St Cyprian's Church, Hay Mills is a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
in
Hay Mills
Hay Mills is an area of east Birmingham, England straddling the A45 road, A45 Coventry Road about south east of the city centre. North of the Coventry Road is mainly residential whereas the south is mixed residential and commercial. The area wa ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England. It is situated on the southern side of the main Birmingham to Coventry Road
A45 at the end of a lane called the Fordrough that leads to the factory of Webster & Horsfall Ltd. It has long been associated with the Horsfall family who built the church and continue to be its owners. Built in the 19th century of red brick in the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style it is dedicated to
St Cyprian the third century
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
and
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
who although coming from a wealthy background gave away a portion of his wealth to the poor of Carthage, he was beheaded by the
Romans in 258.
[Pagans and Christians, Robin Lane Fox, 1986 ] The church is now
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
James Horsfall was a wire drawer from Digbeth who invented high tensile steel wire. He moved to Hay Mill, a disused blade and sword factory at a water mill on the
River Cole, rebuilding it as a steam-driven mill. The mill originally belonged to Hay Hall in Tyseley. In 1855 his company merged with Joseph Webster's of Penn Mill, Sutton Coldfield. He was a major manufacturer and exporter of the piano wire to Europe in 1824. In 1853 Horsfall had patented a heat treatment process which strengthened the wire. This led to improved piano wire (giving a near monopoly), wire for making needles in Redditch, fishhooks, and umbrella frames. The firm made the armoured wire for first successful
transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...
in 1866, using 30,000 miles of wire (1600 tons), made by 250 workers over 11 months. The strengthened wire also made possible the construction of aeroplanes and automobiles. The company today also makes springs.
Horsfall built houses and, in 1860, a schoolroom for his workers’ children. This was subsequently converted into a
Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, the present school room which stands beside the church was built in 1863. The services for the chapel were conducted by the senior curate of Yardley and in 1866, Sunday evening services were held and a Sunday School started for the children. In the following year, six buttresses were erected and two stone crosses were fixed to the apex of the roof. In 1869 the organ and organ chamber were added. In 1873 the foundation stone was laid and work began to incorporate the former chapel as the present
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
.
[The Parish church of St.Cyprian Hay Mill, Birmingham, booklet by then vicar Maureen Alderson 2001] To this, designed by
Frank Barlow Osborn
Frank Barlow Osborn FRIBA (June 1840 - 6 April 1907) was an English architect based in Birmingham.
Life
He was articled to Charles Edge and then transferred to Samuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon (2 March 1812 – 2 May 1873) was an ...
[English Heritage listed building status Accessed 24 December 2010]
/ref> but often wrongly ascribed to Martin & Chamberlain, and built by William Partridge was added the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, the side aisles, the gallery, porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
, tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
, spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
and vestries. The church was consecrated in 1878 and the first Church Council was elected in 1899 consisting of twelve members of the church, in addition to the Vicar, Churchwardens and six Sidesmen. During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1940 the building was damaged by enemy action but not beyond repair.
Architecture
The church, in the Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, is of red brick with a minimum use of black brick and stone dressings; it has a tile roof. It consists of a Nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, with a hammer beam roof, large plate tracery, clerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
windows and low, narrow aisles to North and South, whose bays are demarcated each by buttresses with a single lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
, a chancel, with a barrelled roof, at the West end, vestries with a gallery above. In the South West corner there is a porch tower with a slated broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces.
File:Leicester Cathedral ...
with 2 tiers of lucarnes it contains a bell bearing the date 1749. It was the former tannery bell, and was given to St Chad's, built by St Cyprian's and demolished in 1984, from where it went to St Cyprian's. In the South East corner is the Horsfall mortuary chapel, added in 1877 in memory of his daughter, Elizabeth Horsfall and now the resting place of James Horsfall and his family. This is in the tradition and position of a medieval chantry chapel
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
for the saying of prayers or masses for the benefactor or founder of a church or abbey. In the tympanum above the entrance there is a sculpture[The Buildings of England, Warwickshire, Nicholaus Pevsner] of the transfiguration, or perhaps the Ascension.
Image: St. Cyprians Interior.JPG , Interior, the Altar and East Window
Image: Nave roof.JPG, The Hammer beam Nave Roof
Image: Chancel roof.JPG, The Chancel Roof
Image: St Cyprians 015.jpg, Stained glass in the East window of the Horsfall Chapel
Stained glass
Inside, a set of excellent stained glass windows. being of good-quality, intact and an extensive scheme of stained glass, designed by Hardman & Co.
who were also responsible for the stained glass in the Houses of Parliament.
Those in the North aisle are illuminated allowing them to be viewed despite them having no natural light being enclosed as a security measure. The restoration was made possible by a donation from a late parishioner and the windows blessed at Easter 2010 with the following words;'' Almighty and eternal God, we give you thanks and praise for these stained glass images of your saints. For as often as we look on these images with our bodily eyes, As we look at them may we consider the actions of your saints and think about their sanctity for our inmitation. Bless and sanctify these windows made in honour and in memory of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and of these saints. We also remember our faithful servant John Ellison in whose memory these lights were re-installed. May the light of Christ always shine in our hearts. Amen''
West front
By ascending to the galley the stained glass of the West front can be viewed near at hand. The top circular window shows a dove symbol of the Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
which came to the disciples at Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
.
There are then three large lancet windows.
The left window has at the top pictures of the birth of Christ and below the Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
to Mary.
The centre window has at the top St Cyprian engaged in preaching and below his martyrdom by being beheaded as a distraught clergyman holds his vestments.
The right window has at the top the presentation of Christ to the temple above and below the adoration
Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, or love in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something".
Ancient Rome
In classical Rome, adorat ...
of the magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
.
South aisle
Moving towards the Horsfall Chapel there are 5 lancet windows with depictions of five of the apostles St Bartholomew, St Philip
Philip the Apostle ( el, Φίλιππος; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; cop, ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ, ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle ...
, St James, son of Alphaeus
James, son of Alphaeus (Greek: Ἰάκωβος, ''Iakōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܚܠܦܝ; he, יעקב בן חלפי ''Ya'akov ben Halfai''; cop, ⲓⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲁⲗⲫⲉⲟⲥ; ) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jes ...
, St Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
.
Image:St Batholemew.JPG, Lancet window of St Bartholemew.
Image:St Philip lancet window.JPG, Lancet window of St Philip
North aisle
Here in the lancet windows are depictions of the other 7 apostles and the Virgin Mary St Simon, St Jude
Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...
, St Thomas, St Matthew
Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...
, St Andrew, St James, son of Zebedee, St John, and Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
the illumination of these windows was restored in 2009 and they can now be seen in all their splendour.
Clerestory windows
The North clerestory windows contain representations of female saints, while those on the South side contain their male counterparts.
South clerestory
From the rear, west to east, front.
;1st window
Left: St Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...
, the first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
British Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
martyr,
Centre: St George
Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
, engaged in slaying the dragon,
Right: St Edmund Saint Edmund may refer to:
* Saint Edmund the Martyr (d. 869), king of East Anglia who was venerated as a martyr saint soon after his death at the hands of Vikings
* Saint Edmund Arrowsmith (1585–1628), Jesuit, one of the Forty Martyrs of England ...
King, King of the East Angles
la, Regnum Orientalium Anglorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Angles
, common_name = East Anglia
, era =
, status = Great Kingdom
, status_text = Independent (6th centu ...
holding an arrow symbolic of his being shot for refusing to deny his Christian faith.[''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', translated and edited by M. J. Swanton (1996), paperback, ]
;2nd window
Left: St Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
, holding a head in his hands,
Centre: St Benedict, holding a book probably containing his Monastic Rule followed by Benedictine monks.
Right: St Germanus.
;3rd window
Left St Ethelbert, King who received Augustine and was converted by him,[Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede, 731]
Centre St Augustine, consecrated as Archbishop of the English and established his see at Canterbury around 598,
Right St Bennet Biscop.
