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Holy Trinity Church (also known as St Peter & St Paul),
Church Road, BS9 3EQ,
Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church has (or had) a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded about 717, and we understand it is still open.

Kelly's Directory of 1897 describes Westbury on Trym as a parish, 3 miles south-west from Filton station on the Bristol and South Wales section of the Great Western railway, and 3 north-west from Bristol. The church of Holy Trinity "formerly attached to the college founded here in 1288 by Bishop [Godfrey] Giffard, was erected in the beginning of the 13th century, and consists of apsidal chancel, clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles, each with a small chapel, or chantry, rood stair turrets, north and south porches and a lofty western tower with pinnacles containing a clock and a fine peal of 6 bells".

In the chancel is a beautiful carved reredos, with a representation of "The Last Supper", adapted from Raphael's fresco in the convent of St Onofrio at Florence. The windows of the apse, and those on the north side of the chancel are stained. There are several ancient monuments, the most prominent being that of John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester (1444-76), provost of Oriel College, Oxford, and chancellor of that University, who was a great benefactor both to the church and the adjoining monastery, and was buried here. His tomb, restored by the Provost and Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford, stands on the south side of the chancel, and close to the Canynge chapel. There are 1,004 sittings.

The parish records date from 1559, and contain entries for Shirehampton from 1727. The living in 1897 was a vicarage with Redland annexed, in the gift of W.H. Warton and the trustees of the late T.T. Walton esq. alternately, and held since 1847 by the Rev. William Cartwright B.A. of University College, Oxford, who resided at Redland Green, Bristol; the Rev. John James Dunne Cooke M.A. of St John's College, Oxford, had been curate in charge since 1896.

It is worth noting that whilst Kelly records a 14th century foundation for the Church, the Holy Trinity Church website (in 2014) recorded a foundation around 717 A.D.; the account of its history on the current (2019) website is more cautious, saying that "it has been established that there has been a Christian settlement on the banks of the river Trym since the 8th century, pre-dating the settlement of Bristol".

To add even further interest to the mix, Phil Draper, on his ChurchCrawler website records its dedication as Holy & Undivided Trinity, and also called SS Peter & Paul.

Note: the ancient parish of Westbury on Trym was abolished in 1904 to become part of the civil parish of Bristol, established in 1898; thus in the present day it constitutes part of Bristol City and County.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church is located at OS grid reference ST5733477404. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Holy Trinity Church (also known as St Peter & St Paul), Westbury on Trym shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Westbury on Trym shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Westbury on Trym, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• You may want to visit Holy Trinity Church website for present-day information.
• The Church officiando's “Bible” - Phil Draper's ChurchCrawler (null) (verified 2018-10-16)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.