Previous vicars of Stretton on Dunsmore

The name of the earliest known priest in Stretton on Dunsmore, comes from the 1321 registers of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry which list the name of William de Langley as priest.

Later records suggest that he was followed by Augustillian de Stretton......possibly a local man.

The next priests were Robert de Hurleye and John Gibbs. These were the last priests to serve Stretton as a separate parish for the next 300 years because as a result of the reformation, Stretton became a part of the parish of Wolston and the records of 1681 show the names of Wolston clergy, namely Peter Haddon and Jon Stafford officiating at the church.  However the situation reverted when William Herbert,’gentleman of Stretton on Dunsmore’, provided money for the support of a clergyman to serve a separate parish again. This newly supported priest was Francis Hunt, a relative of the well known Princethorpe family of the Chamberlaynes. Since then various priests have served, some without much impact and some who have very much left their mark.

Rev. William Daniels left his mark by not only improving the old church but also by making a bequest for the building of a new church. This was in addition to the large frontage extension to the vicarage, now Stretton House, for which he was also responsible.

He was followed by Rev. John Sikes Sawbridge, a relative of the new patrons. In spite of the bequest for a new church building, this vicar made his mark by continuing to improve the existing church. There must have been a sad episode in his life because a monument in the church is in memory of the death of one of his young twin daughters.

Rev. Harry Townsend Powell will be remembered for implementing the construction of the new church and for its grand opening in the presence of 5,000 people.

In a very different way Rev. Stanley Collier made his ‘mark’. He enjoyed boxing and a pair of boxing gloves hung above a door in the vicarage. When confronted once by an aggressive parishioner, he floored him with a priestly punch!

In the mid 20^th century, came the historian vicar Rev. William Squires.  After a disappointing arrival in the village when, he noted, ‘there was no one to greet him apart from two non conformists’, he settled in and researched much of the village and church history up to the mid nineteen fifties.

His successor’s stay was very short lived. Though very well liked, the Rev. John Roberts did not settle to parish priesthood and left to work for a Christian childrens’ charity. Not long into this work, on his way to give a talk, he was killed when gusting winds blew a tree down on his car near Stoneleigh.

In 1973, the church joined with other villages to share a vicar, Rev. Gerald Brough, in a three parish benefice with the nearby villages of Frankton and Bourton on Dunsmore.

His successor, Rev. Christine Pollard, also broke new ground being the first female priest in the parish church’s history. She was appointed as priest in charge rather than as incumbent vicar because of the need for flexible arrangments within the diocese. New ground has continued to be broken because the present priest in charge, Rev. Barbara Clutton is a treble first in that she is a working farmer, a part time vicar and works voluntarily.