The Old Vicarage · Lower Gornal

The Old Vicarage in Church Street.Image courtesy of Mr Ian Beach, sedgleymanor.com

This was the old vicarage house for the incumbents of the Parish Church, St. James the Great. It was built around the time of the Church in about 1820.

1844 Map with location of the Vicarage near Five Ways.

The house was located near the Five Ways, Lower Gornal, at the junction between Church Street and Summer Lane.

The Vicarage and area between it and the Churchyard was reputedly haunted. At one point, reports of 'happenings' found their way into the national newspapers during Reverend Rooker's time there in the 19th century; see "Village in Terror" link below.

After a period of disuse, the house had become quite derelict by the early 1970s. It was demolished and new private houses built on the site.

Group taken at the Vicarage, c. 1930?Image courtesy of St. James Church

Central to the photo are Fr. Job and Fr. Jervis, the photo includes many notable people of the church, including:-

Tom Hayden; Joe Oakley; John Timmins; Jack Bradley; Henry Wise; Fred Bate; Fred Marsh; Ben Oakley; Simon Dando;
Arthur Worton; Reg Worton
Harry Sutton; Harry Marsh; Peter Woodhall; Ralph Smith; Tom Pugh; Arthur Jones; Tom Smith; John Harries;
Bernard Woodhall; Ben Flavell; Cliff Haden; John Marsh

A new modern Vicarage was built further down Church Street next to the church.

Some interesting stories related to the vicarage abound and can be found on other pages.

See "A Murderous Outrage in Lower Gornal"

See "A Village In Terror"