St Mary's Church, Selly Oak facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Selly Oak
St. Mary's from the south
St Mary's Church, Selly Oak Location in West Midlands county
52°26′17″N 1°56′45″W / 52.4381°N 1.9457°W / 52.4381; -1.9457
OS grid reference	SP03758220
Location	Selly Oak, Birmingham
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church / Central
History
Dedication	Saint Mary
Consecrated	12 September 1861
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II listed
Designated	8 July 1982
Architect(s)	Edward Holmes
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	12 July 1860
Specifications
Capacity	617 persons
Length	102.5 feet (31.2 m)
Nave width	21 feet (6.4 m)
Spire height	150 feet (46 m)
Materials	sandstone; limestone
Bells	8 (cast and hung 1861–87; re-cast and re-hung 1932)
Administration
Parish	Selly Oak
Deanery	Edgbaston
Archdeaconry	Birmingham
Diocese	Birmingham
Province	Canterbury

St. Mary's Church in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England, is a special church. It's part of the Church of England, which is a Christian church. The church is dedicated to Saint Mary. It was officially opened on September 12, 1861.

History of St. Mary's Church

The area around St. Mary's became its own church district, or 'parish,' in 1862. Before that, it was part of a bigger parish called St. Laurence, Northfield.

St Mary's from the southeast, showing the south transept

You can find St. Mary's Church a little way back from the main Bristol Road. You walk up a drive from the south, which leads to a special gate called a lychgate at the entrance to the churchyard. There's also another way in from Lodge Hill Road on the north side.

The first stone for St. Mary's was laid on July 12, 1860. This important step was done by Joseph Frederick Ledsam. The church was officially opened and blessed by the Bishop of Worcester, Henry Philpott, on September 12, 1861. Two important people helped pay for the church: George Richards Elkington, a manufacturer, and Joseph Frederick Ledsam.

The church was designed by an architect named Edward Holmes. He used a style called Gothic Revival, which looks like older English churches. The church is built from sandstone in two different shades, making it look interesting. The walls are made of brick, covered with Bromsgrove stone on the outside. Lighter Bath stone was used for the fancy window designs and other details. Inside, the main parts of the church, like the nave and chancel, have arches and columns made of Bath stone.

The church has a cross shape, which is called 'cruciform.' The main part, the nave, has a clerestory (a row of windows high up) and aisles on both sides. The windows in the clerestory are unusual, shaped like three-leaf clovers. Inside, the walls are smooth, with horizontal bands of sandstone. The roof in the chancel was once decorated with gold and colored flowers on a blue background. The tower on the north-west side has a tall, pointed roof called a broach spire, which is 150 feet (46 m) high. It has a weathercock on top.

Over the years, parts of St. Mary's parish were used to create new church districts. For example, St Stephen, Selly Park was formed in 1871. Later, in 1911, a new parish was made for St Wulstan's Church, Selly Oak.

In 1961, for the church's 100th birthday, the inside was updated. A painted wooden cross that was above the chancel arch was moved to another church. Since 1982, St. Mary's has been a Grade II listed building. This means it's an important historical building that needs to be protected. In the 1980s, special pictures showing the Stations of the Cross, made from olive wood, were added.

Beautiful Stained-Glass Windows

Looking east along the nave to the chancel

St. Mary's Church has nine amazing stained-glass windows. They were all made by a famous company called Hardman & Co.. Each window tells a story or remembers someone special.

