Reynton and Sons of High Street, Wotton-under-Edge.
Roberts and Willman designed various other churches in the Diocese of Clifton:
St Dunstan, Keynsham 1935
St Bernadette, Westbury 1938
Sacred Heart, Westbury-on-Trym,1939, built by Stansell & Son of Taunton.
The church at Dursley cost £2, 689.13.5d to erect and the architect’s fees were £135. St.
Dominic’s had also to be furnished and equipped – the altar rails, pulpit, benches and
vestment press were provided by Messrs. Wake & Dean Ltd., Furniture Manufacturers, of
Yatton, Bristol. These items cost £210.5.0d. J. Wippell & Co. of London supplied a tabernacle,
altar crucifix, sanctuary lamp and six candlesticks for £66.4.0d, which brough the total outlay
to £3,101.2.5d.
The new church was actually opened on 26th February, 1939 and again the Dursley Gazette
provided full coverage in the following Saturday’s edition:
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‘The Roman Catholic Bishop of Clifton, the Right Rev. William Lee, blessed and opened the new
Roman Catholic Church of St. Dominic at Dursley on Sunday. Three priests were present –
Monsignor Canon Long of the Pro-Cathedral, Bristol, the Rev. Dr Rea (Bishop’s Secretary) and
the Rev. J. Murtagh. Two hundred people were present at the Mass which was said by the
Bishop and seventy people received Holy Communion. The nuns from the Convent at
Nympsfield, the Nympsfield Children’s Choir, and a number of Nympsfield parishioners were
also present.
During Holy Mass the choir sang the Kyrie Eleison, the hymn, ‘Jesus Thou art Coming’, the
Sanctus, and the hymn, ‘Faith of our Fathers.’ In his address the Bishop said the people were
indebted to Miss Leigh, of Woodchester Park, without whom it would not have been possible
to have a priest to say Mass. The nuns of Nympsfield were also thanked. The Bishop also
praised the foresight of Father Ryan, who, while in charge of Nympsfield, appreciated the need
for a Catholic Church in Dursley and started the fund for it. This work was later continued by
Father Murtagh.
Thanks were expressed by the speaker to his people in the Dursley district who had generously
given to the fund, and especially those who had organized events in aid of the building fund
and those who gave personal donations. No parish of its size in the diocese had contributed
more generously. The architect and builder were also congratulated.
The Rt. Rev. W. Lee greatly encouraged his listeners by saying that he would not charge any
interest for the next five years on the debt of £3,000 which the new church had imposed on
the parish. Therefore, the money which is raised in future in the parish will go towards paying
off the capital expenditure.
The Church was called, “St. Dominic’s” in honour of the Dominican monks at Woodchester,
who put in a tremendous amount of work in the district.
In future there will be Children’s Catechisms at 3p.m. on Saturdays and confessions will be
heard on Saturdays from 3.30 till 4.30p.m.’
At last the church had been completed and services were no longer held at the Y.M.C.A. Hall.
Evelyn Waugh had written disparagingly of, ‘Mass among the cigarette stubs’, but Patrick
Lister remembers attending Mass there as a child and recalls a far more positive atmosphere:
‘I shall always remember the prayerful stillness of the room at the Y.M.C.A. in Dursley – not an
empty silence but a purposeful and dedicated calm that I have valued since at retreats.’
His mother wrote of the opening ceremonies of the new church:
‘I am pleased with the church – it is really lovely. Very simple and with comfortable benches
instead of those beastly chairs. His Lordship was in great form and gave a very good address.
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Church was packed. I officiate as godmother to Wigmore’s (Uncle Frank’s right hand) youngest
child this afternoon. It will be the first christening in the new church.’
That baby is now a squadron-leader.
Father Murtagh wrote to the Bishop, probably in March 1939, enclosing some interesting
statistical details:
‘I have 200 Catholics, children and adults, in Dursley and district. Church is well filled on
Sundays. 35 attend Mass on holy days, 25 attend Benediction on Fridays and there is an
attendance of 80 at Sunday Mass. The Sunday collection averages at £2.’
THE WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH
The new church was, of course, only a chapel-of-ease to St. Joseph’s Parish Church at
Nympsfield. The priest still resided at the Convent in the village and contact between the two
communities remained much as before. The school had been a link between the two
congregations and, in April 1939, Mrs. Lister was appointed a governor of the school. Two
months later, Evelyn Waugh, who was also a school governor, started a debating class at St.
Joseph’s School.
During the summer, as the days led up to the outbreak of war, Evelyn Waugh refers, in his
diary, to Father Murtagh spending the sum of £40 on plaster stations of the cross –
presumably for the new church at Dursley.
The war years saw various changes to life in Dursley. Evacuees arrived from various places
and Evelyn Waugh vividly describes waiting for the arrival of the evacuee children in
Stinchcombe on 1st September 1939. He refers to the villagers waiting, listening to the radio
in Mrs. Lister’s car, before empty buses arrived and, finally, a police officer who informed
them that the children had come four hundred short and that there were now none for
Stinchcombe.
Towards the end of the month Dominican nuns arrived to take up residence at Pier’s Court.
According to Waugh, they planned to bring thirty children, two parents, six nuns, a mistress
and a priest. The nuns remained at Piers Court until September 1945 when the Waughs
returned.
Mrs. Lister became an Air Raid Warden, spending some of her time entertaining evacuee
children. Although extremely active, and ostensibly fit, she suffered severe curvature of the
spine. Later she moved to Bath, on her own, and took up war work driving for the Admiralty
during the Blitz.
During the war a party of Italian prisoners-of-war was housed at Nibley House. John Richards
of Nympsfield recalls Father Murtagh celebrating two Masses each Sunday at Nympsfield, one
at Dursley and then journeying over to Nibley House for a midday celebration. Over 120
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prisoners were housed at Nibley House and my cousin, John Eley, the present owner, informs
me that the fine stencilling in one of the rooms was carried out by a prisoner named Pirelli.
After the war Evelyn Waugh and his family returned to Stinchcombe until 1955 when they
moved to Combe Florey, in Somerset, where he died eleven years later. Waugh wrote in his
diary, shortly after his return to Piers Court, ‘to Mass in Dursley. We expected some welcome
from our neighbours but have had none.’ Molly Lister wrote to her son, during September
1947, ‘I have got petrol for Dursley and go each Sunday morning. This morning Evelyn Waugh
offered me breakfast at Piers Court any Sunday morning. I would like to accept and I thought
it most kind of him.’