;4th window
Left: St Cyprian, carrying the axe by which he was martyrd and is recognised,
Centre: St Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
,
Right: St Chad
Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...
, holding in his hands the Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
at Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
which he founded and where he died in 672.
;5th window
Left: Venerable Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
, holding a book symbolic of his work Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
,
Centre: St Oswald, the first of the English royal saints,
Right: St Dunstan
Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life i ...
, appointed Bishop of Worcester in 957.
;6th window
Left: St Stephen
Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...
, holding stones as a reminder that he was stoned to death in AD 34-35,
Centre: St Gregory
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
, wearing the triple crown of the Pope and holding open a book of chants as he reformed the services of the church. In 595 he sent Augustine to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to convert the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. Right: St Laurence, with a grid iron symbolising his martyrdom by being burned to death.
North Clerestory
;1st window
Left: St Bertha, Queen of Kent whose influence led to the introduction of Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
to Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...
. She was canonized as a saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
for her role in its establishment during that period of English history. Augustine owed much of his favorable reception to the influence of Bertha
.
Centre: St Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
Right: St Margaret of Scotland wife of Malcolm III
Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...
known for her goodness to the poor and orphans.
;2nd window
Left: St Frideswide
Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (c. 65019 October 727; ang, Friðuswīþ), was an English princess and abbess. She is credited as the foundress of a monastery later incorporated into Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of a sub-kin ...
, holding a book as the Patron Saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
Centre: St Walburgh,
Right: St Winefride. seen holding a head as a symbol of her martyrdom.
;3rd window
Left: St Edith Saint Edith or St Edith's or ''variant'', may refer to:
People
*Edith of Polesworth (died 15 March AD 871)
*Edith of Wilton (961 – 15 September 984)
*Edith of Aylesbury, a Dark Ages English saint
*Saint Edith Stein (1891–1942), a German Jewish ...
crowned and holding a crook symbolic of her royal lineage but who chose to be a humble nun.
Centre: St Hilda
Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon Engla ...
Abbess of Hartlepool but the glass misnames her as St Chad, probably the result of repairs following wartime damage.
Right: St Etheldreda
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
again crowned and with a crook she was abbess of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of north- ...
.
;4th window
Left St Barbara
Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in ...
crowned and with a chalice and a castle, the patron saints of artillery and dangerous trades. She was imprisoned in a tower which was broken open by a thunderbolt.
Centre St Lucy with a lamp and a dish of a pair of eyes. She consecrated her virginity to God, refused to marry a pagan, and had her dowry distributed to the poor. Her would-be husband denounced her as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse, Sicily
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, wikt:Συράκουσαι, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, wikt:Συράκοσαι, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûs ...
. Miraculously unable to move her or burn her, the guards took out her eyes with a fork. Patron saint of the blind her name derives from Lux
The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the ...
meaning light.
Right St Faith
Saint Faith or Saint Faith of Conques (Latin: Sancta Fides; French language, French: Sainte-Foy; Spanish language, Spanish: Santa Fe) is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was ...
the grid iron symbolises her death by burning.
;5th window
Left: St Cecilia Patron Saint of Music pictured with an organ
Centre: St Catherine associated with the Catherine wheel on which she was tortured.
Right: St Agnes with a lily the symbol of chastity.
;6th window (none of the names are preceded by the title St but all are).[
Left: St Dorcas raised from the dead by St Peter.
Centre: St Lydia was the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.
Right: St Lois the maternal grandmother of Timothy, she is commended by Paul for her faith here she is depicted carrying an open book in which are the words " Let thy saints rejoice in goodness".
;7th window
Left: Santa Maria Mag (]Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
) with the alabaster pot containing the oil with which she annoited the feet of Jesus.
Centre: St Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
mother of Mary again incorrectly named St Hilda.
Right: Santa St. Elizabeth cousin of Mary and the mother of John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
.
