All Saints Church with attached tower and hall

Summary

A brick church with attached tower and hall, built 1954-1955 to the designs of Frank J Osborne, with sculptural work by William Bloye.

Reasons for Designation

All Saints Church, and the attached tower and church hall, designed by F J Osborne, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a carefully composed and skilfully executed C20 church which incorporates an apparent simplicity of design with thoughtful detailing and high-quality craftsmanship;
* for the architectural unity of the church, tower and church hall, which form a cohesive, contemporary grouping;
* for the artistic quality of the sculptural works by William Bloye;
* for the survival of original internal features, including decorative light fixtures, joinery and well-crafted liturgical fittings which form a unified composition.

Historic interest:

* as the first church to be built in Birmingham after the Second World War, it is illustrative of the period of post-war church rebuilding;
* its cultural significance was implied when it was selected as one of the destinations visited by Her Majesty the Queen on her tour of Birmingham in 1955.

History

Many of Birmingham’s churches were damaged by air raids during the Second World War and All Saints Church in Cooksey Road, Small Heath, was one of a number that were completely destroyed. The War Damage Commission provided money to rebuild All Saints Church, but with the population migrating away from the inner-city, it was decided to build the new church in Shard End, a post-war housing estate on the outskirts of Birmingham.

Construction began on the new All Saints Church in 1954. It was designed by local architect, Frank J Osborne (1886-1959), who followed his father, John Perrins Osborne, into the profession and designed many civic and industrial buildings in Birmingham. The foundation stone of All Saints Church was laid by the Rt Rev Michael Parker, Bishop of Aston on 31 October 1954. The church featured sculptural works by William Bloye (1890-1975), a Birmingham born sculptor and president of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists between 1949 and 1951. His work encompassed statues, friezes and carvings and he was involved in several architectural projects with Osborne.

All Saints Church was consecrated as a mission of Castle Bromwich by Bishop Leonard Wilson on All Saints Day, 1 November 1955. It was the first church to be consecrated in the Diocese of Birmingham since the war and was selected as one of the destinations on the royal visit to Birmingham. Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited All Saints Church on 3 November 1955 and the Queen is said to have expressed her pleasure at the first achievement of the Diocesan Building Programme for the new estates. The attached community hall was completed soon after The Queen’s visit.

After further funds were raised, a bell was installed in the tower around 1966, cast by the firm of John Taylor of Loughborough. In 1993 emergency work was undertaken to the tower roof to remove the uprights beneath the cupola, lowering it by about a metre. Accessible facilities were later added at the west end of the church within the former baptistry. At this time the floor was raised to the same level the nave, blocking access to the west door. Changes were also made to the entrances and interior of the community hall.

Details

A brick church with attached tower and hall, built 1954-1955 to the designs of Frank J Osborne, with sculptural work by William Bloye.

MATERIALS: the church, tower and community hall are constructed of buff brick laid in Flemish bond with stone and brick dressings and clay pantile roofs.

PLAN: the church is orientated on an east-west axis with a square tower attached to the north-east corner and a hall projecting north-east.

EXTERIOR: the church is composed of a chancel and nave beneath a pitched roof oversailing flanking aisles. The main entrance is through a projecting rectangular porch to the left side of the south elevation. It features grooved, timber double-doors within a square, stone door surround. The entrance is approached by a modern paved ramp and steps. Above the porch is a circular window featuring a six-pointed star. The aisle features nine tall, narrow windows and decorative corbelling interspersed with painted motifs below the eaves. The sanctuary chapel is lit with two smaller windows. To the east end, the sanctuary is flanked by two narrow windows set within external piers. The east elevation features a cruciform window with a carved stone halo around the head of the cross. Beneath this is an inscribed foundation stone dated 1954. The north elevation mirrors the south. The west elevation features a central, arched doorway with fluted jambs and a carved frieze depicting a crown above two crossed palm leaves, likely by William Bloye. Above this, at high level, is a circular window containing a six-pointed star. The flanking single storey wings both have flat roofs with patterned parapet coping. They feature narrow casement windows grouped in twos and threes, each with rubbed brick jambs and chamfered sills.

The tower is set over a short cloister between the church and community hall. Above the archway on the east side is a carved figure of Christ by Bloye below a stone canopy. To the west side of the tower there is an oriel window at first-floor level. The upper level of the tower features louvred slit windows to all sides. The tower roof is steeply pitched with a central bronze cross set on top of a cupola.

The community hall is set over one-and-a-half storeys beneath a pitched roof. The archway beneath the cloister formerly provided the main access to the hall. This has since been blocked and the building is accessed through two modern flat-roofed porches to the south and west sides of the building. The south side of the building features five tall windows and six roof dormers. There are sets of double doors to the north side with rectangular lights above and a further five roof dormers. The east end of the hall features three tall windows, the central one having an arched head. All the windows have glazing bars.

INTERIOR: the interior of the church has a nave with narrow passage-aisles and nine-bay arcades of tall brick columns, featuring a spiralling brick pattern. The windows all have clear glass panes. The floor is laid in herringbone parquet with a contrasting pattern defining the central aisle. Steps lead up to the sanctuary which is paved with stone and slate slabs. The cruciform sanctuary window has a margin of stained glass with lozenge detail. Below this is a pelmet with curtains framing a small wooden cross. The organ loft to the left of the sanctuary is accessed by a metal spiral staircase and features a wooden balcony with fielded panels. The sanctuary chapel has a timber panelled ceiling, pelmet and original light fitting featuring a starburst motif. There are two hexagonal lecterns either side of the sanctuary, one with a hexagonal timber sounding board suspended from decorative wrought iron supports. There is a hexagonal stone font to the west end of the church. The former baptistry contains a modern timber kitchen area. The vestries all feature five-panelled doors. Wall and ceiling light fittings are of the same design and appear to be original.

The interior of the community hall has been reconfigured to extend the servery and incorporate a café area. The hall is clad with timber panelling. The tower is suggested to contain a former library room and a spiral staircase up to the belfry which contains a bell by John Taylor of Loughborough.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire, (1966), 203

Websites
Hoban, S, William, Entry for Bloyes, William James, published 3 October 2013, accessed 25 january 2022 from https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-104427?rskey=MMxCac&result=1
Photographs of construction of All Saints Church, Shard End, accessed 3 Februrary 2022 from http://www.allsaintschurch-shardend.co.uk/

Other
'Religious History: Churches built since 1800', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, W B Stephens (ed) (1964), pp. 379-396, accessed 27 January 2022 from British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp379-396 .
‘Sun shone brightly as foundation stone was laid’, The Chronicle and Advertiser, 6 November 1954
‘Bishop Consecrates a new church in time for the Queen’s visit’, Birmingham Gazette, November 2 1955.
‘The Queen’s Visit to Shard End’, The Chronicle and Advertiser, 5 November 1955, p5.

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