Three Churches in Syston
In living memory there has been talk of three churches in
Syston. St Anne, St Bartholomew and St
Cuthbert. However whilst being interviewed for the
Bristol Observer January 21st 1925 the then Rector, Reverend J
Hunter Robinson ( incumbent 1917 b- 1927, retired in office )
declined the idea of there ever having been three churches at Syston. He pointed out, to support this theory that
Syston was never thickly populated.
He also stated that there was something very suspicious of
the position of St Annes. Around the church there were grouped only nine houses
and most other dwellings were nearer other parish churches as in Warmley,
Kingswood and Mangotsfield. This idea is supported by the fact that during
1769 to 1805 Christopher Haynes was in charge of Syston as well as Mangotsfield
and the single weekly service alternated between the two ( see the booklet
published to celebrate 800 years of worship at St James Mangotsfield, this
year).
The observer journalist completes his piece on St Anne thus-
“In spite of the disadvantage of it’s position, however, Syston is crowded with
worshippers on a Sunday evening and the congregation are especially large in
summer months. The motive for having
three churches remains anything but obvious”.
My own view is that the storylines have become blurred at
the edges. There quite probably were
three churches but, almost certainly, not at the same time. There certainly does appear to be some
history about a church dedicated to St Bartholomew being at Churchly ( also
sometimes spelt Churchleigh) in the
Autumn 1982 edition of Avon Past ( The Mollie Ashley Memorial Issue). Churchly appears as partway between the
Griffin at Bridgeyate and the turning for Webbs Heath.
Also in this issue of Avon Past on pages 22/23 On Syston Common “there were widely scattered groups of 18th
0r 19th century houses, successors of the shacks of the original
miners. In the western part of the
Kingswood medieval settlement, over the centuries, parishes have dispersed or
disappeared altogether. A good example
of this is Churchley on the boundary of Syston and Wick parishes for which
there is little documentary evidence.
Slight earth works in a field called CHaperl Hayes on Chesley Hill ,
North East of Bridgeyate Common,, may be connected to Churchley and it’s chapel
of St Bartholomew, the ruins of which survived into the 18th Century”. There is currently a church by the name of St
Bartholomew at Wick.
“Associated with the KIngswood Manor Houses are remains of
fish ponds, rabbit warrens and deer parks. The only definite example of a deer
park is at Syston, a licence granted to Robert Walerand in 1252. The exact location and boundaries are unknown
but it is most probably in the area between Syston Court and the 17th
Century Lodge Farm”.
MJW November
2022