Christ Church, Birmingham

For other uses, see Christ Church, Quinton; Christ Church, Ward End; and Christ Church, Yardley Wood.

Christ Church (Birmingham)
An 1894 drawing of Christ Church from the junction of Ann Street and Congreve Street, in front of the Town Hall.
52°28′47″N1°54′08″W / 52.479671°N 1.902331°W / 52.479671; -1.902331
OS grid reference	SP067868
Location	Birmingham
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Architecture
Architect(s)	William Hollins Charles Norton
Groundbreaking	1805
Completed	1813 (1813)
Construction cost	£26,000
Closed	1897
Demolished	1899 (1899)
Specifications
Capacity	1500–1600 people [1] [2]
Length	140 feet (43 m)
Width	71 feet (22 m)
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Worcester
Parish	St Philip's (1813–1865) Christ Church (1865–1897)

Christ Church can be seen in the centre of this print of 1886 between the Town Hall and the Council House

Christ Church (also known as the Free Church or Christchurch) ^{[1] [3]} was a large parish church in Birmingham, England, in the Diocese of Worcester within the Church of England. The land on which the church stood now forms a significant part of Victoria Square.

History

Christchurch, Birmingham Act 1803
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	43 Geo. 3. c. cxvii
Dates
Royal assent	5 July 1803
Other legislation
Amended by	Christchurch, Birmingham Act 1810
Repealed by	Birmingham Churches Act 1897
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Christchurch, Birmingham Act 1810
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend and render more effectual an Act of His present Majesty, for erecting a new Church to be called Christchurch, in the Town of Birmingham in the County of Warwick; and for providing a Maintenance and Residence for the Minister or perpetual Curate thereof.
Citation	50 Geo. 3. c. cxxx
Dates
Royal assent	24 May 1810
Other legislation
Amends	Christchurch, Birmingham Act 1803
Repealed by	Birmingham Churches Act 1897
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Concert admission ticket, 1805 or 1806, showing the original design, with a cupola instead of a spire

Christ Church viewed from St Phillip's in a painting by Samuel Lines, 1821

Foundation stone, now in St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook

The site, at the junction of Ann Street and New Street, was donated by William Phillips Inge of Thorpe Constantine. ^[4] The architect was either Charles Norton or Birmingham-based William Hollins, indeed both worked on the building. The construction of the church was funded by public subscription, and King George III himself gave £1,000 towards the construction ^{[4] [5]} (equivalent to £102,500 in 2023). ^[6] The foundation stone was laid on 22 July 1805 by the Lord Chamberlain, George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth. ^[4] The King had intended to lay the foundation stone personally but was prevented from doing so by illness.

The building was designed in stone in the Classical style with Doric columns dominating the west front. The internal design was unusual in that all of the seating on the ground floor was free, ^[4] and so it came to be known as the 'Free Church'. Christ Church was consecrated on 6 July 1813 by James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis, the Bishop of Lichfield. ^[4]

The western square tower, completed in 1814, supported an octagonal belfry and a gothic octagonal spire. The original design had a cupola instead of a spire, ^[7] but funding delays resulted in plans being redrawn. Construction was finished in 1816, and the clock installed a year later. ^[1] At some point early in its history, an organ was installed by Thomas Elliot, of London. ^[8] There were also a large number of tiered stone vaults several stories deep, divided into catacombs, underneath the church. ^[9] One of these catacombs contained the re-interred remains of John Baskerville. ^[4] The final cost of construction was around £26,000 ^[4] (approximately £2,500,000 in 2023). ^[6]

The internal configuration of the church led to the creation of an epigram that became widely known:

"Our churches and chapels we generally find
Are the places where men to the women are joined;
But at Christ Church, it seems, they are more cruelhearted,
For men and their wives go there and get parted." ^[1]

Though originally intended as a chapelry of the nearby St Philip's, independent records were kept from 1817. The congregation was so large by 1865 that a new Christ Church parish was created, taking from both St Martin's and St Philip's parishes. Mission services in connection with Christ Church were held in the Pinfold Street and Fleet Street Schoolrooms. ^[1]

Church staff

Vicars

• John Hume Spry (1813–1824)
• Archdeacon George Hodson (1824–1832)
• John George Breay (1832–1840) ^[10]
• George Lea (1840–1864) ^[11]
  (afterwards, vicar of St George's Church, Edgbaston)
• Charles Marson (1864–1871) ^[12]
  (afterwards, vicar of Clevedon, Somerset)
• Albert Workman (1871–1881) ^[13]
• Rev Prebendary E.R. Mason (1881–1888)
  (afterwards vicar of Oxton, Nottinghamshire)
• Rev Prebendary C.B. Willcox (1889–1897) ^[14]
  (formerly vicar of St Jude's Church, Moorfield, Sheffield)

Organists

• Thomas Munden 1818 – 1856 ^[15]

Decline

The building and site were sold in 1897; the proceeds were used to build St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook. The church was demolished in 1899. Part of the parish was given to St Barnabas' Church, Birmingham.

In 2021 a new church without a fixed building called Christ Church Birmingham opened and now serves communities across the City and beyond.

Burials

Notable people buried or interred at the church included:

• John Baskerville (1707–1775), an English businessman in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, best remembered as a printer and type designer due to his eponymous typeface.
• Joseph Frederick Ledsam (1791–1862), Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Warwick, High Sheriff of Worcestershire and deputy chairman of the London and North Western Railway.

References

1. Harman, Thomas Thalric (1885). "Christ Church, New Street". Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Birmingham, England: Cornish Brothers Ltd. p. 227.
2. "View map: Ordnance Survey, OS town plan - Birmingham and its Environs - sheet XIV.5.12 - Ordnance Survey Town Plans of England and Wales, 1840s-1890s". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
3. "Thomas Webb (1755-1831) - Medal commemorating the foundation of Christchurch, Birmingham, 1805". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
4. Dent, Robert Kirkup (1894). The Making of Birmingham: Being a History of the Rise and Growth of the Midland Metropolis. David. p. 278+. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
5. An historical and descriptive sketch of Birmingham: with some account of its environs, and forty-four view of the principal public buildings. Beilby, Knott, and Beilby, 1830
6. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
7. 'Religious History: Churches built since 1800', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, ed. W B Stephens (London, 1964), pp. 379–396. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp379-396 [accessed 23 May 2020].
8. A Description of Modern Birmingham. Charles Pye. Echo Library, 31 Mar 2007
9. Harman, Thomas Thalric (1885). "Catacombs". Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Birmingham, England: Cornish Brothers Ltd. p. 31.
10. "The Rev. J.G. Breay" . Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. England. 26 November 1832. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "St George's, Edgbaston and Christ Church, Birmingham" . Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. England. 18 June 1864. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Clerical Preferement" . Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 3 July 1871. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Death of the Rev A. Workman" . Birmingham Mail. England. 14 May 1881. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "Christ Church, Birmingham" . Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 28 March 1889. Retrieved 16 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
15. "Retirement of Mr Munden" . Birmingham Journal. England. 28 June 1856. Retrieved 10 January 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.