Image: Clerestory Window.JPG, Clerestory Window in the Gallery of St Bertha St Helen and St Margaret of Scotland
Image: Clerestory window (2).JPG, Clerestory Window showing St Frideswide, St Walburgh and St Winefride.
Font and pulpit
There is also a lovely font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
of a white marble angel holding a large shell, by S, Ruddock, London the monument, dedicated to Horsfall's daughter, Mrs Mary Simms upon whom the face of the angel is believed to be modelled on.
The inscription upon it reads,
"Erected to the memory of Mary Elizabeth Simms the only and dearly beloved daughter of James and Elizabeth Horsfall - Sept-1879. ''
"In life beloved, in death lamented"
The pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
is supported by three figures. One is recognizable by the key symbol he holds as St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
, one by his dress as a Bishop as St Cyprian and the last by the symbols of a book and a broken sword as St Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
.
Image:Font St, Cyprians.JPG, The Font at Easter
Image: St Cyprians pulpit.JPG, The pulpit
Memorials
In the South aisle, a plain oak memorial contains 111 names, dedicated ''To the memory of the men of this church and Parish who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914-1918, Faithful Unto Death'', another to six members of the 23rd Birmingham Company The Boys' Brigade killed during the Second World War and two memorials for members of the Horsfall family who died on military service. One to James Andrew Coldwell Horsfall, Lance Corporal Royal Irish Rangers who died in a military accident saving the lives of 9 comrades in 1973. Another to Flying Officer, George David Coldwell Horsfall, Royal Air Force, who went missing from operations over the French coast on the night of 15 May 1944.
Image:ST cYPRIANS WAR MEMORIAL.JPG, First World War memorial
Image:Boys Brigade memorial.JPG, Boys' Brigade Memorial
Image:Andrew Horsfall memorial.JPG, Memorial to James Andrew Coldwell Horsfall
Image:St Cyprians 001.jpg, Memorial to George David Coldwell Horsfall
There are also two brass plate memorials here
Beneath the lancet window of St Jacobus (James, son of Alphaeus
James, son of Alphaeus (Greek: Ἰάκωβος, ''Iakōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܚܠܦܝ; he, יעקב בן חלפי ''Ya'akov ben Halfai''; cop, ⲓⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲁⲗⲫⲉⲟⲥ; ) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jes ...
)
*In remembrance of William George Gray died February 2, 1860, aged 55 and of Hannah relict of the above died March 21, 1871. May they rest in peace.
Beneath the lancet window of St Paulus (St Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
)
*In memory of James Evans died January 5, 1870, Honara his first wife died March 8, 1863, and Mary Ann his second wife died March 3, 1870.
Situated in the North aisle is a private First World War Memorial to Captain Joseph Arthur Brearley and his brother Norman Blackburn Brearley, son's of Harry and Annie Brearley, of 225, Charles Rd., Small Heath, Birmingham. Arthur, after being educated at King Edwards Grammar, Handsworth and Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...
, became a schoolteacher in Exeter and joined the 1/6th Cyclists Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...
in April 1914. He became attached the Special Co N Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
whose role was the firing of gas canisters onto enemy trenches. He was killed on 20 June 1917 during the Battle of Messines Ridge, and the Battalion War diary records, ''"Gas discharged on Jackdaw and Jam Avenue. Observations from the front line indicates that drums burst well and a good cloud was formed over enemy trenches. Considerable hostile artillery retaliation on front line and C.T.'s. Golden rain,double red and double green lights were used extensively by the enemy. Whole operation including preparation 3 killed 11 wounded."'' He was 27 and had been with N company just over a month.
His brother, Norman Blackburn Brearley was with A company, 9th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...
and was killed in action on 19 April 1916. The battalion War Diary records at 0700 whilst attacking a Turkish Trench at Beit aiessa, on the right hand bank of the Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
. He was seen to be hit during the charge and fell in marshy ground, the water rose and he, and others with him, were drowned before aid could reach them. He was 22 and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial.
There is the following inscription on their memorial
''They died that we might live in freedom. This tablet is erected by their parents''
Also in the north aisle are three brass plate memorials to the Spawforth family.
