St Anne’s Church

The medieval chapel of St. Anne, Oldland Common 1280 - 1829 from ‘The gentleman’s magazine 1830

St. Anne’s Church was built in 1820 and it would have originally been Roman Catholic, like all churches before the reformation.

The present church building, which dates from 1830, is not the first religious building to have been built on this site. Previous to its building Oldland had been, for administrative purposes, a hamlet in the larger parish of Bitton and on this site had been a chapel-of-ease. (A chapel for the ease of those for whom the journey to Bitton was a long one.)

Before the Reformation the parish of Bitton belonged to the Diocese of Worcester, and in its diocesan records of about 1280 there is the earliest reference to Oldland Chapel - ‘Bytton cum capella de Oldeland’. There was not another church built between Bitton and St.Philip and St.Jacob in Bristol until the nineteenth century.

The chapel was dramatically sited on a well-drained hilltop - not too far from the manor house, and on the edge of the forest. The first building was noted for a little plain square tower, with a saddle-back roof. The tower’s roofs ran north and south at right-angles to the nave, and the tower housed three bells. A saddleback tower is good evidence for the church being fairly old. Hanging near the font at the rear of the church is an artist’s impression of this building based on an old plan of the church, which is also hanging there.

Oldland originally covered a huge tract of the old forest of Kingswood and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. At that time it was owned by the Bishop of Exeter. In the eighteenth century the population of Oldland began to grow as a result of its proximity to coal and water, both necessary to the Industrial Revolution sweeping the country. There is evidence of mining for coal in the area from 1200 - until comparatively recently mining meant just digging as big a hole in the ground as was safe. However California Pit, situated where California Farm Estate is now, was a larger operation and employed a number of miners. It closed in 1902 after flooding overnight, when fortunately there were no miners on site, and was never pumped out. A chemical works was established in Oldland Bottom called the Old Bone Mill but closed in 1840. There were also a number of hatters’ workshops in the area. It is believed that these were started by Flemish refugees who brought with them not only the trade of making felt and beaver hats but also their tradition of building their houses in squares, or bartons. Many of theses bartons can still be found in the vicinity.

With the growth of the population a more constant ministry was demanded. Oldland had been permitted its own churchyard in 1720 - previously all burials would have taken place at Bitton. It is hard to believe now, but until the early nineteenth century Kingswood, although it had a fast growing population, was a part of the hamlet of Oldland and served only by Oldland Chapel. Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood, was built in 1821 at the instigation of Rev. Henry Thomas Ellacombe with funds granted by the King and using the labour of ex-soldiers who had served in the Napoleonic Wars - at the time it was known as a ‘Waterloo Church’. When the chapel at Oldland was demolished in 1829 to prepare for the building of the present church, at least two of its three bells were taken to the ‘daughter’ church at Kingswood and are still there. One is inscribed ‘Sancta Anna’.

The new church at Oldland, also built by Rev. Ellacombe, was opened for divine service on Sunday November 14th, 1830. The Vicarage was built in 1850, originally for the curate. Previously the Vicar of Bitton had taken a service at Bitton in the morning and had gone in the afternoon alternatively to Hanham Abbotts and Oldland. The curate, now living in Oldland, could serve both these chapels. In 1861 Oldland was made a separate parish with its own vicar.

There were at one stage three galleries in St.Anne’s Church, but it remained a poor church for a poor area. The rebuilding of the church was paid partly by Rev. Ellacombe’s fundraising amongst his friends outside the area and partly by a precept on the parish rate - in those days church parish and civic parish were the same thing.

From the initial discussions for the demolition of the old Chapel of St. Anne’s to implementing the building of the new modern Chapel, the Rev. Henry Thomas Ellacombe, the curate of St Mary’s, Bitton, took a leading role. Whilst barely into his Curacy at Bitton, he had taken a leading role in the construction of the Holy Trinity Church on top of Kingswood Hill (1821), the first “Million Fund” Church to have been built in Bristol. He also helped restore St Mary’s Bitton (1822) and then helped in the construction of Christ Church, Hanham, before he embarked on the supervision of the construction of St. Anne’s (1829-30). He was an engineer, expansionist and entrepreneur. He provided church accommodation in the district for 2,285 worshippers, and schoolrooms for 820 children. To finance his projects he gained funds from the “Pound Million Fund”, 1st and 2nd issue (1818 &1824); along with donations from his friends and colleagues. He saw the area of the original Parish of Bitton that included Kingswood, Hanham and Oldland as in need of spiritual guidance, to reduce the lawlessness of the area and reduce the risk of any revolt: a true philanthropist even if not recognised as such in texts. Riots did occur in 1831, “ The Queen Square Riots” after which the Kingswood miners and members of “The Cock Road Gang” were reputed to have been involved - but none were charged. Ellacombe was also a great antiquarian who not only collected antiques but also read and wrote numerous articles and books - especially his 2 Vols. on ‘The History of the Parish of Bitton”. In 1850 he moved to Cyst St. George outside Exeter and began his crusade all over, rebuilding the Parish Church 1854 (using the last grant from the Million Fund of the Church Commissioners) and the local school 1859.

St. Anne’s was one of more than 500 churches to receive a share of the second issue of funds from the Church Commissioners. Grants were awarded from £5 sterling to a maximum of £1000 - St Anne’s received the maximum allowed from this fund. To be granted these funds, strict planning rules had to be followed. Larger churches should have galleries along the sides and the west end to provide the required seating capacity. The Baptismal font should be at the west end of the Church. From the start St Anne’s was a “free Church”, where all the seats were free of rent.

Within a year, 1829-30 the old chapel was rebuilt and opened for services 14th November 1830. As originally built the seating capacity was 300. Today our maximum congregation size is about 150, at Christmas tide, then it is a squash! So where are the other 150 sat? - In the galleries such as Holy Trinity, Kingswood, St Georges, Brandon Hill, built from the 1st issue of the Million Fund. It was possible to build so many Churches in a short space of time by using the returning soldiers from the Napoleonic war to provide the man power in the construction- hence these churches built from the first issue of funds are referred to “Waterloo Churches”. St Anne’s would more correctly be called “ a Commissioners Church”. The Church is of “rubble” construction of Pennant sandstone from the local quarries such as that at “Catscliff” owned and worked by the Caines family. The corner stones and architectural features are of Cotswold limestone which is easily carved and shaped. The cost of building the Church was £1500, made up largely by the interest free loan of £1000 from the Church Commissioners, which was repaid over 10 years + £100 from the old church, and also some donations.

We do not have a record of when the galleries were removed.Today St.Anne’s serves a different community, the population of Oldland no longer being employed locally in agriculture or industry but mostly commuting to Bristol or Bath to work, but it continues to be at the heart of what is still essentially a village - there for baptisms, marriages and funerals, there as a meeting place for young and old and there to celebrate the festivals of the Christian year.

The grave yard holds Commonwealth War Graves as well as many local children who died in the parish.