By the middle of the 19th century it was reported that churchgoing in the country was declining. A religious survey carried out in 1851 revealed that 42% of the population did not attend any church, however Anglicism remained strong in rural areas. Of course at that time Goffs Oak as a small agricultural village was clearly in that category but it seems it was about to buck the trend.
Goffs Oak was at that time within the parish of St Mary’s Cheshunt and the population of both Cheshunt and Goffs Oak had remained fairly static for some years. So on the face of it there seemed little reason to build a church in Goffs Oak.
However there was one curious event which did not seem to fit in with the accepted practice. In about 1858 the vicar of St. Mary’s is said to have purchased a Weslyeyan Chapel, which had been built in 1833 along Goffs Lane (the exact location is unkown), as a chapel of ease and this, if it happened at all, may have been the justification for a new chapel of ease to be built in Goffs Oak.
St James Church c1925
Two wealthy men in the area, James Bentley of Woodgreen Park and Robert Port of Hammondstreet were the driving force in a scheme to build a new church, each donating £500 to the cost. Other notable donations were made by Lady Meux of Theobalds Park, John Levick of Upper Burleigh, and Francis Thompson of Claramont. Within 18 months the target had been reached and on St James day 1860 James Bentley, as High Sherriff of Hertfordshire, laid the foundation stone. A formal dedication was performed exactly two years later on St James day 1862 by the Bishop of Rochester (at that time Cheshunt was in that diocese.)
The new church was designed by Haverson & Pitt of London and was built on the gothic style at the cost of £2640 including £400 of extras. Originally it had seating for 421 people. Of these 286 were free, 85 rented, and 50 reserved for children. Lighting was by candles on each alternate pew. Electricity was eventually installed in 1928.
After the dedication St James remained asa chapel of ease within the parish of Cheshunt. However in 1871 there was a move to have Goffs Oak made into a seperate parish. A deputation then visited both Lord Salisbury, the patron of the living at Cheshunt and also the vicar of St Mary’s and requested that the curate in charge should be made the first vicar. On 29th June 1871 an order by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in Council was obtained creating a new parish, although a vicarage was not added until 1888.
The new parish extended roughly within the area stretching from Beaumont Road in the north to Darnicle Hill, crossing it approximately by Newgatestreet bridge, then following the Cuffly Brook to Cuffley Hill, up to Jones road, along Silver Street to Halstead Hill and Goffs Lane. Then from Goffs Lane just beyond Claramont (later Caldicott) and up to Appleby Street and then following Park Lane Paradise back to Beaumont Road.
Of course this is only a rough indication of the area covered by the parish as all the official boundary stones have long since disappeared. This short story gives a brief outline of how the parish of Goffs Oak came into being. However for 146 years St James has been happy to feel itself part of the community and has played an important part in village life. In 2004 modifications were made to the church so that it can serve Goffs Oak in the years ahead.