The Listers moved to Southampton when hostilities ended. Sadly, Molly Lister’s health
deteriorated and she died of Leukemia in a Bristol nursing home on Saturday, 5th August 1950.
Her funeral service took place at St. Dominic’s Church on Thursday 10th. The Parish Priest was
on holiday at the time so the Requiem Mass was celebrated by Father Francis Morrisey of
Upholland College, who was doing supply. He was assisted by Dr Leighton who acted as M.C.
and five boys from the orphanage at Nympsfield served at the altar as many of the usual
servers were away on holiday.
The Dursley Gazette paid tribute to her, ‘Mrs Lister had many friends in mid Gloucestershire
and to them all the news of the death of such a generous-hearted lady has come as a heavy
blow.’ Her friend, Mrs. Grace Bracher, wrote an emotional letter to Patrick Lister:
‘I feel your mother’s loss very deeply – we had been friends for so many years. She had a
wonderful nature – so kind and so loving and so big and generous. Many are mourning her
loss and many in their hearts are calling her ‘blessed’. Her friends were in all classes of life and
many people realised she was a real lady without affectation and in kindly simplicity no
regarder of personages.’
The family of Jack Freeman of Nympsfield remembers her chauffeur delivering Christmas
hampers, completely out of the blue, when he was, for many months, on sick leave from
Lister’s Factory.
1946 saw the death of Miss Blanche Leigh, aged eighty-two years. Three years later, her sister,
Miss Beatrice Leigh, died aged eighty-three years. Both ladies had devoted themselves to
developing Catholic life in Nympsfield – building the church and financially supporting the
priest. They died in abject poverty. Their deaths marked the end of an era and, in many ways,
their generosity made possible the development of the Mass centre at Dursley.
Father Murtagh was, himself, described in a newspaper account as:
‘a man of tireless energy and devotion to duty. He allowed no obstacle to stand in his path.
No matter how bad the weather might be, he was never known to miss a service in Dursley,
often making the journey from Nympsfield and back on a bicycle. On one occasion he battled
20
his way through a heavy snowstorm and this superhuman effort so impressed a citizen of
Dursley that he stood to attention and saluted the priest as he rode past.’
Father Murtagh sometimes cycled down to Falfield to visit Mrs. Lister at her home. She also
received visits from the priest from Chipping Sodbury who came over to Falfield on his Ariel
four motorcycle.
During the autumn of 1949 Father Murtagh suffered a breakdown in health and he was
compelled to resign from Nympsfield. For four years he acted as the resident chaplain at More
Hall Convent, Stroud. He died at the age of fifty-two years and was buried, in 25th August 1955,
at Woodchester Priory. The Gloucestershire County Gazette wrote of him:
‘It was characteristic of Father Murtagh that he made light of his growing infirmities and did
his utmost to ignore them. A grim tenacity kept him going and, even when the end was
approaching, his usual remark was “I’m very well. Pray for me”. Those who had the privilege
of knowing him will never forget his wise counsel and ever ready sympathy, while his quick
sense of humour made him popular with his clerical friends, but his lasting memorial will be
that he spent himself in the discharge of his ministry.’.
NEW CHALLENGES
The end of the war brought a new challenge to St. Dominic’s Church – the Catholics from
Europe employed at Listers and elsewhere. David Evans has kindly allowed me to reproduce
the following extract from his book, ‘Listers – The First Hundred Years’:
‘In 1946 Listers decided to increase its workforce in Dursley by recruiting up to 700 of the East
Europeans then living in Great Britain. In the autumn of that year Mr. G. Kuczak was appointed
as Company Liaison Officer and, with Mr. S. Marshall, Employment Officer, the engagement
of men began in the summer of 1947. The Unions co-operated fully, agreeing to allow 10-15%
increase in employees in this way. It was the beginning of the increasingly international aspect
of the Company’s workforce, and proved so successful that the background is worth recording
in detail.
At the end of the Second World War a great number of Polish soldiers were in Great Britain.
Some returned home, but others refused to accept the regime that governed their homeland
and stayed on. For these the British Government set up the ‘Polish Re-Settlement Corps to help
the change from military to civilian life. Being young, able and fit, they were absorbed easily
into industrial concerns, Listers among them.
The Poles employed by the Company, together with those working for other local firms, were
housed at the ex-R.A.F. Station at Babdown, seven miles from Dursley, on the Tetbury road.
The camp was under Polish control and remained open until about 1955 when Ministry of
Labour financial support was withdrawn. Listers, like the other firms, set about housing nearer
its works those in its employ – about 100 – who had not moved into Dursley of their own
accord. At one time Owlpen House, above Uley, was considered but it was eventually decided
to use properties in the town itself as hostels – for example Enderby House and Florida in Long
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Street, bought from the Y.M.C.A. in 1939, and Woodmancote (Hillside) House and Erwell
House, both purchased in 1955.
Under the Ribbentrop Agreement, Poland was divided between Germany and Russia in 1939.
In the eastern sector the Russians systematically deported all Poles and their families who
were likely to become a threat to their domination, mainly from the intelligentsia. When
Germany turned on her former ally, the Russians made an agreement with the Polish
government-in-exile to release its deportees and a mass exodus from Eastern Russia began.
Many of the able-bodied men made their way to the West to join Polish Service Units; their
dependants sojourning in the British Central African Colonies for safety. At the end of the war
the British Government used no longer needed military camps, such as R.A.F. Daglingworth,
near Cirencester, to accommodate these. Some of the menfolk joined Listers and eventually
Dursley R.D.C. houses eight or nine families within the town.
In june 1947, then, the first Poles – about 50 – arrived to work at Listers, and thereafter
numbers climbed to a maximum of about 380. No formal teaching of English was attempted
but through interpreters the main were trained in the Company’s school and on the shop floor.
From the beginning it was decided to provide no ‘Polish Club’ in the works as it was feared
that a ghetto situation could result. Instead the men were welcomed into normal company
works and social life. It says much for the resilience of these men that they were able to settle
and blend into a small, still fairly isolated, English country town, so well, and for the townsfolk
who were able to accept them – some much embittered by their experiences – with open
friendship and understanding.
The story is told of how the then Minister of Labour was horrified when he heard of Listers
plan to introduce so many immigrants in so short a time and predicted possible riots by the
local populace! They didn’t happen, of course, and great credit must go to the Company’s
directors, especially George Lister, for courage in carrying through the scheme. There is no
doubt that the Polish workers have fully justified the confidence the directors had at the time.
The same can be said for the workmen of other nationalities who followed this first influx.
1947, like 1945-6, was a period of great expansion in industry generally and the search for
more employees by Listers continued, the source of Polish workers having then dried up. By
this time the Ministry of Labour had opened a hostel at Bridgend, Stroud, for Italians – mainly
skilled foundry workers from Northern Italy – and some of these were engaged by the
Company. Thus began the happy association with Italians and, in the following years, more
were taken on. In about 1954 the steel mills of Lydney closed with reorganisation, and some
of the Italians there came to work at Listers – easy then with rail connections to Dursley via
the Severn Railway Bridge.
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In 1960-62, by making use of contacts of Italians already in their employ, the Company invited
over more from their mother country but insufficient came to meet needs, and in 1963 a team
from the Company travelled to Southern Italy and Sicily to recruit.
A second wave of East-Europeans was engaged by the Company in 1948-9. During the war
Germany had been in dire need of manpower and had imported, almost as slave labour,
nationals of the Balkan States, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, Red and White Russia and Poland.
At the war’s end some preferred to become ‘displaced persons’ rather than return to the
communist governments many of their countries had in control. These were slowly taken in by
France, the U.S.A. and Great Britain, and here they found employment in agriculture. Later
many changed to industrial work and some came to Listers.
After the Suez Crisis of 1956, Colonel Nasser expelled from Egypt many with British passports
and a few, on arriving in England, were accommodated in the Bridgend Hostel, Stroud. A
number of these, mainly Maltese and Syrians, joined and increased Listers workforce.
Later the idea of recruiting from Yugoslavia was mooted but sensitive to the feelings of existing
workers this idea was dropped. However, the Company has continued to engage individual
workers of many nationalities over the last twenty years and its immigrant work force must
be one of the most cosmopolitan in the area.’
Mr. Szczepan Rubin of Dursley has provided a few further details regarding the Polish
community. In 1949, at Babdown, a branch of the Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Association was
organized. When the camp was closed the Association developed in Dursley, constantly
looking after the welfare, social and cultural needs of the Polish community. In 1958 a Polish
school was opened with 28 children in two classes and with two teachers. The subjects taught
included the Polish language, the history and geography of Poland as well as national and folk
dances. Later on a dance group was formed which gave displays in many places. From 1961
concerts, shows, exhibitions of Polish art and craft, as well as an exhibition of paintings by
local Polish artists were organized. The dances at the Lister Hall became so popular that after
opening at 8p.m. the door had to be closed at 9p.m. In 1974 the Polish Ex-Servicemen’s
Association marked its twenty-fifth anniversary with a festival. At the time the chairman was
Mr. Rubin, the secretary was Mr. Wojciechowska, the treasurer Mr. Lesijak and vice-chairman
Mr. S. Kuczaj. The work of the Association continues today – visiting and supporting the sick
and elderly.
The European Catholics who settled in the area naturally looked to St. Dominic’s Church as
their spiritual home. Even though the Liturgy would have been celebrated in Latin and in a
familiar form to that which they had known at home, their different languages and cultures
must have presented them with a few problems. However, visits from Polish and Italian clergy
helped them to develop their spiritual lives as well as to retain something of their national
identities. The Ukrainians would have probably found services at St. Dominic’s the most
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different but, by 1961, a Ukrainian priest, the Reverend Stephan Wiwcharuk D.D. of Coventry,
was celebrating Mass according to the Byzantine rite, quarterly, at St. Dominic’s.
Such a significant increase in the Catholic population in the Dursley district prompted the new
Bishop of Clifton, Dr Joseph Rudderham, to re-examine the pastoral care of the area. The
resignation of Father Murtagh, in 1949, enabled necessary changes to take place.
THE REVEREND LITTLETON ALFRED POWYS M.A.
Fr Littleton Powys in Bath
After Father Murtagh’s retirement, Father Edwin Essex O.P. was appointed to fill the vacancy
on a temporary basis. Whilst he only acted as Parish Priest of Nympsfield cum Dursley for
about five months he remained at Nympsfield as the Chaplain to the Convent and, in this
capacity, looked after St. Joseph’s Church until March 1966. Meanwhile the Bishop sought a
parish priest and, in November 1949, he purchased 5, Jubilee Road, as a suitable residence.
St. Dominic’s was, therefore, to become effectively the Parish Church of the joint parish with
St. Joseph’s as the chapel-of-ease.
The first resident Parish Priest of Dursley was the Reverend Littleton Powys. He was a forty-
seven-year-old convert, son of the author, John Cowper Powys. He was ordained as an
Anglican clergyman in 1927 and served as curate in Folkestone before being appointed as
24
Principal of St. Stephen’s House, in Oxford, an Anglican theological college. He held this
position for six years before becoming the Rector of a parish near Steyning. At the beginning
of the Second World War Powys became a chaplain to the Forces but, in 1940, resigned. He
was received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church at St. John’s Church in
Bath.
After spending four years studying for the Catholic priesthood at the Beda in Rome, he
became curate at St. John’s in Bath. During his twenty months in Dursley, Father Powys kept
a detailed parish log book which traces his many activities.
Father Powys arrived in Dursley on Friday, 17th February 1950 and that evening he marked the
beginning of his ministry with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He spent his first week
in the old Bell Hotel and travelled, each day, to say Mass at St. Dominic’s. On 25th February he
took up residence at the first St. Dominic’s Presbytery – 5 Jubilee Road. Eighteen days later
he was joined by his housekeeper, Mrs. Edith Dix.
His new congregation quickly extended a warm welcome and a social evening was organized
at which Father Edwin was presented with two pipes and tobacco as a mark of their
appreciation. The new priest received a more practical gift – a parcel of groceries. Father
Powys was also Parish Priest of Nympsfield so many of the families from the village attended
this social gathering in Dursley. On St. Patrick’s night the villagers organized their own
welcome, a dance in St. Joseph’s School, which was supported by two bus-loads of
parishioners from Dursley.
Father Powys was determined to celebrate the Holy Week Liturgy as fully as possible but St.
Dominic’s, like many new churches, lacked equipment as well as a tradition of music and altar
serving. However, Mr. Cecil Day, a master at Stouts Hill School at Uley, became Master of
Ceremonies and Dr Leighton organized the music. Father Powys noted in his log book:
‘Holy Week and Easter has been an exciting, absorbing and exhausting business – much
improvisation: last night I made a processional crucifix at 12.45a.m.! But the people have been
very responsive. We did the Ceremonies pretty fully and I sang the Exultet, the Blessing of the
font and the Litanies (assisted by Barnard and Dr Leighton). Tomorrow we have the last
9.15a.m. Mass and I have first Communions – Heather Terrett, Hazel Terrett, John McAvoy,
Carolyn Jones, Frank Barnowski, Helen Zak, Peter Hogan and Margaret Holder.’
