Our History

Although some attempts to convert people were made by Baptists, who held a small day school and there were occasional Sunday services held by a man from Heelas, the drapers in Wokingham, the situation continued until the 1860s.

The Sawyers moved into a large house at St Sebastian’s, which they renamed Ravenswood.  The commitment and dedication of this family were central to the conversion to Christianity of the heathen Broomdashers.  In 1862 Major Sawyer gave up a cottage on the estate to form a small day school; no child was allowed to go to school unless they also went to worship on a Sunday afternoon.  The Bishop of Oxford gave Major Sawyer permission to read Evensong and later he received assistance from the vicar of All Saints.

The next step was to build the Church on a site donated by the Sawyers.  The Bishop of Oxford procured grants and money was gradually raised, including generous donations from Mr Walter of Bearwood and the Master of Wellington College.  The Church of St Sebastian’s was built and consecrated on 10th December 1864.  The school was built approximately 6 years later with major contributions from another notable local, the Palmers, who lived at Heathlands nearby.  The Sawyers’ involvement in pastoral care continued with Mrs Sawyer bringing in children for baptism and their daughter assisting in the formation of the first choir.

The population of the Parish has grown from 394 in 1881 to over 8,000 at the turn of the millennium.

The original church was a simple barn shape designed by William Butterfield, later the architect of Keble College, Oxford.  Additions to the building in 1885 included a new vestry, pulpit, bell tower, oak eagle lectern and stained-glass window on the south side of the church.  The oak choir stalls, with carvings relating to St Sebastian, were installed in 1887 and financed by the incumbent, Rev Carr.   In 1926 many changes took place to the church.  Stained glass windows were added, and the altar was enlarged.  The very fine organ was bought in 1947 from a local house and the organ room built.  The most recent extension was in 1983 to house the large congregations at family services.  The stained-glass window of St Sebastian was moved into its current position.

The first vicar of the church was the Rev Hugh Redmond Mores who was the son of the Rector of All Saints, Wokingham.  He was vicar for 13 years and was much loved by his parishioners.  He was succeeded by the Rev Arthur Carr who was also a scholar – it was the proceeds from his book “The Church and the Roman Empire” which funded the choir stalls.

Vicars: