A CONGREGATION is celebrating 50 years since the first clergyman arrived in Blackbird Leys – remembering a time when baptisms were carried out using washing up bowls and pudding basins.

The Rev Peter Malton moved to the newly built Blackbird Leys estate in 1960, tasked with providing its residents with a place to worship.

He set up home with his wife Anne and son Jonathon at 17 Blackbird Leys Road in June 1960.

Local Christians are set to mark 50 years since Mr Malton’s arrival with a special celebration at The Church of the Holy Family on Tuesday at 7.30pm, led by Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard.

Last night, the Rev Roger Burne, the current vicar at the church, paid tribute to the work of his predecessor, without whom the estate would be without a church or church community.

He said: “Rev Malton really got the ball rolling.

“He laid the foundations that have been wonderfully productive over the years.

“There is a huge amount in the community that has been either supported by or initiated by the church, including the Agnes Smith Advice Centre, the Credit Union, Leys CDI and BLAP (Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground).

“There have been a lot of things in the community which the church helped initiate, encouraged and supported.”

Mr Burne said the church mattered hugely to the community, particularly at important times in the life such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.

He said: “There is a huge amount of evidence that people regard our church as their church.”

Father-of-three Mr Malton, who left the estate in 1966, now lives in Canada but has fond memories of Blackbird Leys.

Initially the now 77-year-old used his home as a temporary church, on one occasion hosting 47 children in his sitting room one Sunday morning, until he began campaigning to build a proper church.

He was regularly called to baptisms, which, without a church, he carried out in homes across the estate using a washing-up bowl or pudding basin as a font.

By Christmas 1960, a makeshift church, in the form of a wooden hut, had been built in Cuddesdon Way and was used by the community.

The heart-shaped Church of the Holy Family in Cuddesdon Way was eventually completed in the spring of 1965, designed by architect Colin Shrewing, who decided its shape should reflect its position in the heart of the community.

Mr Malton, who is unable to attend the ceremony, said: “I feel immensely grateful that things developed as they did.

“There were many more people than just me who got the church up and running.

“I am nostalgic for many things, especially favourable ones, and I have feelings of comfort and pleasure to know how Blackbird Leys has advanced and progressed so far and so quickly.”