Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers
Posted 18 September 2023.
In about 1750 Eman Bowen presented a map of Somerset to John Poulett, 2nd Earl Poulett, who was then Lord-Lieutenant of the county. At the time Bristol was a sizeable town of 50,000 or so souls, but what is strikingly revealed on the map is how small it actually was. The areas south of the Avon and to the east in Gloucestershire were largely undeveloped, and unpopulated. The map also presaged something of what was to come. Near the village of Bedminster a small note provides a clue:
The first coal was mined in Kingswood to the east of Bristol, and then at Bedminster to its south. In both areas collieries sprang up along with the housing catering for the influx of workers from the countryside.1 Serving the people's spiritual health was the church of St Philip & St Jacob in the centre of town whose parish extended for several miles to the east. It was clear that new parishes were needed and as a result the Parish of St George was created in the mid 18th century. A large plot of land off Summerhill Road was given by a local politician, Thomas Chester, a site large enough for a substantial church and vicarage. The foundation stone was laid in March 1752.2 The early church of St George was plain, English Baroque in style, and from the look of the 1821 print, a little utilitarian.
In 1843 the architect John Hicks of Bristol & Dorchester3 was commissioned to carry out repairs on the 18th century church, though it appears to have been rebuilt instead, as the plan opposite, and the report in The Builder of 1846 seems to bear out.4 5 Other works of John Hicks include Holy Rood Church, Combe Keynes, St Andrew's, Montpelier, Bristol, and St John the Evangelist, Clifton, Bristol. Hicks would later apprentice the young Thomas Hardy to his practice in Dorchester before he embarked upon his writing career.
Hicks's new church was destroyed by fire on 22nd December 1878. Works to rebuild the church was commenced almost immediately with Philip E Masey of the firm Norton and Masey, Architects, London, who had formerly been connected with the parish as apprentice to John Hicks, and who offered to present a design without remuneration. Masey seems to have worked at lightning speed, because his plans were presented to a vestry meeting and the parishioners on 23rd January 1879, and were duly approved.6 The Bristol Mercury article outlined Masey's proposal:
Perhaps Masey's speed is not that surprising, as he would undoubtedly have had the advantage of being in possession of the original plans, and the rebuilt church was reported to have been based upon Hicks's foundations, and followed, "as faithfully as possible" the general lines of the earlier structure while adding improvements.7 Much of the original fabric of the walls had survived the fire and these were reused, along with materials which were able to be salvaged. Works therefore progressed apace, with the Mayor of Bristol laying a foundation stone near the west end on 16th April 1879. The church, despite a delay caused by a building workers' strike, was completed in 1880 and reopened by the Bishop of Gloucester on 8th May.8
In 1976 the church was declared structurally unsafe and demolished. In fact, it was so dangerous that the demolition could not be tackled by hand and machines in the traditional manner, but had to be carried out with explosives.9
The only Percy Bacon and Brothers window at St George's confirmed from contemporary reports was installed in 1904. The Builder article described it thus:
Location Map: