St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham

{{Infobox church

|name = St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham

|fullname = Church of St Alban and St Patrick, Highgate, Birmingham

|image = St Albans Church, Highgate, Birmingham.jpg

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|caption = St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham

|coordinates = {{coord|52|27|57|N|1|53|18|W|type:landmark_region:GB-BIR|display=inline,title}}

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|location = Conybere Street, Highgate, Birmingham

|country = England

|denomination = Church of England

|previous denomination =

|churchmanship = Anglo-Catholic

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|website = {{URL|www.saintalban.co.uk}}

|founded date =

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|dedication = Saint Alban

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|consecrated date = 4 December 1899

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|heritage designation = Grade II* listed

|designated date = 25 April 1952

|architect = John Loughborough Pearson

|architectural type = Gothic revival architecture

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|groundbreaking = 31 January 1880

|completed date = 3 May 1881

|construction cost = £20,000

|capacity =

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|width = {{convert|76|ft|m}}

|width nave = {{convert|26.5|ft|m}}

|height = {{convert|170|ft|m}}

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|parish = Highgate

|deanery = Central Birmingham

|archdeaconry = Birmingham

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|diocese = Anglican Diocese of Birmingham

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St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham is a Grade II* listed Church of England parish church in the Anglican Diocese of Birmingham.The buildings of England. Warwickshire, Nikolaus Pevsner It is dedicated to Saint Alban, the first British Christian martyr.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01252b.htm Thurston, Herbert. "St. Alban." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 February 2013]

History

A temporary church was established as a mission of Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley in 1865 and opened on 13 September 1866.{{cite news |author= |title=Dedication Services at St Alban's |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000224/18660915/058/0007 |newspaper=Birmingham Journal |location=Birmingham|date=15 September 1866 |access-date=26 March 2015 }}

File:St Alban, Highgate - East end - geograph.org.uk - 4016457.jpg

The permanent church was designed by John Loughborough Pearson and built by the contractor Shillitoe of Doncaster.{{cite news |author= |title=The Church of St Alban, Birmingham |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18810429/007/0004 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=Birmingham|date=29 April 1881 |access-date=26 March 2015 }} The foundation stone was laid on 31 January 1880 by Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp{{cite news |author= |title=Church of St Alban the Martyr in Birmingham. Laying the Foundation Stone |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000667/18800202/005/0005 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |location=England |date=2 February 1880 |access-date=11 February 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} and the church opened for worship on Tuesday 3 May 1881{{cite news |author= |title=Opening of St Alban’s Church |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18810504/009/0004 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=4 May 1881 |access-date=13 February 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}

The formal consecration took place on 4 December 1899.{{cite book|title=S. Alban and S. Patrick, Birmingham 12|date= 1984–1986 |publisher= St Alban's}} The construction cost was in the region of £20,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|20000|1891|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}

The tower and spire were added in 1938 by Edwin Francis Reynolds.

St Alban's Church took over the parish of St Patrick's Church, Bordesley when St Patrick's was demolished in the early 1970s.

In 2016 a grant from the Heritage Lottery permitted the renewal of the roofs of the South Transept, St Patrick's Chapel, the Organ Loft and the Ambulatory. However, despite this, by 2018 the church was on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register due to its poor condition, particularly the remainder of the roof.{{cite report|title=Heritage at Risk - West Midlands Register 2018 |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/har-2018-registers/wm-har-register2018/ |page=54|publisher=Historic England |access-date=20 January 2019}} However, a programme of restoration took place in 2020-21, the remainder of the church roof was repaired and high-level repairs to the windows and walls were carried out. As a result Historic England removed the church frrm the list of "Buildings at Risk".{{cite web |url=http://www.saintalban.co.uk/restoration/ |title=Church Restoration |author= |date= |website=St Alban the Martyr, Highgate |publisher=St Alban the Martyr, Highgate |access-date=23 December 2023 |quote=}}

=Present day=

The patron is Keble College, Oxford.

St Alban's Church stands in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England. The parish had passed Resolutions A and B of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993, meaning they rejected the ordination of women, but these expired in 2016.{{cite web|title=About our community|url=http://www.saintalban.co.uk/about/|website=St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham|access-date=13 May 2017}} They also voted on Alternative Episcopal Oversight, but this was rejected. In 2017, they voted on the replacement of Resolutions A and B, the Resolution under the House of Bishops' Declaration: "This was not carried, with equal votes for and against."{{cite web|title=Parochial Church Council of Saint Alban and Saint Patrick Highgate, Birmingham: Parish Statement|url=http://saintalban.contentfiles.net/media/assets/file/St_Alban__St_Patrick_Highgate_Parish_Profile_February_2017.pdf|publisher=St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham|access-date=13 May 2017|pages=3, 13|date=February 2017}} This means that the parish would now accept a woman priest.

Architecture

File:St Alban's - Bunce reredos - Andy Mabbett - 62.JPG

The cruciform building is in red brick, with dressings in ashlar.

