Erdington Abbey Church () on Sutton Road,

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, is the more usual name of the

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

church of Saints

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of ...

served by the

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

s. The abbey itself was the adjacent building, now

Highclare School Highclare School was founded in 1932 and is an independent primary, secondary school and sixth form on three sites in the Birmingham area, providing children's education from 2 to 19 years.Dr R Luke"Highclare School Website" January 31, 2011. ...

Erdington Abbey church

In 1847 Father Heneage built a chapel in

High Street, on the croft opposite the end of Station Lane. Before this priests from

Oscott College St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, sometimes called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of two seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales in England, with Allen ...

had said mass in a house on the High Street, but Catholics in Erdington are mainly indebted to the Rev. Daniel H. Haigh, founder of the Church of SS Thomas & Edmund of Canterbury. He laid the

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

of the new church on 26 May 1848. The church was opened and consecrated by Bishop Ullathorne on 11 June 1850. The church is an example of the

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

. The church was designed by

Charles Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born to a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jo ...

, who built the steeple of the church high, which is also the length of the building. The plate was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

and made by Hardman.

Abbey

In 1876 Father Haigh handed over his church, parish and estate of to the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks from

Beuron Beuron ( Swabian: ''Beira'') is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Beuron is known for the Beuron Archabbey and the Beuron Art School for religious art. Geography Beuron is divided into subdistric ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, exiled for their

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

from their own country during the ''"

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

"'', the

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

and anti-clerical movement headed by Bismarck. The abbey was built on this land next to the church. Its building is also grade II listed.

Roman Catholic Redemptorists

The Benedictine monks were later displaced a second time, as a result of problems experienced by the predominantly German

Beuronese Congregation The Beuronese Congregation, also known as Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly Germany, German or German language, German-speaking monasteries of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation. The congregation is under the patrona ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–18). After World War I, during which the community suffered aggravation, it was possible for the community to return to their homeland, and Erdington Abbey was disbanded.''Benedictine Order", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' Supplement. I, Part 1, 1922, p. 97
/ref> The parish came under the control of the

order of priests in 1922, and is currently served by Fr. Elias Gweme CSsR - Rector and Parish Priest, Fr. Francis Dickinson CSsR, Fr. Isaac Davies CSsR, and Fr. Royston Price CSsR.

Cemetery

The attached cemetery contains

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of three soldiers of

and two soldiers and four

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

personnel of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Record. Breakdown from casualty record. Date retrieved 10 February 2013.

References

External links

Original Erdington Abbey Parish WebsiteOfficial Erdington AbbeyErdington Abbey, 1850-1876-2001 by Michael Hodgetts
* * {{coord, 52, 31, 42.21, N, 1, 50, 10.04, W, type:landmark, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Birmingham, West Midlands Monasteries in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham Erdington Christian monasteries established in the 19th century Roman Catholic churches completed in 1850 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Redemptorist churches in the United Kingdom