John Witherston Rickards
Encyclopedia
John Witherston Rickards, priest
, founded the Anglican Parish of St Cyprian the Martyr
at New Rush, Kimberley
, on the South African Diamond Fields, in 1871. He served a curacy at St Cyprian's, Marylebone
, London, and following his stint in South Africa
he was Vicar of Dixton
, at St Peter's, in Monmouthshire, from 1886 until his death in 1921.
, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1866
Bishop Robert Gray
of Cape Town
visited St Cyprian's Marylebone on St Cyprian's Day 1870 and it is surmised that his sermon and call for recruits to the church in South Africa had inspired Rickards. Frederick Noel mentions only that “the missionary spirit urged him to make his way in 1870 to South Africa.”
Today, St Cyprian’s, Marylebone, occupies a Neo-Gothic building perhaps only dreamt of in Gutch's (and Rickards') day.
at Modderpoort
in the eastern Free State, in the Diocese of Bloemfontein
– but he was instead diverted westwards to the newly discovered Diamond Fields, where Bishop Webb felt the needs were greater. Here Rickards laid the basis for the Parish which began in a tent and is today the Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr in Kimberley.
The writer J.W. Matthews would recall something of the “primitive state of things existing”, as far as eccelsiastical arrangements were concerned, on his first arrival at the Diamond Fields in November 1871: worshippers gathered in a canvas tent billiard-room:
“On entering I beheld a full-robed clergyman officiating at one end of a billiard-table, which served for his reading desk, whilst a large and attentive crowd sat around the other end, some on rude benches which were fixed along the walls, others perched upon gin cases, buckets reversed, or any other make-shift that came to hand. The congregation behaved with suitable decorum, but I confess it was not easy to keep the mind from wandering to the incongruity of the surroundings. ..When the parson was praying or the people singing, it was not particularly edifying to be interrupted by the lively chaff and occasional bursts of blasphemy, which we could plainly hear through the canvas party-walls, which separated us from the adjoining bar and its half tipsy occupants.” For Matthews, “notwithstanding these drawbacks”, and despite the valiant but imperfect renditions of the appointed hymns, it was nevertheless “refreshing to hear the grand old service once again”.
Fr Frederick Noel remembered “hearing letters from Mr Rickards describing the roughness of the work in those early days ... amid dust and canvas and all the discomforts of such a settlement, but he persevered until he had got a fair-sized temporary church”.
As early as 1872, within a year of the founding of St Cyprian’s, Fr Crisp in Bloemfontein reported that “this New Rush Church has a surpliced choir accompanied by a harmonium. The singing is really very good.” Clearly intent upon consolidating a choral tradition here, St Cyprian’s soon replaced the harmonium with an organ, purchased from Grahamstown’s Commemoration Church in 1874 for the sum of £125.
Rickards promoted the important and neglected cause of education
in what would become Kimberley (three schools originated from this work). A Mission School, later called Perseverance
, was brought into existence in his day, as were a school for boys and one for girls. St Cyprian’s Boys’ School
- the original St Cyprian's Grammar School - under headmaster Thomas McLaren was established in March 1876: “For several years this was one of the best schools in Kimberley.”
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, founded the Anglican Parish of St Cyprian the Martyr
St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
at New Rush, Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, on the South African Diamond Fields, in 1871. He served a curacy at St Cyprian's, Marylebone
St Cyprian's, Clarence Gate
St Cyprian's Church is an Anglican church in the Marylebone district of London. It is dedicated to Saint Cyprian, a third century martyr and Bishop of Carthage....
, London, and following his stint in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
he was Vicar of Dixton
Dixton
-History and amenities:Dixton is close to Monmouth town. Dixton is bordered by the River Wye .St. Peter's parish church is situated in Dixton on the banks of the River Wye, just north of Monmouth...
, at St Peter's, in Monmouthshire, from 1886 until his death in 1921.