At the 9.15a.m. Mass on Easter Day 165 people were present and about ninety received Holy
Communion. From Low Sunday 1950 the Masses on Sunday were increased to two with
celebrations at 8.30a.m. and 10.30a.m. By 1962 a further Mass was celebrated at 7.00p.m. in
the evening and Benediction was given every Sunday at 3.30p.m. followed by Catechism.
Father Powys was eager to beautify the church. He acquired a new tabernacle from Staleys
of Gloucester; the gift of a ciborium, recovered from the blitz which had damaged St John’s
Church in Bath; a brass sanctuary bell, donated by Dr Leighton, as well as new altar cards,
covers, veils and vestments. Mrs. Tranter, the daughter of Mrs. Dix, provided four heraldic
25
shields for the altar rails and she painted the statue of Our Lady in bright colours. Shortly
afterwards a votive candle stand was provided.
The highlight of 1950 took place on the Feast of Corpus Christi when Father Powys organized
the first Procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Kingshill. The event
received significant coverage in the local newspaper and it is worth recounting at length:
‘St Dominic’s Church with its background of meadows and woods made a lovely setting for the
Corpus Christi Procession held in the open air on Sunday. The number of children, girls in white
and boys, many of them in choir-dress, was swelled by nearly eighty from the Convent at
Nympsfield. Marist Sisters, in their blue and black habits, Children of Mary in their pale blue
and white veils, little boys in scarlet cassocks, and the brightly-coloured banners, all shining in
the sun, made a delightful picture. It is a pity that more of the Dursley people could not have
seen it. There were many men in the Procession, including lads from the Naval Station at
Sharpness, brought over by Father Edward Bagnall S.D.S..
The Congregation gathered in the church at 3-30pm in front of an altar ablaze with candles,
in joyous mood to praise God for the glorious gift given to mankind on the first Maundy
Thursday. .. After the opening hymn, the Procession, ably marshalled by Mr. Cecil Day and his
assistants, made its way out of the church and down the alley-way to Kingshill shops. Turning
right, it went along the pavement in fron to the cinema, while little girls with baskets of flower
petals strewed them in front of the three priests bearing the Blessed Sacrament under a
canopy. The hymn-singing by Choir and people, conducted by Dr Leighton of Stinchcombe,
sounded crisp and clear as the Procession moved along past the Regal Cinema and right-
handed up into jubilee Road again. Returning to the church, the Congregation of nearly four
hundred souls resumed their seats, though many of them had to stand in the porch or overflow
into the church grounds. The Rector, The Rev. L.A. Powys, then gave a short address, and this
was followed by Solemn Benediction, the Celebrant being assisted by Fathers Eugene and
Alphonsus from the Dominican Priory at Woodchester. The Service ended with the hymn:
‘Faith of our Fathers’, which was sung most heartily.’
Christmas Day was also celebrated with considerable dignity too. The church, including the
48 chairs borrowed by Mr. Wigmore, was almost full. Father Powys wrote for the local
newspaper:
‘One of the most romantic of Catholic services is the first Mass of Christmas celebrated at
midnight. The service this year at St. Dominic’s had an especial interest since it was the first
Midnight Mass to be celebrated in the little church since it was built in 1939. The church was
nearly full by 11.30p.m. and carols were sung most heartily until the Blessing of the Crib at 12
o’clock which marked the beginning of the Sung Mass. Great credit is due to the servers and
choir for such a careful and reverent rendering of the Holy Mysteries. The soloist at the
Offertory was Mrs. Hardman and her singing of Adeste Fidelis was delightful.’
26
During the following year Father Devas led a mission at St. Dominic’s. Each evening of the
week a sermon was preached, followed by Benediction, whilst during the day parishioners
were visited in their homes. A full size cross was erected outside the church which was
illuminated by electric light. It had been made by Frank Challacombe and Bob Jones for use
by the Knights of St. Columba during the Glastonbury Pilgrimage. Frank Challacombe, Bob
Jones and their respective families were involved with many parish activities at that time.
Father Powys’s second Easter, in Dursley, saw a record number of communicants and on Whit
Sunday fifteen children made their First Holy Communion. On the following Sunday, Trinity
Sunday 1951, Bishop Joseph Rudderham made his first Visitation to the Parish and confirmed
104 candidates during the afternoon. The Bishop’s throne consisted of a chair from
Nympsfield with a canopy prepared by Mrs. Dix, complete with a painting of the Episcopal
arms produced by her daughter, Mrs. Tranter. The Dursley Gazette reported that Bishop
Rudderham arrived at the Marist Convent on Friday and met many of his flock, from both
Nympsfield and Dursley, at a reception held at St. Joseph’s School during the same evening.
The account continued:
‘On Sunday morning, after the 8.30a.m. Mass in St. Dominic’s, His lordship made his formal
entry into the church at 10.30a.m. Mass being met by the Parish Priest, The Rev. L.A. Powys,
at the church door. Proceeding up the nave under a canopy, he gave his blessing to the people
from the Altar. Mass then followed at which the Bishop presided and gave his address to the
large congregation assembled.
It was not easy to accommodate in the little church the 104 candidates who came to be
confirmed at 3.30p.m., together with their friends and relatives; and some of the congregation
had to stand. In addition to those from Dursley and Nympsfield there were thirteen candidates
from Woodchester Parish and nine from Thornbury. The Confirmation was followed by
Pontifical Benediction of the Holy Sacrament at which Father Powys was deacon and Father
Eugene O.P. was sub-deacon.’
The newspaper report concluded with the remark that,
‘all those who took part, servers at the Altar, marshalls and choir did their very best to render
a worthy service. The church looked spotlessly clean and was beautifully adorned with
flowers.’
The excitement of His Lordship’s Visitation was followed by a Quarante ‘Ore or Forty Hours
of Devotion when Father Powys admitted that he raided Dr Leighton’s garden for brightly
coloured poppies and peonies to decorate the church.
The Parish Priest was not just concerned with worthily celebrating the Liturgy, important as
this was to him, but he was also sensitive to the pastoral needs of his parishioners, especially
the Polish community and other groups who had settled in the Dursley area. He was
particularly aware of the need for transport which would enable Catholic families who were
living in outlying villages to attend Mass and for their children to receive catechetical
27
formation. Thirdly, he was keen to build up an active social life for both the older and younger
members of his congregation, conscious always of the fact that Dursley still had no Catholic
parish hall.
