EST. 1849
Rev Whalley
He was chaplain from 1905 - 1924.
He cared about the people who worked and lived in the Docks and he worked hard to improve their lives
Gloucester’s location on the River Seven led to its development as a major in land port. There was significant development in the early 19th century with the building of the sharpness canal from sharpness to Gloucester opened in 1827. The Canal enabled shipping to avoid some of the difficult bends and also the difficult tidal conditions of the upper section of the river.
Along the canal, docks were built and this made for easier loading and unloading of ships and obviously warehouses followed. This was the time of the industrial revolution and it caused an increase in demand for transport and Gloucester importance as an inland port grew.
In 1832 five years after the opening of the canal. It’s recorded that about 7,500 vessels were entering and leaving the docks every year, and about 1000 seamen and boatmen were in Gloucester everyday. At this time the cities population would have been about 15,000.
The Quay and Docks, Gloucester, 1890 Edward Smith (1820–1893)
Image credit: Gloucester Museums Service Art Collection
Gertrude Davis
Gertrude (‘Gertie’) Davis was a regular and committed member of Mariners’ congregation for several decades after she moved into Gloucester from Ashleworth. She was attracted by Mariners’ sturdy evangelical expression. She was on the Council, ran the bookstall, and opened her garden for tea parties to raise funds. Above all, she was a woman of vision, with insight into the long-term potential of the Church.
A strong but self-effacing person, she was an enthusiastic photographer in her youth and an expert horticulturalist throughout her life, an early pioneer in methods of compost making. She was well known for insisting on walking to church even in her 80s, a 40-minute trek across the city.
There was a lot of rapid industrialisation that also led to dislocation in communities. There was a decline in formal apprenticeships as machines took over manufacturing. And this had a number of knock on effects. Locally in Gloucester in 1836 the town Clark reported arise in crime and drunkenness associated with the ports growth. Around this time it’s thought that around 75% of all petty theft was caused by under 25-year-old. It was a time of social change.
Another feature of the period was Sunday schools introduced in 1780s and promoted by Robert rakes of Gloucester. Theo Sunday school movement had spread rapidly and it was estimated but about 25% of children had their education from Sunday schools . This expansion of education had an effect and throughout the Victorian period. The level of literacy grew and by 1840 about 70% of working men had a basic level of literacy.
View of Gloucester Docks
Donald Ewart Milner (1898–1993)
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Gloucester Waterways Museum
Mariners Church
Street Organ
The congregation owned a street organ, a common object in the Victorian tines. As seen in the photograph above, it had four wheels and handprinted lettering that spelled out ‘Mariners Church’. In April 2024 we re-created this organ to celebrate with the Tall Ships Festival. It’s complete with a working keyboard that is slotted into a wooden case. The whole piece was created using reclaimed wood that was mostly gifted from members of the congregation.
No there was no parish church served in the docks. The dock was outside the parish system. The first effort was in 1839 when Mr Campbell started a mission to seamen but the work soon ceased when he died. In the 1840s successful appeal to start a church was promoted by men to connected with the port. There was perceived to be a need for the chapel with anecdotal stories of a ships captain that complained about the absence of a spiritual presence in Gloucester docks. And a boatman who stated ‘we have no chapel here or anyone to care for ourselves’.
The chapel opened on Sunday, the 11th of February 1849 and at that time they had already appointed the first chaplain. The Gloucester Chronicle reported soon after the opening “we were gratified to find the services were attended by a considerable number of semen and Waterman and we sincerely and Hartley wish that all of the benefits expected maybe realised by this undertaking and earnestly recommended to the support of our fellow citizens. The chapel is a simple most appropriate structure reflecting credits on the architect Mr Jacques and the builder Mr William Wingate, both of the city”
Gloucester Docks
John Collier (1850–1934)
Image credit: Gloucester Museums Service Art Collection
The chapel exterior has changed very little since the time that it was built. It was fitted into quite a cramped space amongst warehouses and a railway line. Churches are usually built from Easter west with the alter of the east and the main door at the West End Mariners Chapel is actually the wrong way round liturgically with the entrance on the east and the altar at the west end. This alteration occurred due to the wall of the warehouse behind being so close.
The first chaplain Reverend James Hollins was assisted by NA reader. They endeavoured to meet all the ships arriving at the docks. Some services were held in the chapel, some on the quay side and sometimes on board ships. The chaplain recorded that 1810 vessels were visited in the first year. Ships came from around the world and they produced tracks in 10 languages for foreign semen and sometimes services for occasionally held in different languages.
A Seaman’s life was dangerous and there was a ergancy to share gospel with them before they left the port. more than once it’s recorded that a few days after the ship at rhe port,, The chaplain noted that the vessel had been wrecked with the loss of all those on board on its very next voyage.
As well as spiritual matters, the chaplain would help the sailors with more practical things like writing letters to their family as not all illiterate. The intention was also to meet their practical needs as well as a spiritual needs services at the chapel at one time for you to pop with the people at the city so much so that on occasion the town folk were encouraged not to attend because they wanted to leave room for the sailors and Waterman, who didn’t really wanna mix with the town folk.
In 1877 it was reported that the city had had over 200 beer houses and ale houses . That amounts to about one for everyone one hundred people . In that year the chaplain rented rooms in the pool area for a coffee house and a reading room to serve the semen in the docks over the next few years five more coffee shops were opened and a coffee import buiness was set up. This became the Gloucester coffee company which continued until the 1950s. To provide more facilities for the work funds were raised to buy an old cheese warehouse llanthony Road which is opened in 1885 as Mariners Hall. It’s still Used by the church today.
As the railway started to pick up and use of doc started to decline the boat man started moving their families on board which increased the social isolation of these groups. in the 1860s this thought that they were about 18,000 such families on the rivers and canals . They travelled around on their boat this severely restricted the opportunity for education for the children at a time where overall literacy was increasing so the church stepped up to arrange education for the children. There was a particular concern for the daughters who were trained for domestic service to avoid them being driven into prostitution by economic circumstances.
After the first world war Gloucester declined rapidly as a port. the chaplain took on the role as the chaplain took on the role of Chaplin to Gloucester Royal infirmary which was opposite in Southgate street. Later on the church hall was no longer much use so let to the city Council and used as a night shelter for the homeless. However, the last 25 years have seen a transformation of the docks seeing the quays shopping center along with the food dock in recent years. Has also been an increase in residential and recreational boating and tourism to the area so the chapel and the hall are the focus of an active church which is grown in recent years.