• East window: This window shows The Ascension (Jesus going up to heaven). It was given in 1861 by George Elkington to remember his first wife, Mary.
• West window: This window shows The Transfiguration (Jesus changing in appearance). It was given in 1861 by J.F. Ledsam.
• South west window: This window shows Mary and Martha. It was given in 1872 by the Elkington family to remember Margaret Morgan, George Elkington's second wife.
• South aisle south window: This window shows The Good Samaritan. It was given in 1866 to remember George Elkington.
• South transept west window: This window shows Christ and Mary Magdalene. It remembers Hyla Elkington, who passed away in 1901.
• South transept south window: This window shows the Worship of the Kings. It remembers John Meredith and his wife Jane.
• South transept east window: This window shows Peter and John at the Tomb. It also remembers Hyla Elkington, but it's partly hidden by the organ.
• Lady Chapel north window: This window shows Healing and Resurrection. Edward Holmes, the architect, gave it to remember his wife Anne.
• Baptistry window: This window shows Blessing the Children. It was given by J.F. Ledsam to remember F.G. Ledsam.

Church Leaders (Incumbents)

The Church Bells

Grave and Gothic Revival monument in St Mary's churchyard of Joel and Dorcas Merrett, who died within a month of each other in 1893. Joel Merrett paid for the treble bell in the tower

When St. Mary's Church first opened in 1861, its tower had only one bell. In 1864, five more bells were added, making a set of six that could be rung together. They were first rung on September 29, 1864.

In 1887, to celebrate Queen Victoria's 50 years as queen, two more bells were added. This made a total of eight bells, which were first rung on June 20, 1887.

By 1922, the bells were not safe to ring, so they were silent for ten years. Enough money was finally raised to fix them. In 1932, a company called Gillett & Johnston from Croydon melted down and re-made all eight bells. They were then re-hung in the tower. The largest bell, called the tenor, now weighs about 12 long cwt 1 qr 17 lb (1,389 lb or 630 kg) and is tuned to the musical note G.

For many years, starting in the 1930s, a local lawyer named William B. Cartwright was the Master of the Ringers.

Bell Inscriptions

Two of the bells have special messages written on them:

• No. 1 Bell (Treble): This bell says in Latin, "Given by Joel Merrett in memory of a daughter and the fiftieth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria."
• No. 8 Bell (Tenor): This bell says in Latin, "Happy are the people who know how to rejoice."

Lychgate to the churchyard

The Church Organ

An organ was put into the church in 1862 when it first opened. It was built by a company called Halmshaw. In the 1870s, the organ was moved to the south side of the chancel.

In 1902, another company, Nicholson and Company, rebuilt the organ. They kept many of the original pipes. Between 1925 and 1930, it was fixed up by Bird of Selly Park. Nicholson & Co restored it again in 1958, and the control panel was moved to the north side of the chancel. The Bishop of Birmingham, John Leonard Wilson, officially dedicated it on June 4, 1958. Sir George Thalben-Ball, a famous organist, played a concert that day. More improvements were made to the organ in 1996 and 1999.

Organists of St. Mary's

• Frank Frederick Cuisset
• around 1869–71 – Mr. Evans
• around 1880 William Humphreys
• 1932–34 Leonard Gibbons
• 1934–85 Leslie John Barker
• 1986–90 David Twigg
• 1990– John Stormont
• 1950–70 Keith Collyer, Deputy Organist
• 1960s Dennis Mason, Deputy Organist

John Stormont was still the organist in 2015.

The organist also leads the church choir. The choir wears special robes and helps with the singing during Sunday services. They also perform for special events like the Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols and a special musical piece during Holy Week. Sometimes, there are also organ concerts at the church.

The Tower Clock

Clock on the steeple

St. Mary's has a clock in its tower that chimes every hour and every fifteen minutes. It was put in place in 1887, the same year Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee (50 years as queen).

The clock was made by JB Joyce & Co from Whitchurch, Shropshire. It was designed in a similar way to the famous clock at Westminster (Big Ben) and the large clock at Worcester Cathedral. The clock cost about £331, which would be a lot of money today. It was a gift from the family of Benjamin Walters.

The clock's frame is made of cast iron. It is about 6 feet (1.8 m) long, 1 foot 9 inches (0.5 m) wide, and 1 foot (0.3 m) deep. It sits on strong beams built into the tower walls to stop it from shaking. The gears are made of gunmetal, and the pendulum swings every 1.25 seconds.