During this period, it was estimated that there were about one hundred Polish families in the
area of which only a sprinkling were attending Mass at St. Dominic’s on a typical Sunday. In
response Father Powys decided to entertain Father Lucian, a Polish Franciscan, for a few days
during the June of 1950. Father Lucian visited a number of these families and heard
confessions. He also attended a dance for the Polish community which was arranged at the
Lister Hall but this was poorly attended in spite of an excellent Polish band. Father Lucian
returned to Dursley during the following year when he led a retreat for Polish people. By the
spring of 1951, Father Powys noticed that a larger number of Poles were coming to Mass and
he was actually baptising more Polish babies than English ones.
The log book reveals a number of interesting episodes involving members of the Polish
community during those early days. Father Powys referred to collecting Poles and Lithuanians
from Coaley, for Mass, on his first Easter Day in the parish. During the month of January, 1951,
he was invited to visit the camp at Babdown where he was asked to celebrate a Requiem
Mass for Roman Nowicki in the small chapel there. Father Powys wrote of this:
‘They have a chapel in a hut – very attractive and entirely “un-European” in character with a
picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa in the place of honour over the altar.’
On Holy Saturday he visited,
‘a house full of Poles and not only blessed it and them, but bread, fruit cake and eggs – each
with a separate blessing. They had themselves provided the rituals – open at the right place.’
The Polish community gradually settled in Dursley and the log book records that many were
‘very successfully and happily married to English girls.’ At about this time a meeting was called
between members of the Dursley Polish community and Father Gruza of Bristol. As a result,
he agreed to celebrate Mass twice a month in Dursley and a Polish Church Committee was
created to look after the priest’s expenses. This committee still exists today and it looks after
the spiritual life o the community.
After the Babdown Camp was closed, in about 1955, the chapel there was disbanded and the
picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa and the altar cloth were in need of a new home. These
items were donated to St. Dominic’s Church and, today, the picture still hangs in a place of
prominence. The picture had been given to Babdown by one of the soldiers who had brought
it with him from Malmesbury and this same soldier is believed to have painted it. This picture
was blessed by the Catholic Parish Priest of Tetbury who had pastoral responsibility for the
Catholics who were living in the Babdown Camp.
In 1955 the local newspaper carried the following report:
28
‘Large congregations, including people of several nationalities, attended celebrations of Mass
at the Roman Catholic Church on Christmas Day. Father Gruza of Bristol said Mass for Polish
members of the Church at mid-day. To celebrate St. Nicholas’s Day the Poles gave a party to
a number of children. Santa Claus appeared in vestments similar to those worn by a bishop
instead of the customary red cloak seen in this country.’
Five years earlier Father Powys noted that members of some twelve different nations had
met together for the celebration of Midnight Mass and, on another occasion, he recorded
that two Austrian and two Tyrolese boys served at Mass. During the autumn of 1951 he wrote:
‘I find I have now the following races in the Dursley District among my flock – Italians, poles,
Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Germans, French, Belgians, Swiss, Austrian, Yugoslav, Spanish,
Brazilians, Welsh, Irish, Scots and English.’
The rate of increase in the Catholic population at that time, raised the question as to whether
the new church would prove to be too small in four or five years time – even with two Sunday
celebrations of Mass.
St. Dominic’s Parish was certainly very widespread, although in 1950 it still had no definite
boundaries. The Diocesan Boundary Commission hoped that Dursley would eventually serve
the village of Kingswood as well as the Mass centre at Wotton-under-Edge, which was
currently being served by the Salvatorian Fathers at Thornbury. However, this scheme was
considered impractical in the short term as Nympsfield was still being served as a chapel-of-
ease. However, North Nibley and Waterley Bottom were designated as lying within Dursley
parish. One lady who lived at Waterley Bottom was a widow, Mrs. Kathleen Tranter. She had
settled in the area shortly after the war and taught for fifteen years at the Chipping School at
Wotton-under-Edge. A devout Catholic, she ran the Church repository and helped Father
Powys in many ways – not least with wielding a paint brush. Her son, Nicholas, was studying
at Prior Park College during the years that Father Powys was at Dursley but later he went on
to study for the priesthood at S. Sulpice in Paris.
The attendance list for the ‘Welcome’ of Father Littleton Powys reveals the addresses of
Catholic families who lived at Uley, Cambridge, Slimbridge, Coaley Peak, Stinchcombe and, of
course, Nympsfield. As the months passed the need for transport for these people to Mass
became a priority. Father Powys not only drove Father Murtagh’s ancient Ford motor car but
he had his own Harley Davidson motorcycle. During his first summer in Dursley he wrote
about the problems associated with instructing children whose families were scattered in
Breadstone, Coaley, Cambridge and Slimbridge.
During a typical Sunday, in 1950, Father Powys drove a total of thirty miles collecting and then
returning parishioners. These included the Burke Family of Gossington who attended the
8.30a.m. Mass. The collection of people for the 10.30a.m. Mass was undertaken in two
separate journeys. He first collected those who lived in Coaley, Cam and cam house before
setting out again for Woodmancote and Highfields. After Mass these people were driven
home. After lunch he drove to Uley, Highfields and Coaley to collect and return children for
29
catechism class. Later a Mrs. Davies from Minchinhampton assisted with catechism classes
and she instructed children from Coaley and Gossington.
Eventually a solution was found to the transport problem and, from 18th February 1951, the
White Lion Company of Wotton-under-Edge ran a bus service for the parishioners of Uley,
Coaley, Cambridge and Cam. Minutes before the 10.30a.m. Mass commenced the ‘‘us set off
again on a short journey to collect more people from Bull pitch. The ‘bus cost £3-10-0d per
week and if there was a poor take-up there could be a deficit of over 25/- per week.
The extremely scattered nature of the parish also presented difficulties in getting the Catholic
children together for, as Father Powys, stated,
‘It is so important that they should know one another and so feel less isolated by belonging to
the Catholic Religion.’
As a response to this concern he arranged for a coach outing to Barry Island for the children.
The day started off with drizzle but, after he had ‘besieged Our Lady’s statue with candles’, it
cleared up and the sun came out; the trip was enjoyed by all. Later on in the year a tea party
was held at Walters’ Café, in Dursley, for those who were too young or who were unable to
go on the Barry Island excursion.
