Sanford Street School – Radnor Street Cemetery

Samuel James Christelow was born in 1883 the son of John Christelow,- a boilermaker, and his wife Priscilla. He was baptised at St Mark’s Church on November 30, 1879 and grew up at 42 Wellington Street, a property that remained the family home for more than 70 years. After several years working in the railway factory, Samuel Christelow travelled to Zimbabwe where he was ordained. In 1938 the Rev Christelow returned to Swindon for an extended holiday with his family. A reporter from the North Wilts Herald interviewed Rev Christelow at the home of his sister and brother in law in Goddard Avenue.

Home From South Africa.

Archdeacon’s Five Months’ Leave

Native of Swindon

After a trip from South Africa aboard the Llanstephan Castle, the liner in which a mystery illness caused four deaths on the way, Archdeacon Samuel Christelow, of Southern Rhodesia, has arrived in Swindon on five months’ leave.

Swindon born and bred – he is an old Sanford-street scholar – Archdeacon Christelow has been working in the mission field in South Africa for 30 years, that time being spent in periods of five years in the Dark Continent broken up by spells on leave.

Plenty of Travel.

The diocese of Southern Rhodesia includes part of Bechuanaland, Mashonaland and Matabeleland, and the Archdeacon is also Director of Missions for the whole diocese. This mission work affords him plenty of travel – chiefly by car – throughout the whole territory in which are one and a half million natives and 65,000 whites. The whites are chiefly concentrated in Salisbury and Bulawayo. A good deal of translation work occupies Archdeacon Christelow’s attention, for he has an excellent knowledge of the languages of the country. He speaks Chishona, the language of Mashonaland, Zulu in Matabeleland, and Sechuana, which is spoken in Bechuanaland. “I learned the languages fairly quickly,” he told me. “I used to have to go off on trips lasting several weeks with natives who could not speak a word of English, so of course I had to learn. Most of my journeys then were done on foot, although I sometimes had a horse, but these animals were inclined to get horse sickness. We had to take all food with us to last for journeys of several hundred miles, covering about 25 or 30 miles each day. Occasionally, of course, I was able to shoot some game.”

Native Problems

Of the changes which had taken place in his 30 years’ experience of the country, Archdeacon Christelow said: “The attitude of the Government towards mission work has changed. It is much more sympathetic and shows it in various ways; among them it has started a scheme for providing medical aids for there is very little medical work indeed, most of it having been done by the missionaries, who also had to fill the roles of dentists, builders and carpenters. “The Government has also begun a series of clinics. Extracts from the North Wilts Herald, Friday, 4 March, 1938. samuel-james-christelow

Widowed and retired he returned to Swindon where he lived with his sister Rosa at 125 Goddard Avenue. He died in St Margaret’s Hospital in 1972 and is buried in plot D1587. You might also like to read: Up at the Castle

Image published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.

Ten years ago Mark Sutton was instrumental in seeing the Sanford Street School War Memorial removed to Radnor Street Cemetery Chapel. Swindon Council’s children’s department had moved out of the former school during 2012 and the building was empty and vulnerable, its future hung in the balance – demolition was even being suggested!

Today the building is known as the Swindon Community Hubb and is run by Voluntary Action Swindon, accommodating the Citizens Advice Bureau, Swindon Advocacy Movement and the Swindon Carers Centre among many other local voluntary organisations.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the unveiling of a portrait of the architect Brightwen Binyon and to listen to Martin Robins, a pupil from 1961-66, talking about his long association with the school.

Guests were also able to join James Moss on a tour of the building, which still includes many original features.

The memorial in the Radnor Street Cemetery Chapel includes the names of several sets of brothers who died in the First World War. Mark knew the history of all of them – how they lived and how they died.

The memorial can be viewed during our guided walks when the chapel is open. Our next walk is on Sunday May 7, meet at the chapel for 2 p.m. For more information visit our Facebook page.