vicarage (tithe114). The 1614 one little house adjoining to the highway (tithe115) was very probably the site of the medieval Church ale–house and, appropriately, is the location of the present parish / village hall.
Revd. Nicholas Corne (alias Cowper), vicar, from 21st March 1605 – 1639 or later.
Ordained in Llandaff Cathedral in June 1603; his first parish was Goldcliff, Monmouthshire. He lived at Bacton and it is possible that he was deprived of this living for Royalist sympathies.
The clergy during the Commonwealth have not yet been traced.
Diocesan records continue after the 1660 Restoration.
Revd. William Peyton, by 1665 – died 1680.
As vicar of Saint John Baptist, the parish of Hereford Cathedral, he employed curates at Bacton: Walter Hurdman (1671) and Lewis Price (from 1671). In 1671 it was noted that though Revd. W. Peyton was resident in Hereford, he does duty without complaint. He chose the parish clerk who does the best he can. The Church was in sufficient repair with a decent Communion table and large surplice. The pre–Reformation chalice was noted. Everyone went to Communion. The parchment register was kept and returns sent to the diocese on time. There were no recusants in the parish and no–one suspected of adultery. The churchyard fence was noted as part pales and part hedge. There was a terrier of glebelands. The parish had a physician, a surgeon and a midwife, though no hospital.
Revd. John Willim, rector, 4th February 1680–deprived 1691.
He was also inducted as rector of Dore on 27th March 1680. His curate was Charles Manfield.
Revd. William Evans, M.A., 21st January 1691–died 1705. His curate was John Chelmick.
Revd. Isaiah Jones, 16th October 1705–resigned 1723.
Revd. John Price, 19th July 1723–died 1773.
Revd. William Parry, 5th June 1773–resigned 1778.
Revd. Thomas Higgins B.A., 8th April 1778–died 1802.
Revd. John Higgins, 13th January 1802–died 1818.
He also held Llanwarne from 23rd April 1810 where he lived saying there was no parsonage house at Bacton. (He was the incumbent when the windows were removed to Atcham Church, Shropshire in 1811.)
Revd. Bennett Hoskyns M.A., 5th December 1818–resigned 1835.
Revd. Charles Proberts (or Roberts) rector of Bacton 26th Feb.1835 (& Clodock)–died 1884.
Revd. Collinson, the curate, lived in Bacton Rectory. In 1860 when he was chaplain to the Dore Union workhouse, he persuaded the Board to allocate £1 for a small library for the inmates. When he retired in 1887 the Board recorded their thanks to him in the minute–book for the uniform assiduity and kindness with which he discharged the important duties in performing services of the Church of England and administrating spiritual consolation to the inmates of the workhouse.
Revd. William Graydon Harrison, vicar of Bacton, 29th June 1884–resigned 1891.
Revd. John Grosvenor Monro M.A., rector of Bacton, 13th August 1891–1904.
The church was in a deplorable condition so Revd. Monro organised fund–raising. He tried to restore the windows from Atcham Church. During the restoration work Church Services were held in the newly constructed parish/village hall. The church re–opened on the 7th May 1894, the total cost including the tower (1907) being £11,000.
Revd. Charles Thomas Brothers, rector of Bacton, 1904–1952.
He refused all offers of preferment (promotion) from several Bishops of Hereford. He donated three stained–glass windows to the Church: that depicting Saint Faith in 1905, and Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen in 1921. He was also chaplain to the Dore Union workhouse. His sister kept house for him and his time at Bacton was chronicled in the monthly magazines, an invaluable record of parish life. When he died, after a tenure of 49 years, the parishioners placed the tablet to his memory in the Church.
For more than 1,000 years this site has been a focus for Christian worship. Worship still continues – you are most welcome to join the congregation if you wish.
©Ruth E. Richardson 2014