The interior features a stained glass east window by Henry Payne and, in the south chapel, a copper Arts and Crafts triptych with painted panels, by local artists Kate and Myra Bunce{{National Heritage List for England |num=1290539 |desc=Church of St Alban the Martyr |access-date=7 July 2015}} and donated by them in 1919 in memory of their sisters and parents.

A Birmingham Civic Society blue plaque honouring the Bunce sisters was unveiled at St Alban's in September 2015, by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.{{Cite web|title=Blue Plaque to Kate Bunce - News - St. Alban the Martyr|url=http://www.saintalban.co.uk/news/2015/09/10/blue-plaque-kate-bunce-unveiled/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=www.saintalban.co.uk}}{{Cite web|date=2015-09-12|title=Blue Plaque to Kate Bunce unveiled as part of Birmingham’s first Heritage Week|url=https://www.birminghamcivicsociety.org.uk/blue-plaque-to-kate-bunce-unveiled-as-part-of-birminghams-first-heritage-week/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Birmingham Civic Society|language=en-GB}}

Vicars

{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1865}}|end_date={{End date|1894}}|event=James Samuel Pollock}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1895}}|end_date={{End date|1896}}|event=Thomas Benson Pollock}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1897}}|end_date={{End date|1900}}|event=George Philip Trevelyan}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1900}}|end_date={{End date|1910}}|event=Canon Alfred Cecil Scott}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1910}}|end_date={{End date|1911}}|event=Mark Napier Trollope}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1911}}|end_date={{End date|1923}}|event=Francis Underhill}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1923}}|end_date={{End date|1953}}|event=Dudley Clark}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1953}}|end_date={{End date|1981}}|event=Canon Lawrence Goodrich Harding}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1982}}|end_date={{End date|1986}}|event=David Handley Hutt}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1987}}|end_date={{End date|1993}}|event=Michael Hedley Bryant}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1995}}|end_date={{End date|2004}}|event=Canon James G. Pendorf}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2005}}|end_date={{End date|2010}}|event=Canon John Hervé}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2011}}|end_date={{End date|2013}}|event=Dr Pervaiz Sultan}}
{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2013}}|end_date={{End date|2016}}|event=Dr Nicholas lo Polito}}
2017–present: Dr Gerald Sykes

Organ

The organ dates was installed second-hand in 1870 and was by Bryceson Son & Ellis. It was overhauled in 1940 by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool who extended the compass to C and added electro-pneumatic action. The Pedal Trombone, Great Tuba and Swell 5-rank mixture were added at this date. A new oak organ case was created by Birmingham Sculptors Ltd and Craftinwood Ltd.{{cite news |author= |title=Reconstruction Work Completed |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000619/19400522/130/0003 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=22 May 1940 |access-date=26 December 2016 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.{{NPOR|id=N07307 |desc=Warwickshire Birmingham, St. Alban and St. Patrick, Conybere Street|access-date=4 March 2015}}

=Organists=

Mr. Price. c. 1868
Hugh Brooksbank 1881 (afterwards organist of Llandaff Cathedral)
Douglas Redman 1882-1885 (afterwards organist of St Matthew's Church, Brixton)
T.J. Woodall 1885-????
J. Granville Smith 1889{{cite news |author= |title=Presentation to a local organist | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18891213/008/0004 |newspaper= Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=13 December 1889 |access-date=16 January 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}-1899 (formerly organist of St Ambrose's Church, Edgbaston, from 1890 also organist at Christ Church, Wolverhampton)
W. E. Abraham 1899–1901
William Terrence Jenkins 1901–1910
Alban W. Cooper 1910-1911
Thomas J. Richards 1911{{cite news |author= |title=New Organist for St Albans | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000668/19110731/111/0006 |newspaper= Birmingham Daily Gazette |location=England |date=31 July 1911 |access-date=16 January 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} – 1919 (formerly and afterwards organist of St Agnes' Church, Moseley)
George Henry Manton 1919-1923
Ernest Edward Madeley 1923–1953{{cite news |author= |title=Mr. E. E. Madeley | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19630803/537/0021 |newspaper= Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=3 August 1963 |access-date=16 January 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}
Roy Massey 1953–1960 (afterwards organist of St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston)
David Britton 1960-1961
Raymond Isaacson 1961–1967 (formerly organist of St Nicolas Church, Kings Norton, afterwards organist of High Wycombe parish church)
Alistair Pow 1968
John Bates 1969-1970
Paul Hale 1970-1971
Roy Hayton 1971-1976
John Butt 1977-1979
David Briggs 1979–1981[http://www.saintalban.co.uk/events/view/organ-concert-david-briggs/ Church of St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham, Concert by David Briggs, 25 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.]
Iain Simcock 1981-1983
Ian Ledsham 1983-1991
Colin Kinton 1992-1997
Darren Hogg 1998-2004
Chris Harker 2004-2018
David Lane 2006-2011
Thomas Keogh 2011-2012
Graeme Martin 2013-2019
Aled Liddington 2022-2024
Angela Sones 2024-present