In September 1950 a Catholic cub pack was tried, under the leadership of eighteen-year-old
Rose Kelly, but it failed as the boys who were interested seem to live over four miles from the
church.
Adult social evenings at the British Legion Club often had a fund-raising purpose and, on one
occasion, there was a draw prize of £100. Other fund-raising events during this time included
a jumble sale at the British Legion hut which raised £40 and plans were made for a summer
fete in 1952 at Piers Court. Another communal bus trip was the annual parish pilgrimage to
Glastonbury.
The Parish Log Book compiled by Father Littleton Powys gives a fascinating insight into parish
life during the early 1950s. The parish priest was evidently an energetic man who laboured
hard for the people of Dursley and Nympsfield, and, as a result, he was popular and is
remembered with affection. From Dursley he was appointed to Peasedown St. John, a small
parish, handed over to the diocese by the Benedictines of Downside Abbey. On Sunday
18th November 1951, Father Powys celebrated his last Sunday in Dursley and then took up his
new post, however, eighteen months later he left his new parish a sick man. He died at St.
Teresa’s Convent in Corston during February 1954, aged only fifty-one years.
THE REVEREND BARTHOLOMEW COLLINS
Father Bartholomew Collins was introduced to his new flock by his predecessor at a social
gathering on Friday 23rd November. He was a thirty-five-year-old Irishman from the Benden
area of county Cork. He trained for the priesthood at St. Finbar’s Seminary, Cork, and then
moved on to St. Kieran’s Seminary, Kilkenny, in which city he was ordained priest in June 1942.
30
Father Collins was first appointed as assistant curate at St. Nicholas’s Church, Bristol, and then
at St. Joseph’s Fishponds before being posted to Wellington as Parish Priest in 1949.
Unfortunately, Father Collins did not continue the parish log book so it is less easy to piece
together events at Dursley during his time there. However, a letter survives from Evelyn
Waugh who was to leave Piers Court during 1955:
‘Dear Father Collins,
An announcement at Mass on the following lines will greatly help:
If the weather is fine a large attendance from outside the parish is expected at the Fete at
Piers Court on Sauturday next August 14th. The Catholic Women’s League and the St. Vincent
de Paul Society are undertaking the bulk of the work but other helpers are urgently needed
both in the morning and afternoon. Will those who are willing to give their time please leave
their names at the church porch stating the hours they will be free. “We also greatly deed
presents suitable for prizes at the various stalls, objects for the jumble sale and cracked china
and glass to be used as targets for missiles.”
Yours sincerely
Waugh.’
In about the year 1954 No. 5, Jubilee Road was sold by the Diocese for the sum of £2,000 and
this money was used to partially fund the erection of a purpose-built presbytery situated next
to the church. The new house cost approximately £2,500 to build.
Father Powys had mentioned in his log book the need for a parish hall and his successor was
able to turn this dream into a reality. Father Collins achieved his goal by using voluntary
labour. Many organizations became involved with the project including the Polish Ex-
Servicemen’s Association. Their minutes of meetings include the response that they gave to
a letter from the Chairman of St. Dominic’s Parish Committee. Dated 15th April 1956 the
Association decided to appeal to all Poles to give as much financial support as they could,
together with voluntary labour, to accomplish the building of a church hall. In response
twenty or thirty volunteers helped to build the hall and others offered to paint the interior.
The Gloucestershire County Gazette reported, in full, the opening of the hall and we find this
account in a newspaper dated Saturday 27th July 1957:
‘St Dominic’s Parish Hall which was officially opened on Friday evening has been built entirely
by voluntary labour by members of the Church, who received valuable assistance from helpers
who were non-Catholic. The new hall, which is of brick construction, stands near to the church.
It will hold about 200 people and has a well-laid block floor which should be ideal for dancing.
At one end there is a roomy stage and at the other a well-equipped kitchen. The builders –
most of whom knew nothing about building work – commenced their efforts twelve months
31
ago last Easter and were supervised by Mr. Noel Lee (architect) and Mr. P. Gooch, who was in
charge of the brickwork. On Friday Mr. Gooch was presented with a watch in appreciation of
his valuable assistance.
The opening was performed by Canon (later Monsignor) M.J. Roche of St. Peter’s Gloucester
in the presence of the Parish Priest, Father B. Collins, a visitor from Cirencester, Father
O’Donnell, and a large gathering of adults and members of the younger generation.
Afterwards there was a social evening with Mr. O’Donnell as M.C. and during which there was
a dancing display by the pupils of Miss Christine May and items by the children from
Nympsfield Convent. Songs were given by Italian members of the Church. At the piano was
Mr. H. Grewcott. It is intended to use the hall for the Church’s social events, all such functions
in the past having to be staged in other halls in the town.’
The new hall cost some £1,500 to build, the balance being found by taking up a mortgage on
the new presbytery.
The education of the younger members of the congregation was clearly a matter of concern
for Father Collins. When Bishop Rudderham came to administer the Sacrament of
Confirmation on 4th March 1956, besides five adults, he confirmed fifty children. The only
Catholic school was St. Joseph’s at Nympsfield which had been funded entirely by the Misses
Leigh and they had striven for years for state aid. An article in the Universe, newspaper, from
1957, illustrates the problem of education for the children of Dursley:
‘There is not yet a school here, and the growing congregation which includes a number of
Poles – would ensure the success of a private school. There is property available now,
considered by the Parish Priest to be suitable for such a school. The price is £3,500 and details
would be sent to anyone genuinely interested.’
Nothing would appear to have resulted from this request but the remainder of the newspaper
article may have resulted in more success:
‘More Catholics would be very welcome, especially if they could help with catechism, the
sacristy and any needed social work. There should be little difficulty finding employment at
Dursley and the Parish Priest would give help and advice to Catholics who want to know more
about the Parish.’
Although we do not have log book entries we do have a couple of very early parish bulletins.
These indicate that parish life continued much as before. In 1952 there was a successful St.
Patrick’s Ball and, later in the year, Father Collins organized the first May Procession at
Dursley, ‘for a number of years.’ This was to be attended by local Catholic scouts and guides
from Dursley and Nympsfield, as well as children and parishioners from Nympsfield village
and its convent. The same bulletins also refer to the forthcoming Fort Hours of Devotion and
the Corpus Christi Procession. During May 1952 the church interior was distempered utilizing
more voluntary labour.
