St Barnabas' Church, Erdington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Barnabas' Church, Erdington |
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St. Barnabas' Church, Erdington after rebuilding
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| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www.stbarnabaserdington.org.uk |
| History | |
| Dedication | St. Barnabas |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Erdington |
| Diocese | Birmingham |
| Province | Canterbury |
St. Barnabas' Church is a special church in Erdington, a town in Birmingham, England. It is part of the Church of England.
Contents
About St. Barnabas' Church
This church is on the High Street in Erdington's main shopping area. It is a "Grade II listed building," which means it is an important historical building. The current vicar, Reverend Freda Evans, started working there in 2008.
History of the Church
The church was built between 1822 and 1823. It was designed by an architect named Thomas Rickman. It was first built as a "chapel of ease," which was a smaller church for people who lived far from the main parish church.
The church was known for its sixteen beautiful stained glass windows. These windows showed stories from the Bible, like the Raising of Lazarus and the Good Samaritan. They also featured important figures like St Paul and St Barnabas. Thomas Rickman designed these windows too. The church officially opened on July 23, 1824.
In 1908, the church helped start a new church in Stockland Green. This new church was later named St Mark's Church, Stockland Green.
Fire and Rebuilding
On October 4, 2007, a big fire badly damaged the church. About 75 firefighters worked to put out the fire. The roof and almost all the stained glass windows were destroyed. However, the clock tower, bell tower, and walls stayed standing.
Many people believed the fire was started on purpose. The Bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart, promised that the church would be rebuilt.
Work to rebuild the church began in January 2011 and finished in 2012. The same company that cleaned up the fire damage also did the rebuilding. The church was officially opened again in December 2012 by the Bishop of Birmingham.
Church Bells
St. Barnabas' Church has a set of eight bells in its tower.
Churchyard and Memorials
The churchyard is the area around the church where people are buried. It contains the graves of 66 service members who died in wars. Twenty-nine of these are from World War I and 37 are from World War II. There is also a special wall that lists the names of those buried in older parts of the churchyard where individual graves could not be marked.
Images for kids
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St. Barnabas' Church, Erdington after rebuilding
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St. Barnabas' Church, the day following the fire
