The Church of the Ascension, Stirchley (1901–1965) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church in Stirchley,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

History

The Church of Ascension, the first church in Stirchley, began construction 1898 on Hazelwell Street. Construction was completed in 1901 and it was consecrated by the

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichf ...

on 30 October 1901. It was designed by William Hale as a chapel-of-ease to

St Mary's Church, Moseley St Mary's Church, Moseley is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England located in Moseley, Birmingham. It is now part of a united benefice with St Anne's Church, Moseley. The War Memorial in the South-East corner of the Churchyard ...

. A parish was assigned to it in 1912 out of the parishes of

and

St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton, is the Anglican parish church of Kings Norton, in the Diocese of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. History A church has been located on this site as early as the 11th century when the Normans built a small, r ...

. On 1 December 1927, a church dedicated to St. Hugh of Lincoln serving the Dads Lane Estate, was opened in Pineapple Grove. On 29 October 1965, the Church was destroyed by fire and was demolished. A new church, designed by

Romilly Craze Romilly Bernard Craze (1892–1974) was an English architect.A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. James Stevens Curl. Oxford University Press. 2006. p.209 Life He was the son of George Henry Craze and his wife Louisa Mary Web ...

, was constructed next to St. Hugh's and was consecrated by the

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

on 14 July 1973. Surviving features from the original church, such as some of the

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

, the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

silver, the

processional cross A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to ...

es and the

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s, were used in the new church. St. Hugh's became the church hall for the replacement Church of Ascension. Some 16mm Black & White / Mute Television News footage of the fire filmed by

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

survives in the

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Organ

The church contained an organ by Norman and Beard dating from 1901. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. The organ was destroyed in the fire in 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirchley Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Churches completed in 1901 Demolished churches in Birmingham, West Midlands