Umberslade Baptist Church facts for kids

Umberslade Baptist Church is a special old church in the West Midlands, England. It's near a village called Hockley Heath. This church is no longer used for regular services, but it's still very important. It's looked after by a group called the Historic Chapels Trust.

The church, along with its old school rooms and hall, is a "listed building." This means it's a historic place that needs to be protected. It was first listed in 1972 as Grade II. Then, in 2014, its importance was recognized even more. It was upgraded to Grade II*, which means it's a particularly important building.

History of Umberslade Baptist Church

Who Built the Church?

The idea for Umberslade Baptist Church came from a man named George Frederick Muntz, junior. He lived at a big estate called Umberslade Park. He asked an architect from Birmingham named George Ingall to design the church.

When Was It Built?

The church was built in 1877. It was part of the Umberslade Hall estate. Later, in 1893, a small room called a vestry was added to the east side of the church.

Recent Repairs

In the 2000s, the church needed some important repairs. This included fixing the roof. A company called Midland Conservation Limited did the work. The repairs were finished in 2008 and cost about £500,000.

Architecture of the Church

What Is It Made Of?

The church is built from a type of stone called blue lias. It also has special limestone decorations. The roofs are very steep and made of Welsh slate. They have different shapes, like hipped and gabled sections.

How Is It Designed?

The church has a main area called a nave with four sections. There's a porch on the north side. It also has two side sections called transepts. The front part, called the chancel, ends in a rounded shape called an apse.

On the southwest side, there's a tall tower with a pointed top called a spire. This tower also has another entrance porch. The church is built in a style called Gothic Revival, which looks like old medieval churches. It has lots of fancy details, like pointed towers called pinnacles.

Windows and the Tower

All around the church, you can see tall, narrow windows called lancet windows. The transepts have beautiful round windows, known as rose windows, above the lancet windows.

The tower has three main parts. It has strong supports called buttresses on three corners. These supports go all the way up to the top and have pinnacles on them. On one corner, there's a small, round staircase tower.

The bottom part of the tower has a main doorway on the west side. The middle part has small, three-lobed windows. The tall top part has a clock face on each side. Above the clocks are more lancet windows where the bells are. At the very top, there's a decorative stone railing with a pattern of four leaves. The spire has small, gabled windows called lucarnes.

Inside the Church

Original Features

When you go inside, many of the original things are still there. This includes the wooden benches where people sat. There's also an organ and beautiful stained glass windows. The pulpit, where the speaker stands, is in a Gothic style. In front of it, there's an open area for baptisms. The floors are covered with decorative encaustic tiles.

The Organ and Bells

The organ has two keyboards and was built around 1878 by Bishop & Son of London. The church also has eight bells that chime. They were all made in 1878 by Gillett & Bland of Croydon. This company also put in a machine to make the bells chime and a carillon, which is a musical instrument made of bells.

The bells were not working for a while, but they were fixed in 1978. However, because there's no electricity, the chiming machine can't make them ring automatically.

Umberslade Baptist Church Today

Local groups sometimes organize open days and other events at the church. Umberslade Baptist Church is very special because it's one of the last big chapels left from a time when many non-Church of England churches were built in Birmingham. It's also the last major chapel designed by the architect George Ingall that is still standing.

See also

• List of chapels preserved by the Historic Chapels Trust