St Ebbe's Church, Oxford

St Ebbe's Church
St Ebbe's Church
Location	Pennyfarthing Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 1QE
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Conservative Evangelical
Website	stebbes.org.uk
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
Rector	The Revd Canon Vaughan Roberts
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Paul Taylor and Jonathan Anelay

St Ebbe's is a Church of England parish church in central Oxford. 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 enlarged and improved in 1866 and 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. 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.^[5]

Present day

St Ebbe's continues to be highly active, with three meetings each Sunday at 9:45, 4:30 and 6:30, with the additional of a fourth 11:45 service during term-time. There are also a range of mid-week groups.

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.^[6]

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^[7]
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^[8]
1881: John Arkell
1901-1909: P.W.G. Filleul
1912-1926: John Stansfeld^[9]
1947–1952: Maurice Wood^[10], later Principal of Oak Hill and Bishop of Norwich
1952–1964: Basil Gough^[11]
1964–1985: Keith Weston^[12]
1986–1998: David Fletcher^[13]
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. Grittith
1934-1936: Pat Gilliat
1950-1952: Edward Saunders
1952-1956: Michael Farrer
1955-1958: David Pytches
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
1991-1998: Vaughan Roberts
1995-2001: David Gibb
1999-2003: Anthony Jones
2002-present: Pete Wilkinson
2003-2008: Julian Bidgood
2008-2012: Phil Jack
2009-present: Dave Reid
2010-2014: Suresh Menon
2013-2018: James Fletcher
2013-2017: Alistair Gibbs
2017-present: Joel Knight
2017-present: Matt Pope

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.
^ "Collective Worship Policy" (PDF). St. Ebbe’s C.E. (Aided) Primary School. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^ "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (pdf). bishopofmaidstone.org. Bishop of Maidstone. December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
^ "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.oxfordshireblueplaques.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.
^ http://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/alumni/keeping-in-touch/obituaries/detail.asp?ItemID=2414
^ "Doing the impossible - Evangelicals Now". www.e-n.org.uk.