32
Father Collins was in Dursley for eight years and during his time as pastor he witnessed the
erection of the parish hall and the provision of a proper presbytery. When Father Powys had
introduced Father Collins to the people of Dursley he had said, ‘I feel so very happy that I shall
hand over the parish into such good keeping as Father Collins.’ Father Collins had certainly
made his mark and he left Dursley in the late summer of 1959 to continue his ministry at St.
Joseph’s in Fishponds. From 1973 Father Collins was at St. Patrick’s, Brockworth, and there
he died twelve years later. For three months during 1959 St. Dominic’s was cared for by Father
Michael English until the arrival of Father McCarthy on 6th December.
THE REVEREND NICHOLAS PATRICK MCCARTHY
Father McCarthy was a priest with some fifteen years of experience when he arrived in St.
Dominic’s Parish. A major pastoral concern during his time was the provision of a modern
purpose-built school. Even though many of the children lived in the Dursley area it was
decided to re-build the parish school in Nympsfield as the Sisters, who had run the school
since 1929, had agreed to largely fund the new building project. At last, St Joseph’s was to
become a state-aided school. The new buildings cost some £25,000 to erect and they were
ready to receive the first children in June 1962, eleven months before the official opening.
Since November 1960, despite of some initial opposition, a special coach had been paid for
by the Local Education Authority so that Dursley children could travel to Nympsfield. Support
from local councillors, particularly Mr. Maxwell Workman and Mrs. Edwards, paved the way
for this financial assistance and, three years later, a second bus was even provided. At this
time upwards of one hundred children were travelling, daily, from Dursley to St. Joseph’s
School and Mrs. F. G. Ratcliffe, a part-time teacher, accompanied them each morning. Dursley
has continued to have close links with the school at Nympsfield and school managers have
included Mr. Wigmore, one of the pioneers of Roman Catholicism in Dursley.
The parish debts were, naturally, of concern to Father McCarthy. When he arrived the debt
on the parish stood at £1,300. During the year 1962 the debt on the hall was reduced to £450
and, by November 1963, the mortgage on the house was completely redeemed and the hall
and presbytery were the sole property of the diocese.
During his years in Dursley, Father McCarthy managed to make improvements to the church
and property. In 1961 the church was re-decorated in three stages at the total cost of just £20
to the parish. Tony Bright was responsible for the painting of the sanctuary, Lord Crichton-
Stuart of Stancombe Park for the decoration of the transept and Mr. P. Donegan for the nave.
Mr. Donegan was also largely responsible for the re-surfacing of the car-park and pathways.
A new oil-fired heating system was installed in the church, costing £400, and, during 1963,
the church floor was renewed.
Sadly, on 1st January, 1965, a fire in the church resulted in the need for a complete renovation
and new sanctuary furnishings. The stalls were given in memory of the late Herbert Vaughan
Jackson; a new lighting system was installed and Mrs. Gosiewska presented the Amiens Cross.
33
During the year 1964 consideration was given to extending the sacristy and connecting it with
the house. This received a sympathetic response and, as a result, a mound of clay was
removed, during the june, in preparation for the work to commence. Plans were prepared for
the extension, funds were raised and the construction was completed during the following
year.
Other major events which took place during Father McCarthy’s time included the
confirmation of one hundred candidates, by Bishop Rudderham, in May 1961. During 1960 a
branch of the Catholic Mothers was started, in Dursley, and Mrs. Maingot, the Diocesan
President, attended an inaugural meeting. On Sunday 29th April 1962 Nicholas Tranter of
Waterley Bottom was ordained a priest, by Bishop Joseph Rudderham, at St. Gregory’s Church
in Cheltenham. On the following morning Father Nicholas celebrated his first Mass in St.
Dominic’s Church. Two years later St. Dominic’s Church witnessed its first priestly ordination.
On 15th April 1964 twenty-four-year-old ‘Bruno’ Bronislaw Wegrzyn was ordained by Bishop
Rudderham. ‘Bruno’ was thrown into a Siberian slave camp in 1939, with his family, after the
Russian-German pact to divide Poland equally. His parents died there within a week of each
other, having suffered from malnutrition, but their children survived and, later, settled in New
Zealand. Bruno’s aunt, Mrs. Alex Skalka, also survived the camp and, eventually, settled at 45,
Frederick Thomas Road, Woodfield. Bruno trained for the priesthood in Genoa but he used
to stay with his aunt in Dursley during the vacations, working in a local engineering company.
After his ordination, which was a major event for the Catholic community in Dursley, Bruno
returned to Genoa for further studies before going back to New Zealand to serve in the
Diocese of Wellington.
These years were still part of a period of expansion for the new parish. Many Catholic families
settled in the area, not only finding employment at Listers, but also because of the erection
of the nuclear power station at Berkeley. During its construction many Irish men were
employed on site and, for a time, they had their own Catholic chaplain.
1964 saw the Silver Jubilee of the Opening of St. Dominic’s Church and on 4th September, in
the following year, Father McCarthy left Dursley to take up his new appointment at St.
George’s Church in Warminster.
THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
The story of St. Dominic’s Parish, since the departure of Father McCarthy, has been one of
consolidation rather than expansion. During these years the influence of Listers has declined
and the Polish and Italian families who have remained in the area have been integrated into
parish life. No major building work has been undertaken and the local children continue to
attend St. Joseph’s School in Nympsfield before moving on to St. Peter’s High School in
Gloucester.
After the retirement of Father Edwin Essex as Convent chaplain in March 1966 various secular
(diocesan) clergy were appointed to succeed him and whilst their positions were mainly linked
with the care of the orphanage and homestead, they also looked after the spiritual needs of
34
Nympsfield people. In 1976 (or thereabouts*) the united parish of Dursley cum Nympsfield
was formally divided and Dursley became fully independent form its mother church.
St. Dominic’s Church looks much as it would have done at the time of its silver jubilee except
that there is now a free-standing altar and the font has been replaced. Interestingly, the
building has never been solemnly dedicated or the altar consecrated.
During these years the Parish has been served by Father Matthias McManus (1913-1986) who
was Parish Priest from 1965 until 1970. He was succeeded by Father Patrick McGovern who
was at Dursley from October 1970 until January 1985 when Father William Dee was appointed
as Parish Priest. In twenty-five years time a future historian can record and assess the
contributions of these priests and their parishioners.
On Thursday 28th September, 1989, the Solemn Golden Jubilee Mass was celebrated by the
Right Reverend Mervyn Alban Alexander, the Bishop of Clifton, followed by a reception in the
parish hall.
*Footnote: The author has experienced considerable difficulty in establishing the actual date
of this division. However, it is believed to have taken place in about the year 1976. At that
time Father James Coghlan departed from Nympsfield to serve at Fairford. It seems likely that
he was the first Parish Priest of the new independent Nympsfield Parish.
