Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston facts for kids

St Peter & Paul, Aston juxta Birmingham
52°30′25″N 1°52′47″W / 52.5070°N 1.8797°W / 52.5070; -1.8797
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Evangelical
Website	www.astonnechellscofe.org.uk
History
Dedication	St Peter & St Paul
Specifications
Height	198 feet (60 m)
Administration
Parish	Aston and Nechells
Diocese	Birmingham
Province	Canterbury

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul is a historic church in Aston, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Church of England. This church is an important landmark in the area. It stands on Witton Lane, near Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa Football Club.

A Look at Aston's Past

The story of Aston and its church goes back a long way. Digs in 2013 found signs of a Roman settlement here. In 1086, the Domesday Book survey showed Aston was much richer than nearby Birmingham.

Later, Aston Hall was built in 1618. Aston was a wealthy farming area for a long time. But as Birmingham grew with factories, Aston changed too. By the 1800s, it became a busy place with homes and industries. The area has seen many changes over the years.

Today, the church is in a special protected area. This is called the Aston Hall and Church Conservation Area. The church building itself is very important. It is listed as a Grade II* building. This means it is a particularly important building of more than special interest.

Building the Church: A Timeline

Aston was once part of the Kingdom of Mercia in early England. The first church was likely built in the 800s. It was probably made of wood, and the Domesday Book mentions it. This church served a huge area. It had smaller churches, called chapels of ease, in places like Yardley and Castle Bromwich. This suggests St Peter & Paul was a minster church. This means it was a main church that helped other smaller churches.

The first stone church was finished around 1120. It was the second largest church in the West Midlands region. Only the original Coventry Cathedral was bigger. The church was updated a lot in 1480. The tall tower and spire you see today are from this time. The spire was repaired in 1776–1777.

More changes happened in 1879. A famous architect named J. A. Chatwin worked on it. He was known for designing churches in different styles. In 2008, a new stone platform was added. It includes a unique cross-shaped pool for baptisms.

Special Memorials and Windows

This church has many interesting monuments. They date from 1360 all the way to 2018.

You can find three tombs for the Arden family. They were relatives of the famous writer William Shakespeare. There is also a special window dedicated to Shakespeare.

Two tombs are linked to the Wars of the Roses. This was a series of wars in England. One tomb shows William Harcourt, who died in 1483. He is wearing English armour. Another fine memorial is for Sir Thomas de Erdington. He died in 1449 and gave his name to the Erdington area of Birmingham.

There is a bust from the 1800s for John Rogers. He was born in Aston in 1500. He was executed in 1555 for his work on the Matthew Bible. This was the first full Bible translated into English from the original Greek. The well-known King James Bible is based on this work.

A very recent monument was added in 2019. It remembers Charlene Ellis (18) and Letisha Shakespeare (17). They were young women who died in 2003. Their community was very upset. The girls' mothers started a campaign against gun and knife crime. This mosaic monument was first at St George's School. It was moved to the church when the school closed. Many people from the community helped make it.

The church also has a brass eagle lectern. This is a memorial to Joseph Ansell. He started Ansells Brewery and was a church leader from 1867 to 1883. The lectern was made by Jones and Willis, a company from Aston. They made church items.

You can also see beautiful Victorian stained-glass windows. The Plevins window in the south aisle was recently fixed. It shows four scenes from the Christmas story.

The Church Organ

The church has a large pipe organ with three keyboards. The first organ was in the church tower. The current organ was built in 1901 by Banfield. It is now located to the north of the main church area. It was updated in 1967 by Nicholson. It now has electric bellows and more sounds.

List of organists

• Thomas F. Thomason, around 1912

Churchyard

The churchyard is no longer used for burials. The city council takes care of it. Some parts were cleared in the 1950s to remember a former vicar, Henry McGowen. Some areas are still wild and overgrown.

Here are some important memorials you can find:

• 31 memorials for soldiers who died in wars. These are called Commonwealth war graves.
• A memorial for Alfred Wilcox VC, located north of the church. He was a brave soldier.
• The vault for the Ansell family, found north east of the church.
• A memorial for Henry Johnson (1809–1890). It is south of the church. Bell ringers from all over England put it up. It honors his work in creating the Central Council of Church Bellringers.
• The Aston War Memorial. It was dedicated in 1921 as a peace memorial. It is a Grade II listed structure. You can find it south west of the church.

Images for kids

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  This 1775 watercolour shows Aston Hall and the church. They were once in open countryside.