St Peter's Church, Harborne

Saint Peter's is the ancient parish church of Harborne, Birmingham, England.

St. Peter's Church, Harborne
52.454326°N 1.958538°W / 52.454326; -1.958538
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipBroad Church
Websitestpeterharborne.org.uk
History
DedicationSt. Peter
Administration
ParishHarborne
DeaneryEdgbaston
ArchdeaconryBirmingham
DioceseBirmingham
ProvinceCanterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)Graeme Richardson
Honorary priest(s)
  • Marlene Parsons
  • John Russell
Laity
Organist/Director of musicDavid Friel

Background

There has been a church on the site since Saxon times and St Chad is even thought to have preached there. The base of an early preaching cross was found in the mid-1980s during work at the back of the church. The parish formerly covered what is now Smethwick (North Harborne), all of current Harborne and even parts of Quinton (Ridgeacre).

The present building is Victorian, dating from the 1860s[1] by architect Yeoville Thomason.[2] Elihu Burritt, who was living in Harborne at the time was on the committee that oversaw the restoration. The tower is far older and is all that remains of the medieval church. It is believed to date from the 14th century. The sanctuary was rebuilt during 1974/5 after a fire. It is a Grade II listed building.[2]

Burials

There are also 40 war graves of Commonwealth service personnel, 22 from World War I and 18 from World War II.[5]

List of Vicars

Curate = W. Harding (Nov 1826 to Mar 1827)[6]

  • Rev Thomas Smith 1858-?
  • The Ven. Ralph Creed Meredith 1919-1920
  • Canon Richardson
  • Ven. Sidney Harvie-Clarke, Archdeacon of Birmingham
  • Michael Counsell 1976 - 1989
  • C.J.Evans (Fr.Jo) 1992- 2008
  • C.S.Ralph 2010-2013
  • Graeme Richardson 2014 - September 2019
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Bells

The bells were purchased from the church of Bishop Ryder in Deritend and installed by John Taylor & Co. The ring of eight was dedicated on 2 March 1963. The tenor bell weighs nearly 13 cwt and the ring is in F#.

Organ

The organ dates from 1975, replacing a previous instrument destroyed in a fire. The organ specification was designed by George Miles, the church organist, and can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[7]

List of organists
  • Roland Mellor Winn 1874[8] - ca. 1880[9] - ????
  • Franklyn Mountford 1903 - ca. 1927[10] - ???? (formerly organist of St. John's Church, Truro)
  • George Miles 1946[11] - 1988
  • Ian Ledsham 1993 - 2000
  • Victoria Gravenor 2001 - 2004
  • David Friel 2005–present
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References
  1. The Buildings of England, Warkwickshire, Nikolaus Pevsner
  2. Historic England. "Grade II (1219775)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  3. "Meet Bob Brettle, the bare-knuckle boxing landlord; back in time". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham, England: Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. 2007-03-11. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  4. Hoban, Sally (16 September 2006). "Jewel in the Crown; One of the Most Prolific Makers of Arts and Crafts Jewellery Lived and Work in Birmingham". The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 20 February 2015 – via Questia Online Library.
  5. CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
  6. Birmingham, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813 to 1912, in the parish of Harbourne, in the county of Stafford
  7. "NPOR L00011". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies.
  8. Huddersfield Chronicle - Saturday 21 March 1874
  9. Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 23 October 1880
  10. Western Morning News - Wednesday 17 August 1927
  11. Who's who in Music. Shaw Publishing Ltd. First Post War Edition. 1949-50
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.