Early life
Rickards was born in India in 1844. He was educated at Gonville and Caius, CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1866
St Cyprian's, Marylebone
Ordained deacon in 1867 and priest in 1868, Fr Rickards served as a curate first at Ringwood (1867-8) and then under Fr Charles Gutch at a church mission called St Cyprian's, Marylebone (1868–70). St Cyprian's “was a centre of numerous works of mercy; a light spot amidst the dullness of London by-streets”. A contemporary description refers to the “little church" as "a quaint building consisting of the front rooms of a house in Park Street, with the yard behind them and the stable in the mews at the back, the upper storey of which formed the choir, the stable itself the vestry. Underneath it the yard, which had been a coal store, was roofed over and had a skylight, and a flight of many steps led up to the sanctuary. A surpliced choir was an unusual sight in the ‘60s, except in cathedrals and special advanced churches, and the daily celebration, which was carried on in this little sanctuary for 36 years, was something still more strange. About 150 people could be squeezed in, when all the gangways were filled up, and the services were very hearty and the congregation regular and devoted”.Bishop Robert Gray
Robert Gray
Robert Gray was an American merchant sea-captain who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade in that region...
of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
visited St Cyprian's Marylebone on St Cyprian's Day 1870 and it is surmised that his sermon and call for recruits to the church in South Africa had inspired Rickards. Frederick Noel mentions only that “the missionary spirit urged him to make his way in 1870 to South Africa.”
Today, St Cyprian’s, Marylebone, occupies a Neo-Gothic building perhaps only dreamt of in Gutch's (and Rickards') day.
St Cyprian's, Kimberley
Upon his arrival in South Africa Rickards was to have joined the Missionary Brotherhood of St Augustine of HippoBrotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo
The Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo was an Anglican Brotherhood founded in the Free State, South Africa, in 1867, and based at Modderpoort from 1869, in the Diocese of Bloemfontein....
at Modderpoort
Modderpoort
Modderpoort, also known as Lekhalong la Bo Tau or ‘The Pass of the Lions’, is the site in the eastern Free State, South Africa, where the Anglican Missionary Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo, was established by Bishop Edward Twells in the late 1860s...
in the eastern Free State, in the Diocese of Bloemfontein
Anglican Diocese of the Free State
The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...
– but he was instead diverted westwards to the newly discovered Diamond Fields, where Bishop Webb felt the needs were greater. Here Rickards laid the basis for the Parish which began in a tent and is today the Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr in Kimberley.
The writer J.W. Matthews would recall something of the “primitive state of things existing”, as far as eccelsiastical arrangements were concerned, on his first arrival at the Diamond Fields in November 1871: worshippers gathered in a canvas tent billiard-room:
“On entering I beheld a full-robed clergyman officiating at one end of a billiard-table, which served for his reading desk, whilst a large and attentive crowd sat around the other end, some on rude benches which were fixed along the walls, others perched upon gin cases, buckets reversed, or any other make-shift that came to hand. The congregation behaved with suitable decorum, but I confess it was not easy to keep the mind from wandering to the incongruity of the surroundings. ..When the parson was praying or the people singing, it was not particularly edifying to be interrupted by the lively chaff and occasional bursts of blasphemy, which we could plainly hear through the canvas party-walls, which separated us from the adjoining bar and its half tipsy occupants.” For Matthews, “notwithstanding these drawbacks”, and despite the valiant but imperfect renditions of the appointed hymns, it was nevertheless “refreshing to hear the grand old service once again”.
Fr Frederick Noel remembered “hearing letters from Mr Rickards describing the roughness of the work in those early days ... amid dust and canvas and all the discomforts of such a settlement, but he persevered until he had got a fair-sized temporary church”.
As early as 1872, within a year of the founding of St Cyprian’s, Fr Crisp in Bloemfontein reported that “this New Rush Church has a surpliced choir accompanied by a harmonium. The singing is really very good.” Clearly intent upon consolidating a choral tradition here, St Cyprian’s soon replaced the harmonium with an organ, purchased from Grahamstown’s Commemoration Church in 1874 for the sum of £125.
Rickards promoted the important and neglected cause of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in what would become Kimberley (three schools originated from this work). A Mission School, later called Perseverance
Perseverance School
The Perseverance School, Kimberley, was founded as such in 1883 but might be seen as having arisen from the St Cyprian's Mission School dating back to the early 1870s...
, was brought into existence in his day, as were a school for boys and one for girls. St Cyprian’s Boys’ School
St Cyprian's Grammar School, Kimberley
St. Cyprian's Grammar School in Kimberley, South Africa, is a co-educational English-medium independent school for Grades 1-12, attached to St Cyprian's Cathedral...
- the original St Cyprian's Grammar School - under headmaster Thomas McLaren was established in March 1876: “For several years this was one of the best schools in Kimberley.”