St Ebbe's Church, Oxford

St Ebbe's Church
St Ebbe's Church
Location	Pennyfarthing Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Conservative Evangelical
Website	stebbes.org
History
Status	Active
Dedication	St Ebbe
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Oxford
Archdeaconry	Archdeaconry of Oxford
Deanery	Deanery of Oxford
Parish	Oxford, St. Ebbe with Holy Trinity and St. Peter-le-Bailey
Clergy
Bishop(s)	The Rt Revd Rob Munro (AEO)
Rector	The Revd Canon Vaughan Roberts
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Alistair Cory and Suzanne Wilson-Higgins

St Ebbe's is a Church of England parish church in central Oxford, named for the seventh-century abbess Æbbe of Coldingham. The church is within the conservative evangelical tradition and participates in the Anglican Reform movement.^[1] It has members from many nations, many of whom are students at Oxford University. The rector is Vaughan Roberts who is also an author and conference speaker.

History

The church stands on the site of one dedicated to St Æbbe before 1005. Most sources suggest that this was the Northumbrian St Æbbe of Coldingham,^[2] but it has been suggested that Æbbe of Oxford was a different saint. The name was first recorded in about 1005 when the church was granted to Eynsham Abbey by Ealdorman Æthelmær the Stout, when it was already recorded as the "ancient St Ebbe's".^[3]

The present church was built in 1814–16. It was restored between 1862 and 1868, and again in 1904. A Norman doorway of the 12th century has been restored and placed at the west end.^[4] The church is the parish church for the parish of St Ebbes, a portion of which was demolished to make way for the nearby Westgate Shopping Centre in the 1970s.^[5]^[6] The church underwent further restoration in 2017 under the direction of Quinlan Terry.^[7] During this restoration some internal fittings were sold as architectural antiques.^[8] The organ was transferred to St Denys, York.^[9]

In 1957, the church of Holy Trinity, Blackfriars Road, was demolished having been deemed unsafe. This was merged into the present parish.^[10] In 1961, the parish of St Peter-le-Bailey merged with St Ebbe upon the foundation of St Peter's College (formerly St Peter's Hall) and its use of the church as its college chapel.^[11]

Present day

St Ebbe's continues to be highly active, with three meetings each Sunday at 10:00, 4:30 and 6:30. There are also a range of mid-week groups and youth work.

St Ebbe's is within the Conservative Evangelical tradition of the Church of England, and it has passed resolutions to reject the ordination of women and/or female leadership.^[12] It receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet (currently Rob Munro).

The church has a ministry among the remaining part of the parish, although most of its members live outside the parish. The church is a partner church of St Ebbe's Primary School, a school within the parish.^[13]

Ministers

Rectors

15??-1550: Thomas Dobson
1550-1553: Ralph Rudde; Principal of St Edmund Hall
1553-1576: Vacant
1576-1585: John Paule
1589-1593: William Singleton
1593-1604: John Hilliard
1604-1631: Jacob Yate
1631-1641: Edward Wyrley
1643-1648: Hugh Boham; Chaplain of All Souls College
1664-1666: Richard Tapping
1690-1691: Thomas Shewring
1695-1696: Josias Dockwray
1696-1697: Henry Hellier
1697-1707: William Baker; later the Bishop of Norwich
1707-1714: John Knott
1714-1719: Matthew Panting; Master of Pembroke College
1719-1727: Bernard Peisley
1727-1734: Thomas Hillman
1736-1742: Nathaniel Bliss; later the fourth Astronomer Royal^[14]
1742-1753: Thomas Camplin; Vice-Principal of St Edmund Hall and later the Archdeacon of Taunton
1753-1771: Robert Ewings
1771-1809: Henry Richards
1808-1868: William Hambury; later Chaplain to George IV
1868-1874: E.P. Hathaway
1874-1877: Thomas Valpy French,^[15] later Bishop of Lahore
1881: John Arkell
1901-1909: P.W.G. Filleul
1912-1926: John Stansfeld^[16]
1947–1952: Maurice Wood,^[17] later Principal of Oak Hill College and Bishop of Norwich
1952–1964: Basil Gough^[18]
1964–1985: Keith Weston^[19]
1986–1998: David Fletcher^[20]
1998–present: Vaughan Roberts

Curates

1816: John Penson
1822-1824: William Wilson
1825: Henry Bliss
1826-1831: Henry Bulteel
1831-1837: William Champneys
1837-1842: H.B. Whitaker Churton
1847-1860: G.T. Cameron
1860-18??: S.Y.N. Griffith^[21]
1934-1936: Pat Gilliat
1950-1952: Edward Saunders
1952-1956: Michael Farrer
1955-1958: David Pytches, later Bishop of Chile, Bolivia and Peru
1957-1960: Peter Dawes
1958-1960: Brian Ringrose
1960-1963: Patrick Harris
1961-1964: James Spence
1963-1966: Anthony Baker
1964-1968: Gilbert Gauntlett
1966-1972: Simon Starkey
1968-1971: John Wesson
1971-1974: Robert Hope
1973-1976: Anthony Burdon
1974-1976: Peter Toon
1976-1980: Robert Key
1980-1983: David Banting
1983-1986: Kevin Scott
1988-1991: Timothy Hastie-Smith, later Director of Scripture Union (England & Wales).^[22]
1991-1998: Vaughan Roberts, later Rector
1995-2001: David Gibb
1999-2003: Anthony Jones
2002–present: Pete Wilkinson
2003-2008: Julian Bidgood
2008-2012: Phil Jack
2009–present: David Reid
2010-2014: Suresh Menon
2013-2018: James Fletcher
2013-2017: Alistair Gibbs
2017–2019: Matt Pope
2017–2021: Joel Knight
2021–present: Glenn Nesbitt

Non-stipendiary ministers

2005-2008: Sam Allberry
2012-2013: Phil Jack
2015–present: James Poole
2016–present: John Miller

Deacons

1979-1991: Jean Ritchie
1991-1993: Patricia Whelan

References

^ "Local churches linked to Reform".
^ Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "St Ebbe's Church". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan. pp. 387–388. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
^ Victoria County History of Oxfordshire: Medieval Oxford.
^ Alden's Oxford Guide. Oxford; Alden; 1958; p. 125.
^ Jean Sprackland (2020). These Silent Mansions: A life in graveyards. Jonathan Cape. pp. 105–106. ISBN 9780224098359.
^ Chris Gilliam (10 August 2020). "How the Coronavirus Lockdown revealed the History of St Ebbe's". Oxfordshire History Centre. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
^ Terry, Quinlan. "St Ebbe's". Quinlan Terry Architects. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^ "Long Oak Simple Gothic Rood Screen from St Ebbe's, Oxford (SOLD)". Antique Church Furnishings. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^ "Update on the St Denys Organ Project" (PDF). 1 January 2018.
^ "Roll of Honour - Oxfordshire - Oxford, Holy Trinity". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^ "OXFORD: ST. PETER LE BAILEY PARISH RECORDS - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^ "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (PDF). bishopofmaidstone.org. Bishop of Maidstone. December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
^ "Collective Worship Policy" (PDF). St. Ebbe’s C.E. (Aided) Primary School. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^ "Nathaniel Bliss - MacTutor History of Mathematics archive".
^ Stacey, Vivienne. Thomas Valpy French, First Bishop of Lahore (PDF). pp. 72, 121. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^ "John Stansfeld: Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Scheme". www.oxonblueplaques.org.uk.
^ Townley, Peter (16 July 2007). "Obituary: The Rt Rev Maurice Wood". The Guardian.
^ "Stella Gough: a life devoted to helping others". Oxford Mail. 20 January 2010.
^ "Trinity Hall - Canon Keith Weston: 1926 - 2013". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013.
^ "Doing the impossible - Evangelicals Now". www.e-n.org.uk. March 1999.
^ "Churches | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
^ Passing the baton - Scripture Union