Church of Our Lady and St Hubert, Warley

Church of Our Lady and St Hubert
Viewed from the west
52°28′18.491″N1°59′50.201″W / 52.47180306°N 1.99727806°W / 52.47180306; -1.99727806
OS grid reference	SP 00282 85985
Location	Warley, West Midlands
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.sthubertswarley.org.uk
History
Consecrated	18 June 1935
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	26 April 2016
Architect(s)	George Drysdale
Style	Early-Christian basilican
Completed	1934
Administration
Diocese	Archdiocese of Birmingham

The Church of Our Lady and St Hubert is a Roman Catholic church in Warley, West Midlands, England, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham. ^[1] It was built in 1934, and is Grade II listed. ^[2]

Background

The church was built by a bequest of Major Howard Galton (1854–1928). ^[3] His ancestor Samuel Galton, a Birmingham gun manufacturer, purchased an estate in Warley and built a house, Warley Abbey, set in landscaped grounds. The house was completed by his son Hubert in 1819. The Galton family later moved away from Warley Abbey, but remained its owners. The grounds eventually became Warley Woods; Warley Abbey was demolished in 1957. ^{[4] [5]}

In the mid-19th century the family, who were Quakers, converted to Roman Catholicism, inspired by John Henry Newman, the founder of the Birmingham Oratory. Major Howard Galton, a grandson of Hubert, originally offered a parcel of land at the corner of Park Road and Wigorn Road in Bearwood nearby, but since the diocesan authorities advised that the site was too small, he amended his will so that the proceeds from a sale of land would be used for building the church on a site approved by the trustees. ^[4]

Construction

The church, situated at the junction of Bleakhouse Road with the A4123 Wolverhampton Road, was designed in Early-Christian basilican style by George Drysdale, a Roman Catholic and senior partner of the London firm Leonard Stokes and Drysdale. It was built in 1934, to seat a congregation of 5000. It was opened on 3 November 1934 by Archbishop Thomas Leighton Williams, and was consecrated on 18 June 1935. ^{[2] [4]}

Description

The church is built of narrow brown and purple bricks, in English garden-wall bond. The west door is set within a tall round-headed brick arch. Above the doorway is a representation of the Virgin and Child in Della Robbia style; it has a mosaic surround, designed by Hardman & Co. and installed in 1949. Above the arch and below the plat band are stone bas-reliefs in Art Deco style of the Evangelists and, in the centre, the Agnus Dei. Above the plat band are four windows with round arches. ^[2]

The campanile, in the south-east corner of the building, has a tall white cross on two of its faces. Near the base of the campanile is a stone sculpture of a kneeling stag with the crucifix between its antlers, the symbol of St Hubert. ^[2]

The narthex, into which the west door leads, has a panelled organ gallery above, and is separated from the nave by a screen which has five glazed archways. At the sides of the nave are arcades of four bays with wide semi-circular arches; above them are round-arched clerestory windows. Behind the stone altar is a tall stone reredos with a timber canopy. ^[2]

References

1. "Our Lady and St Hubert, Warley" The Archdiocese of Birmingham. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
2. Historic England. "Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Hubert (1433148)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 September 2023.
3. Portraits of Hubert George Howard Galton at the National Portrait Gallery, London
4. "History" Our Lady & St Hubert, Warley. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
5. Historic England. "Warley Park (1001301)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 September 2023.