* Edward Spawforth died August 1, 1853, aged 75 beneath the lancet window of the St Jacobus maj (James the Just
James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early lead ...
)
* John Spawforth died October 28, 1865, aged 58 beneath the lancet window of St Joannes (St John)
* Mary the wife of Edward Spawforth died September 17, 1859, aged 60 placed beneath the lancet window of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
.
Vicars
List of vicars
To the rear of the church there is a wooden board containing a list of the vicars of St Cyprian's placed there in 1973 to mark the centenary of the church.
*1866–1903 G.H. Simms (Husband of the Horsfalls daughter Mary, interred in the mortuary chapel)
*1904–1910 W.H. Wilson Carriss (There is also a brass tablet in his memory on the left pillar of the chancel arch.)
*1911–1912 W.F. Clarke
*1913–1923 R.E. Price
*1924–1927 H.E. Key
*1928–1934 T.H.W. Maxfield
*1935–1945 R.C. Tait
*1946–1951 C.G. Challenger
*1953–1964 E.F.S. Wilmot
*1965–1980 A.C.D. Fennell
*1988–1988 C.S. Simms
*1988–1994 R.C. Simpson
*1994–1996 R.E. Chamberlain
*1996–2001 M. Alderson (First female minister)
*Interregnum, a Lay Pastoral Team was commissioned, the first Parish in the diocese to achieve this
*2005–2010 A.P. Johnson
*2010–2011 Interregnum with a Lay Pastoral Team
*2012–2017 R. Anetts
*2017– Interregnum with a Lay Pastoral Team
Organ
The church formerly contained an organ by Bryceson, the specifications of which can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register
However, this was replaced in the 1960s with an electronic organ by Compton.
It bears a plaque with the following inscription "To commemorate with grateful thanks the rebuilding of this organ through the generosity of church members and friends. Also the restoration of the woodwork by Alan Pipe and Albert Dixon."
List of organists
* Samuel Simms 1879–1885 (formerly organist of St. John's Church, Ladywood
The Church of St. John the Evangelist and St. Peter is a Grade II listed Church of England church of Ladywood, Birmingham, England.
History
The Church of St. John the Evangelist was built to designs by the architect Samuel Sanders Teu ...
)
*Samuel Simms 1885–???? (succeeded his father)
*Bertram Newstead ca. 1925[''Tamworth Herald'' – Saturday 19 December 1925]
*F. G. Ashmore 1935
*F. W. Grove 1952
*H. Summerton 1965 (Deputy Mrs F. Cooper)
*Derek Hulley 1970–2005 (a memorial plate on right side of the organ reads) "In loving memory of Derek Hulley Organist and Choirmaster of St Cyprians 1970–2005 and wife Joyce, Rest in Peace Dear Friends"
*Margaret Croucher 2000-to present
Present activities
St Cyprian's remains open and has an active congregation contributing to missions in Africa and elsewhere. Anglican services of Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
will be presided at by the Vicar Rev. Roy Anetts at 8.00am and 10:30 am on Sunday with other regular events throughout the week including the "Grapevine" Ladies Group, Bible Study Group and Morning prayers.
Special events are organised throughout the year such as Bingo afternoons, concerts in the church, day retreat visits to a local convent and a history day organised in May saw over 100 visitors to the church.
St Cyprians has a modern church hall, situated nearby available for hire, which is also used by religious groups of different faiths.
A small memorial garden in front of the church which was renovated and replanted by volunteers from the congregation during the summer of 2009 and blessed by the retiring vicar Tony Johnson in April 2010.
References
Notes
Sources
* National Archives:
*(WO/95/402) Royal Engineers Battalion War Diary
*(WO374/8744) Service Record Capt. Arthur Brearley
*(WO/374)Service Record of Lt Norman Blackburn Brearley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay Mills, St Cyprian's Church
Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands
19th-century Church of England church buildings
Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham
Grade II listed churches in the West Midlands (county)