THE ANGLICAN CHURCHES AND CLERGY OF CHELTENHAM by Alan Munden

In this new book, Alan Munden explores the development of the Anglican churches in Cheltenham, from the ancient parish church of St Mary and the numerous churches of the Victorian era, to those consecrated in the 20th century. The introductory section covers patronage, varieties of Evangelicalism and churchmanship, hymnbooks, church seating, frequency of services, team ministries and clergy 1799-2020, including the famous, infamous and the barely known. Sections on each church follow, with the history of the building, plus listings of incumbents with biographical details and their clerical careers. Alan adds colour with extra snippets of information—one poor clergyman being married to an ’adventuress’ who defrauded her husband, the court case reported as ‘one unequalled for duplicity and criminal deception by a wife.’
Alan is a regular contributor to the CLHS Journal, and 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the start of his curacy at the parish church, now The Minster.
The print version (172 pp) is available now at a price of £7. Later this year we will place an online edition on our website, which will include dates of incumbencies but will exclude the detailed clergy biographies and clerical careers. Print copies will continue to be available for purchase.