The Parish Church of
Holy Trinity Rangeworthy - A Brief History
Rangeworthy, or as it was
originally known, Rangery was in the Manor of Thornbury and
at the time of the compiling of the Doomsday book was held
by the king. In the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042 –
1066) Brictric, son of Algar held the Manor. Maud, wife of
William the Conqueror held it in his reign. William II gave
it to Robert Fitz Hamon, whose daughter Mabel married
Robert, Earl of Gloucester, son of Henry I. In the early
sixteenth century the Manor was held by the Plantagenets.
The Parish Church, though small is attractive and much
remains as the Norman builders left it, especially the
south porch and chancel arch, as well as the north doorway
to the clergy vestry. There are 2 rows of chevrons over the
chancel arch and entrance to the south porch and a scratch
dial on the left pillar in the porch. This pre-reformation
time-piece was used by the priest to indicate the time of
the Mass.
On the east wall of the north aisle is a hideous grotesque
of a man with bulging eyes and protruding teeth with
another at the west end.
The oak benches in the porch are hundreds of years old. Two
gracefully carved faces about the size of a man’s hand are
at the ends of the dripstone of the old priest’s door to
the chancel.
The interior has been much changed over the years,
especially in the 15th and 16th centuries. A description of
the church once stated:
“a very small chapel, consisting of a chancel and nave,
with a gallery at the west end and a low tower, therein one
bell”
In 1847 the church was enlarged, adding the north aisle. At
this time the parish of Rangeworthy was formed. In a return
to an Ecclesiastical Commission in 1887 by the Reverend R G
Ellwood, he stated:
“A Chapel of ease belonging to the parish of Thornbury
but was made a separate parish and Benefice about 40 years
ago by the Vicar of Thornbury”
The stained glass in the church is all modern. The East
window is a memorial to the men of the parish who gave
their lives in the First World War. The window on the South
side of the sanctuary is in memory of a former Incumbent,
the Reverend Ponsonby Sullivan (1909 – 1934).
The Bethlehem window, on the south side of the nave was
given by Joseph Hull, one time churchwarden, in memory of
his son, 2nd/Lt John Lawrence Hull of the Worcestershire
Regiment, who was 20 years old when he was killed in action
at Gueude-Court, France, on 18 October 1916 in the First
World War.
The west window was given by the parishioners of
Rangeworthy in 1928 “in love for their ancient church”; and
the window on the north side is a memorial to Muriel Helen
Sullivan who died in March 1950.
The concealed electric lighting dates from 1981 and
replaced the pendant lights which were installed in 1952
when electricity first came to Rangeworthy. The chancel
floor was re-tiled in 1890 and the church was re-roofed in
1968/69. In 1983 dry rot was discovered in the nave pews
and a scheme was approved to replace with chairs.
Known Vicars of Rangeworthy
1324 Richard of Overton
1545 S. Antony
1709 Samuel Hall
1711 Giles Ridley
1741 Francis Gold
1781 Henry Willis
1794 William Llewellyn
1820 John Jefferies Coles
1825 George Luke Dai-ville
1834 James Champion Hicks
1855 Edward Gorton Penny
1873 R. G. Ellwood
1887 F.W. Vernon
1905 E. L. Jenner
1909 Ponsonby M. Sullivan
1935 William Henwood
1948 J. E. Williams
1959 Robert Tindale
1967 John H. W. Fisher (Hon Canon of Gloucester Cathedral)
The Parish was united with Wickwar to form a joint Benefice
in 1976
Rectors of the Benefice
1976 Eric Akers Perry (Hon Canon of Gloucester Cathedral)
1992 David Binney Small
1998 David John Russell
The Parish of Hillesley joined the Benefice in 2002