LAST week we featured a picture of the Holy Trinity Church, Christchurch.

THIS is the Christchurch in Caerleon.

My father who was brought up in Caerleon and was called Jim Waggett.

He was a choir boy at the church in the late 20s.

I was christened there in March 1949.

When I became 60, on the 60th anniversary of my christening in March 2009, the parish church allowed me to celebrate my communion.

There was also a fire in the church in 1949 that gutted the entire church.

Reverend Geoff Waggett Christchurch Ebbw Vale

 

The church is based in Christchurch which is a village positioned at the top of Christchurch Hill in Newport.

At the top of the hill views across the Bristol Channel, the Vale of Usk and Monmouthshire countryside can be seen.

This church dates back to pre-Norman times and is on the site of a Saxon worshipping place.

A fire broke out at the church on the early morning of November 6 1949 which took place the morning after Guy Fawkes Night with fireworks exploding throughout evening.

The damage was estimated at £30,000 and resulted in the destruction of the Holy Trinity the Parish Church of Christchurch.

Mystery surrounds the case, after theories from the police and firemen were eliminated.

It was supposed that it was merely a coincidence that the fire broke out the day after Guy Fawkes Night.

The interior was rebuilt from 1953 to 1955 with a completely new design.