St Paul and St Stephen's Church, Gloucester being the architect. The church was consecrated for use on 11 October 1883 by the Bishop of Gloucester. It was built to serve the expanding population but also as a memorial to Robert Raikes on the 100th anniversary of the 1780 Sunday school movement. It was funded by a grant from the Incorporated Church Building Society and donations including a large gift from D.H.D Burr. In total around £6,500 was raised, although this was enough to complete the church two parts of the original design were not fully built including the nave which was stopped two bays short and the
Geoffrey Raikes Geoffrey Raikes Major-General Sir Geoffrey Taunton Raikes CB DSO (7 April 1884 – 1975) was a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1930s. Educated at Radley College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Raikes was commissioned into the South Wales Borderers in 1903. He was seconded to the Egyptian Army from 1913 to 1915. He served in World War I and in April 1918 found himself as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers at Armentières where the battalion suffered heavy losses. After the War he became an Instructor at the Senior Officers School