St Paul's Church, Balsall Heath is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

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, ...

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 foundation stone for the first church building was laid on 17 May 1852 by Mrs Taylor, and construction started to designs by James Lyndon Pedley. The building opened for worship when it was consecrated on Tuesday 17 May 1853 by the Bishop of Worcester, and cost £5,500 to construct. A parish was assigned out of

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 ...

in 1853. The church was enlarged in 1856 and again in 1865 by Edward Holmes. From St Paul's parish, land was taken to form other new churches in Birmingham, including St Thomas in the Moors, Balsall Heath in 1884,

St Patrick's Church, Bordesley St Patrick's Church, Bordesley (also known as St Patrick's Church, Highgate) was a parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham. History The foundation stone was laid by William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp on Saturday 23 November 1895. It ...

in 1900,

St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook The Church of St Agatha () is a parish church in the Church of England in Sparkbrook in Birmingham, England. Background It was designed by W. H. Bidlake and is now a Grade I listed building. Made of brick and decorated with stone, building ...

in 1902 and

St Barnabas' Church, Balsall Heath St Barnabas is a parish church in the Church of England in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England. History The church was built between 1898 and 1904 according to designs made by architect Thomas Proud. The structure was consecrated by Charles Go ...

in 1905. In the 1970s the congregation were unable to afford the upkeep, and together with the Church of Christ United Reform Church, built a new building. In 1979 construction started on a new church by architects Hinton Brown Langstone and this was consecrated in 1980 by Bishop Hugh Montefiore.

Organ

The church contained an organ by

Henry Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in bus ...

which was installed 1880. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. When the church closed in 1979, the organ was sold to St George's Church, Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania.

References

{{reflist Balsall Heath Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Churches completed in 1980