John Witherston Rickards
| John Witherston Rickards | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 January 1844 Kullumghee, India |
| Died | 21 June 1921 (aged 77) Dixton, Monmouthshire |
| Occupation | Priest |
John Witherston Rickards (22 January 1844 – 21 June 1921), 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.
Rickards was born at Kullumghee, India in 1844. He was educated at Sherborne School and Gonville and Caius, Cambridge, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1866
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 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.”
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