Golden Jubilee Celebration 1989: 2nd from left Fr Dee, 3rd Bishop Mervyn Alexander and 5th Abbot Aldhelm Cameron Brown of Prinknash Abbey
35
POST-REFORMATION CATHOLIC INCUMBENTS
NYMPSFIELD CUM DURSLEY
Dominican Friars of Woodchester
Rev. (later Canon) Denis Ryan 1932-1934
Rev. James Murtagh 1934-1949
DURSLEY CUM NYMPSFIELD (from 1950 Priest resided at Dursley)
Rev. Littleton Alfred Powys M.A. 1950-1951
Rev. Bartholomew Collins 1951-1959
Rev. Nicholas Patrick McCarthy 1959-1965
Rev. Matthias McManus 1965-1970
Rev. Patrick McGovern 1970-
DURSLEY (in about 1976 the Parishes were divided)
Rev. Patrick McGovern -1985
Rev. William Dee 1985-
BIS HOPS OF CLIFTON DURING THIS PERIOD
Rt. Rev. George Ambrose Burton 1902-1931
Rt. Rev. William Lee 1932-1948
Rt. Rev. Joseph Edward Rudderham 1949-1974
Rt. Rev. Mervyn Alban Alexander 1974-
36
PRIMARY AND CONTEMPORARY SOURCES:
1. Dursley Parish Archives: a) Baptism Register 1923- , b) Log Book containing day to day events written by the Rev. L.A. Powys 1950-1951 and the Rev. N.P. McCarthy 1959-1965 together with newspaper cuttings, photographs and service sheets.
2. Nympsfield Parish Archives: a) Notice Books b) Log Book containing day to day events written by the Rev. Canon Denis Ryan 1932-1933 with photographs.
3. Clifton Diocesan Archives: Letter from the Rev. Andrew Weetman (1742-1795) b) Episcopal Correspondence 1920 c) Nympsfield and Dursley file 1932-1939 d) Record Cards of Deceased Clergy.
4. Gloucestershire Archives: a) Lists of Papists and Reputed Papists 1717c b) Baptism Register of St. Gregory’s Cheltenham Volume I 1809-.
5. Gloucester City Library: a) Dursley Gazette 1914-1920, 1937-1939, 29-9-1883 b) J.N. Langston ‘Post Reformation Catholic Missions in Gloucestershire’ – Woodchester and Nympsfield essays (typescript including copies of sources such as newspaper cuttings 1938, 1955-1957)
6. Correspondence belonging to R.P. Lister Esq.: a) Letters from his mother, the late Mrs. Molly Lister 1937-1948 7. Downside Abbey Archives: a) Diary of the Very Rev. John Birdsall O.S.B. 8. Personal Reminiscences: a) Mr. R. P. Lister b) Rev. N. Tranter c) Mr. and Mrs. SZczepan Rubin d) Rev. M. English
e) Rev Patrick McGovern f) Mr. J. Eley of Nibley House g)William John Wigmore h) Rev. N.P. McCarthy i) Mr. and Mrs. John Richards of Nympsfield j) Miss Sheila Dennison of Nympsfield
9. Letter of E. Waugh to Father Collins
SECONDARY SOURCES
10. Pre-Reformation 11. David Verey, Gloucestershire – The Vale and the Forest of Dean, Penguin, 1976 12. David Verey, Gloucestershire – The Cotswolds, Penguin 1979 13. Samuel Rudder, A New History of Gloucestershire, 1779 14. Charles Cox, Gloucestershire, Methuen & Co. 1924 15. Canon Eric J. Hoskins, Dursley Church in History, Tower 16. A Short Decriptive Account of the Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Slymbridge, Gloucestershire 17. Derek Archer, A New History of Dursley, F. Bailey, 1982. 11. Recusancy 12. 10c above 13. Very Rev. George Oliver, Collections Illustrating the History of the Catholic Religion in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset,
Somerset, Gloucestershire etc, 1857, Dolman. 14. Christopher Dove, The Story of Nympsfield, 1977. 15. D) Professor Patrick McGrath, Gloucestershire and the Counter Reformation, T.B.A.G.A.S. 1969. 16. and M. Gethen, Gloucestershire Catholic Martyrs G.&N.A.C.H.S.,1987. 17. John Gillow, Biographical Dictionary of the English Catholics Volumes I and V (Poyntz and Berkeley entries) 18. Charles Lines, Coughton Court and the Throckmorton Story. 19. A. Williams, Catholicism in Bath, Volumes I and II, C.R.S. 1975. 20. Jurica, Gloucester, Victoria County History, Volume IV. 21. 22. The Dominicans 23. 11a 24. 11b 25. Father Raymund Devas O.P., The English Dominicans – Their Second Spring – Essays on the English Dominican
Province 1221-1921, C.T.S., 1921. 26. W.N.R.J. Back, Woodchester History, 1972. 27. Father Edwin Essex O.P., Woodchester Priory, British Publishing Company. 13. The Lister Family 14. David E. Evans, Lister’s – The First Hundred Years, Alan Sutton, 1979. 15. Dictionary of Business biography, 1985 (Sir Percy Lister). 16. Centenary Souvenir Booklet of R.A. Lister & Co, 1968. 14. Evelyn Waugh and Stinchcombe 15. Frances Donaldson, Portrait of a Country Neighbour, Weildenfeld and Nicolson, 1967. 16. Martin Stannard, Evelyn Waugh – The Early Years 1903-1939, J.M. Dent, 1986.
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17. The Diaries of Evelyn Waugh, edited by Michael Davie, Penguin, 1979. 18. The Letters of Evelyn Waugh, edited by Mark Amory, Penguin, 1980. 19. Catholic Who’s Who 1937 and 1952 (Waugh, Leighton and Powys). 20. O,W. Jones, Isaac Williams and his Circle, S.P.C.K., 1971. 15. Other Secondary Sources 16. 10g 17. 14c 18. 14d 19. 11b 20. 12c 21. Clifton Diocesan Directories for 1962, 1968 and 1979 to 1989. 22. Mary Wright, St. Gregory’s Now and Then (Page 75). 23. Corpus Christi Church, Weston-Super-Mare, 1929-1979, Souvenir Brochure 24. Peter’s Gloucester, 100th Anniversary of Consecration 1868-1968, Souvenir Brochure, 1968. 25. Obituary Card of Rev. Bartholomew Collins