Wellow 650th Anniversary

A special service to celebrate St Julian’s, Wellow 650th Anniversary

Matthew Street– Rector

The oldest church building in the St J’s Group celebrated its 650th anniversary at a special service on Sunday 16th October 2022. The Bishop of Taunton, Revd Ruth Worsley gave the address and local church historian, Jane Rees, a short history of the church building. We were also honoured to have Robin Hungerford join us, who is a direct descendant of Thomas Hungerford who originally founded the church in 1372. The service was followed by a buffet lunch, activities for children, plus an opportunity to see the bells and the ringing chamber.

St Julian’s Church in Wellow opened its doors in 1372 and has been serving parishioners ever since!

The historic building is full of stories, including those surrounding its opening all those years ago.

To understand the historical context of just how old the church is, in 1372:

Edward III was on the throne of England, one of the last Plantagenet Kings
England was at war with France as part of the ‘Hundred Years War’
Europe was recovering from The Black Death or ‘The Plague’
The Church of England hadn’t been created yet. 1372 was 162 years before the English Reformation.

The opening of St Julian’s Church in 1372 is not just significant for the residents of Wellow and us locally, it also has its place in our country’s national narrative due to the fact that it was founded by the first ever Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Thomas Hungerford.

In 1369, Sir Thomas Hungerford bought the villages of Farleigh and Wellow for 1100 marks. A follower of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, Hungerford was the first leader of the House of Commons to be called ‘The Speaker’. The new church was then consecrated on the feast of St. Philip and St. James in 1372 by John Harewell, the Bishop of Bath and Wells.