Wilford (North)

St Faith

Nottingham Archdeaconry

Nottingham South Deanery

Introduction

The site on which St Faith’s Church stands was original meadow land formed by the regular flood water flowing from the nearby River Trent. The area was, and still is, known as The Meadows. In the 1890s the City of Nottingham needed building land to house its growing population and industry, and the site only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre was soon a scene of extensive development. Soon after houses were built a school was erected in 1895, and in 1899 the local Lord of the Manor Sir Hervey Bruce gave land for the provision of a church. Initially in 1899 a corrugated iron clad building was erected on part of the site as a Mission Hall.

In 1905 the Mission Hall was named by the Bishop as St Faith’s Church. It was not until 1913 that the construction of the present building began and, although unfinished, it was consecrated in October 1915. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the church flourished, making a significant contribution to the community by the provision of a wide range of clubs and societies, as well as making regular financial contributions to both national and local charities.

Change appears to have come about soon after the end of the Second World War. In 1947 the then incumbent in his contribution to the monthly parish magazine recorded his concern regarding the low number of church users. The situation must have deteriorated, for in 1950 the Archdeacon called a meeting to discuss the future of St Faith’s, one suggestion being a union with St Saviour's in an adjoining parish. St Faith’s however continued to serve its parishioners despite increasing periods of time when it did not have a priest. In 1981 the church closed its doors for the final time and was declared redundant in 1983. The building and the vicarage were sold to the Elim Pentecostal Church, who used it for some time before it was adapted for use as a fee-paying Christian School. In turn the classroom partitions were removed and the building returned to its original role as a church under the banner of St Faith’s Full Gospel Revival Church.

Particular thanks to Doug Fletcher for research on this entry and for the photographs.