urch of
the Holy Trinity, by Bishop Ryder, on the 26th June, 1817, who preached a
sermon, not yet forgotten, upon 1 Kings viii. 30; and the whole property
of the living was vested in the Lord Bishop of Gloucester, Lord
Calthorpe, and the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, Rev. J. Kempthorne and
Rev. Charles Bryan, as trustees.

Although Mr. Berkin had thus accomplished the important object of
providing the inhabitants of the north-east portion of the Forest with "a
church which they could call their own," he felt that it yet remained for
him to make the building really useful to the people by imparting to them
more and more just views of the Christian life. Accordingly he laboured
if possible more abundantly than ever amongst them, visiting their houses
at short intervals, collecting neighbours together, and expounding the
Holy Scripture to them under their own roofs, or else opening the church
so as to draw them off from the corrupting pastimes which were common at
certain times of the year, and bestowing much pains on his Sunday school.

[Picture: Holy Trinity Church and Schools, Harry Hill]

Sometimes, when necessitated to take relaxation, and to go from home for
a few weeks, he improved the time by acting as a deputation for the
Church Missionary or Bible Societies, and even now his name is remembered
in distant parishes. The Missionary Association for which he acted as
secretary, and which was called the North-east Forest of Dean Branch,
sometimes contributed 220 pounds a year to the cause, or a total of 3,300
pounds. The appliances, now so generally known, for interesting the
young were even then in actual operation in his own school, and effected
their purpose well. His monitors and sub-teachers were carefully guided
by him; and no doubt with the design of duly impressing its importance
upon his scholars, holy baptism in accordance with the rubric was always
administered during divine service, after the second lesson, and this
took place most Sundays, as the register shows.

Few clergymen took more pains than Mr. Berkin with the communicants of
the church, who were always visited before the communion day, and who
generally presented themselves to the number of about seventy. On two
occasions valuable livings were offered to him; but, said he, "since my
ministerial work began in this neighbourhood, here it shall end," as it
accordingly did, after forty years of labour, on the 11th October, 1847.
He