Two photographs of the Church of St Martin's in the Bullring, Birmingham, originally posted on the geograph.org.uk website, and kindly made available for reuse on the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 (Attribution-Sharealike 2.0) licence. Left: by Graham Taylor (shadows lifted here). Right: by Roger D. Kidd.
St Martin's Church, Birmingham. Rebuilt from an older church of the thirteenth centry, or even earlier, with the original spire restored, by J. A. Chatwin. The rebuilding was completed, with the addition of transepts and an extension to the east, and consecrated in 1875, less than three years after the demolition of the old one. Grade II* listed, and described in the listing text as the "mother church of Birmingham," it cost £32,000 to rebuild, a sum which was raised by a voluntary church rate — a detail given by Robert K. Dent in his account of The Making of Birmingham later in the century. Here, Dent continues by describing the church as
built in the Gothic style of the early decorated period. The tower opens to the north aisle by lofty arches, which are remains of the old church; the nave is lighted by a well proportioned clerestory, from which springs a beautiful open timbered roof, the carved hammer-beams of which call to mind the noble roof of Westminster Hall. At the entrance to the chancel is a lofty and well-proportioned arch rising to a height of sixty feet—almost, indeed, to the full height of the roof. The church is enriched with several fine stained windows. The large east window, the gift of Messrs. Hardman and Riddell, is an admirable example of the work of the first-named gentleman; the design includes a representation of the Crucifixion, the Parables of the Prodigal Son, the good Samaritan, etc. There are memorial windows at the end of the north and south transepts, the latter designed by Mr. E. Burne Jones, R.A., (who is a native of Birmingham,) and executed by Mr. William Morris; and there is a fine memorial window to the late Canon Miller, rector of St. Martin’s, on the north side of the chancel, designed by T. W. Camm, of Smethwick. Over the altar is a beautiful marble reredos, the gift of the Freemasons of Birmingham and the district. The principal design is that of the Last Supper, the two panels on either side being typical of the evangelists. [520-21]
Left: The Bermingham Chapel at St Martin's (from a drawing by E.H. New). Source: Dent 522. Right: The reredos described above (from a photograph by Whitlock, New Street). Source: Dent 223.
The de Berminghams were the family who came to live in what was then just a small settlement in about 1100, and founded the church close to their manor house. There are memorials to several members of the family in the church, preserved from the original church, as part of Chatwin's careful programme of restoring as much of its history and spirit as possible. New fittings were equally carefully planned. Tim Bridges particularly praises "Chatwin's pews, pulpit, reredos and other chancel fittings" here (110). The very fine reredos, by Farmer and Brindley, is carved of fine-grained Scottish sandstone (only the shafts are of green Connemara marble), and this alone cost £900 (see "The new reredos...").
The result of all Chatwin's conscientiousness was that "the old brick barn gave place to an ecclesiastical structure of which the town may be proud, noble in its proportions, and more than equal in its Gothic beauty to the original edifice" (Harman 235). That was written while the restoration was less than ten years old, but, according to the church's own site, despite the various alterations made under subsequent rectors, "largely the building that stands today is Chatwin’s design, with the tower and spire both heavily modified across the centuries and yet largely as they were 700+ years before."
Bibliography
Bridges, Tim. "J.A. Chatwin." Birmingham's Victorian and Edwardian Architects. Edited by Phillada Ballard. Birmingham: Oblong Creative, for the Birmingham and West Midlands Group of the Victorian Society, 2009. 89-122.
Dent, Robert K. The Making of Birmingham: Being a History of the Rise & Growth of the Midland Metropolis. Birmingham: J. L. Allday, 1894. Birmingham: Hall and English, 1886. See pp. 520-40. HathiTrust online version of a copy in the University of California Library. Web. 9 December 2024.
Harman, Thomas T. Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers, 1885. Internet Archive, from a copy in the University of California Libraries. Web. 9 December 2024.
"Heritage: Our Story." St Martin in the Bull Ring. Web. 9 December 2024.
"The new reredos...." The Building World. Vol. I (14 May 1878): 52. Google Books. Free ebook.
"The Parish Church of St Martin." British Listed Buildings. Web. 9 December 2024.
Created 9 December 2024