On Friday 22 November a blue plaque was unveiled at St James Church, Romney Ave, Lockleaze, BS7 9XB. Reverend Ernest Martin was 26 years old when he was appointed minister here at St James. It was 1956 and Lockleaze was a brand-new, growing suburb and it was a very different time – a pre-Beatles, Teddy-boy era.
The minister formed a church youth club, popular with teenagers. He stipulated that they had to attend services to join the club. In 1959, Rev Marvin collaborated with Ewan Hooper, a Bristol Old Vic actor, to devise a gospel play in a form that young people could directly relate to. The show, A Man Dies, was first performed here. It then went on to the Colston Hall and the Royal Albert Hall and was eventually televised.
Conceived a decade before Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ, Superstar, A Man Dies was the first Christian Passion play and, arguably, the first rock musical.
More than seventy local residents gathered for the unveiling, and afterwards enjoyed refreshments and a screening of a 1961 television documentary about A Man Dies.
Thanks are due to the Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust: Melissa Blackburn, CEO and Maria Perrett, Community Activator, for helping to make it all happen. The plaque was dedicated by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Andrew Varney and unveiled by local resident Christine Welch, who had appeared in the Passion play performances in the sixties.
This blue plaque, the first in Lockleaze, pays tribute to an inspirational and pioneering minister and youth club leader. He is clearly remembered with great respect and affection.
Gordon Young
In our featured image (from the left): Maria Perrett, the Lord Mayor, Christine Welch and Melissa Blackburn