History of The Trust
The beginning of Ryecroft started about the year 1846, when a branch church of Northgate Street was opened in Victoria Street, on land purchased from an innkeeper from Over Bridge, and described in the deeds as being situated in the hamlet of Barton St. Michaels, near Gloucester. About the same time in the area known as Newtown, there was a small colony of quaint tiny cottages clustering around a clay pipe factory, and whose proprietor also kept an Inn. This was somewhere near the top of Slancey Street and Tredworth Road and known as the “Round House”. The proprietor, known as Pipey George, allowed services to be held in one of the rooms of the Inn. The services were conducted at first by a lay preacher, David Woodall. It is on record that Pipey George was so impressed by them, that he was converted and later became a local preacher.
In 1851 meetings were being held in a cottage in a place known as “Tickle belly Alley”. (approximately where Nelson Street now stands). In 1856 the Newtown congregation moved to High street to a place known as “The Terrace”, Almost Opposite Dynevor Street. It is generally understood that this was a house, but an entry in an old cash book reads “the final debt on the church in High Street is now paid off”.
Some years later it was decided to amalgamate the congregations of Tredworth and Victoria Street and in 1863 Victoria Street was sold for £133.8s,4d, (known as Gothic Cottages). At the same time negotiations were commenced for the purchase of a site for erection of a new church. In 1864 The Trustees purchased from the Methodist New Connection, Formerly a Countess of Huntingdon Chapel, for £700, a piece of land on which the church now stands, (The first church became the schoolroom when the present church was built.) This was known as Ryecroft Field, Lovers Grove, Falconers Close and Little Field. Building operations were put in hand and by may 1871 the new church was ready for use.
In 1870 the Ryecroft Wesleyian Chapel, Conduit Street was erected and used latterly as an annexe to the College of Art.
The Gloucester Journal in its report of the opening says, “On a fine May day, 8th 1871, there was a large gathering of Ministers and friends from a distance”. The Church cost approximately £2000, the architect was Mr. A. W Mabberley and the builder Mr. J. Allen. The building was supposed to accommodate nine hundred people. It had a gallery round three sides, and an organ in the bay over the porch. The choir occupied the gallery facing the pulpit. There is a record that the first lesson read from the pulpit was Psalm 103. the building was lit by gas, and heated by hot air from a huge cylinder in the base of the tower.
As mentioned earlier, the old church was used for a schoolroom and later added to become a day school as well, with accommodation for some six hundred scholars. The day school was closed in 1909 on the opening of Derby Road Schools. Mr George Burton was the last headmaster, and became the first at Derby Road.
In 1898 the church was altered by the erection of the choir stalls and the installation of a new organ, which was placed behind the choir stalls, and not at the rear of the church as before. The organ cost £306. the old organ is still in uses at the Leonard Stanley Methodist Chapel.
The day School had been in existence as mentioned above from the time the church was built, but in 1898 an extension fund was started and raised £500, this money was used to build what was later to be known as the Lecture room and the rooms above. In 1904 the day schools were taken over by the local Authorities.
The new Trust formed in 1904 was the third, and was faced with the task of introducing the New Hymn Book. During 1905 the whole of the buildings were whitewashed at a cost of £16.10s.od. (school only). The church received its first renovations since its erection in 1906, at a cost of £240 and was re-opened on 8th July 1906. Individual communion cups were introduced in 1911.
In 1921 Mr. James Byard, having purchased the old St. Catherines Church for demolition, presented to the Church the seating for use in the school buildings. During 1922 the envelope system was first introduced.
As part of the War Memorial Scheme the whole of the school buildings were repaired. Re-decorated, and electric lighting installed. Two brass tablets were fixed on either side of the choir stalls, bearing the names of the fallen.
In 1925 the back rooms were again decorated, this time by voluntary labour from the Guild, the cost being £23. Owing to the dangerous state of the roof the big schoolroom was closed in 1927.
The diamond Jubilee Celebrations took place during May 1931. A thanks offering fund was started in the hope of raising £2,000 for modernising the premises. In 1932 the Trustees accepted the following tenders:-
Decoration of the Church (Pickford & Sons) £471 3s 9d.
New heating system (Beaven and Sons Ltd) £185 0s 0d.
New flood lighting (Smith & Lamerton) £50 5s 0d.
Cleaning and fixing electric Blower
To organ (Lydiatt Bros.) £110 0s 0d.
While the work was in progress the evening services were held in the Picturedrome in Barton Street.
At the Annual Trustees Meeting in January 1933 the Treasurer reported that for the first time the Trust was free of debt.
The Hymn book which came into being with the Methodist Union was introduced on 9th September 1934.
On 18th February 1894 the school premises were requisitioned by the Ministry of Works, and were first as British Restaurant and later as a Hostel and Rest centre, the Trustees to receive £170 per annum as rent.
A Children’s Corner was made in the left hand corner of the Church looking at the pulpit and was under the gallery. When on 28th February, the rooms were de-requisitioned, a series of meetings were held to decide what should be done with the buildings with the compensation money received, £1,225.18s.9d.
The first task was to get the upper vestry and stairway into use, and this was done by voluntary labour at a cost of £43. The next task was to get the upstairs rooms cleared and decorated, and this was done by Baker Bros. At a cost of £132.14s.0d. The floor of these rooms was supported for the time being on jacks, but in 1951 the whole of the downstairs was renovated and steel joists used to make the floor above safe. The decorations and new floor cost £724, and the hard work done by Mr. Freeman. The steel work was paid for by Mr. Walter Byard. It was then decided not to do anything with the big schoolroom, but use the rest of the money to repair, decorate and improve the outside of the church. The cost £510. In 1947 a new boiler was installed in the Church.
Ryecroft did not recover from the shake-up during the War years, members had moved away, so in 1955 the Trustees decided to see if it was possible to sell the premises. Discussions took place first with Barton Street were not successful, and then with Stroud Road in the hope of some amalgamation. Eventually it was an offer of £6,500 was received for part of the (Church and vestries) from the Amateur Society, known as the G.O.D.S. Prolonged discussions this fell through.
The pews, pulpit and communion rail were sold to Grange Road Church for £160; the organ was sold to Ashchurch Parish Church, chairs, crockery and fittings which could be used at St. Lukes were there.
The large schoolroom and rooms behind were sold for £2,500 in May 1957. As no buyer could be found for the church the Trustees decided to let it to Local Authorities fourteen year lease, the Local Authorities to undertake to bare all expenses in condition with its use. The caretaker’s house, 39 Falkner Street, was sold to Mr. C. P. Harrison for £1,500.
On 3rd December 1957 the Trustees decided from the proceeds various sales £1,110 be given to the new St. Luke’s Trust. Also that the balance order to be transferred to St. Luke’s organ fund.
It was also decided that an interest-free loan of £250 per annum be given to the Manse Trust for approximately eight years, that the overdraft on the account of £725 be paid off, and that various repairs at 39 Falkner Street to be undertaken at a cost of about £500.
During 1970 the lease with the Local Authorities was renewed for three years.
Barton & Tredworth Community Trust took over the running of the building on the 10th of May 1999.