From 1874 to 1908, St Thomas’ Church, Longford, was a Chapel of Ease within the parish of Foleshill. The ‘Mother Church’ at that time called Foleshill Parish Church, was situated in Old Church Road, Foleshill. It was only in 1908 that the ecclesiastical parish of Longford was created out of the ancient parishes of Foleshill, Exhall and Sowe.
An early reference to Longford states that in the 15th century there were certainly houses and cottages around Longford and Foxford, but there was no indication that they formed distinct hamlets. In 1730 a census showed that there were still only 20 houses at Longford (including Foxford), and Foleshill Parish Church would have served the population of approximately 100. By the middle to late 1700’s, the ribbon weaving industry and a flourishing coal mine at Hawkesbury led to workers and their families settling in Longford, which was now on the principal route from the mining districts of Nuneaton and Bedworth to Coventry.
The increase in population within the whole of the Foleshill Parish caused the then vicar, Thomas Coker Adams "no little concern for the inhabitants spiritual welfare". Because Foleshill Parish Church was now too small to cope with the enlarged parish, the parish of St Paul’s, Foleshill was created in 1841 to serve the south of the parish. Thomas Coker Adams then looked to the north of the parish and around 1850 set about raising funds to build a Chapel of Ease at Longford. By the time of his death in 1851, he had raised the considerable sum of £762. 2s. 4d.
The project to build this new church was put on hold until the institution of Walter Raleigh Carr as vicar of Foleshill in March 1871. Within twelve months of his arrival he had formed a Church Building Committee which held its first meeting in March 1872. At the first meeting the first item discussed was the site for the new church. A half-acre corner site bounded by the Coventry to Hinckley Turnpike Road (now the Longford Road) and Hurst Lane was purchased for £200.
At the committee meeting on June 19th, 1872 it was agreed that the chairman, Walter Raleigh Carr, would meet with Mr John Cotton, an architect, from Birmingham, to discuss carrying out the designing and building of a church within the committee’s budget of £1200. Initial plans were put before the committee at the July 1872 meeting. By December 1872 after several revisions the final plans including a tower and spire were finally approved and tenders were sought from builders.
On March 14th, 1873, the deadline for tenders to be sent in, thirteen tenders had been received, the cheapest being from a Mr Nelson of Dudley as follows;
For the building of the church only £1761
For the building of the tower/spire £ 370
Total for the whole church £2131
After considerable discussion, and bearing in mind that the original budget was £1200, it was unanimously agreed to accept the first part of the tender for the church only. However by March 27th 1873, because of an increase in the price of bricks and tiles the committee had to accept an increase of £100 in the price of building the church only to £1861.
THE LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE
By the time of the laying of the foundation stone in June 1873, the sum of £2209. 4s 2d. had been collected. The date set was June 25th 1873, the stone to be laid by Mr. H. W. Eaton MP. As the preparations were being made a major embarrassment was avoided when on June 9th it was realised that a foundation stone had not been ordered. This was quickly rectified and the day passed off relatively smoothly apart from during the reception afterwards a storm blew up and threatened to blow the marquee away. People had to hang on at the weakest point until the storm passed and festivities could resume.
On Saturday June 28th 1873 after the laying of the foundation stone the building committee met and agreed "that the contract of Mr Nelson to complete the tower and spire for the sum of £430 be accepted". The building work was finished in February 1874, and was described as;
A beautiful building in the Gothic style of architecture, the design being conceived in the spirit of the early types of this style. It comprises of a nave with aisle, chancel, organ chamber and vestry on the north side facing Hurst Lane. There is a tower with spire at the north-west end of the building, the lower portion of which forms the porch. The church is built of red brick, the internal facings being of buff coloured bricks, obtained from Nuneaton. The stone dressings to the doorways, nave arcade and widow tracery, etc., being executed partly in Attleborough and partly in ground Bath stone. The roof is open timbered and covered with brindle coloured plain tiles. There is accommodation for upwards of 300 people It is a Chapel of Ease to the old Parish Church of St Laurence and is in the Parish of Foleshill.
The total cost of the building, in the statement of accounts amounted to £2352. 5s. The architect’s fees were £146. 2s. and the land had cost £200. These costs along with the gas lighting, installation of a bell and other ancillaries brought the cost up to £2935. 16s. 8d. Up to the Tuesday prior to the consecration of the church £2270 had been raised. The collection after the consecration service amounted to £112, which with a profit on catering of £9. 0s. 1d left the committee with a debt of less than £500.
After its completion the building had been allowed to stand for the rest of the winter to dry out. The consecration of St Thomas’ Church, Longford was arranged for April 14th 1874, the service conducted by the Right Reverend Henry Philpott, Lord Bishop of Worcester. The festivities lasted two days and all celebrations over, the life and work of the Church of St Thomas, Longford, had begun, work which so many of us are proud to continue.
The final statement of accounts dated February 18th 1875 showed total receipts of £2939. 10s. 9d. (This included a £500 loan from a committee member) and total expenditure of £2935. 16. 8d. leaving a credit balance of £3. 14s. 1d. As the £500 loan still had to be repaid this left the Church Building Committee with a debt of £496. 5s. 11d. By June 1875, the total in the bank had reached £223. 9s. 1d. Donations through 1876 and 1877 saw the totals rise slowly but with a shortfall still of £131. 11s. This outstanding sum was finally raised at a bazaar on July 16-18th 1878, and so, 28 years after Thomas Coker Adams began collecting money for a church, the building committee was finally clear of debt.
Roger Davis
October 2000
The above is an extract from a 24 page booklet which can be purchased from the PCC Secretary at a cost of £2.50 including postage.
Any enquiries relating to Family History connections with St Thomas’ Church would also be welcomed, please e mail Roger Davies