St. Barnabas' Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...

in the north of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Background

St Barnabas Church Centre is located on the High Street, in Erdington, Birmingham and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The vicar is the Reverend Emma Sykes, inducted in May 2020.

History

The church was built as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

between 1822–23 to a design by

Thomas Rickman Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...

. The church was famous for its sixteen stained glass windows depicting scenes of the life of Jesus and stories from the scriptures, including the

Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany is a figure of the New Testament whose life is restored by Jesus four days after his death, as told in the Gospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of the miracles of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lazarus ...

, The

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

, The

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

and

St Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

and St Barnabas, which were also designed by Thomas Rickman.News story in

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

, 4 October 2007 It was consecrated on July 23, 1824. The church was built by the Commissioners at a cost of £5,000, (), £1,000 of which was collected through public donations. In 1858, a district

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

was assigned to the church. In 1908 the parish founded a Mission Room in

Stockland Green Stockland Green is an area of Birmingham, England. It gives its name to a ward which is part of the Erdington formal district, and is located to the south-west of Erdington and north-east of Birmingham City Centre. The area is often mistakenly ...

which in 1920 was dedicated to St Mark. A new church was built called St Mark's Church, Stockland Green and a parish assigned out of All Saints' Church, Gravelly Hill.

Fire and rebuilding

Erdington church after fire - 2007-10-05

On the morning of 4 October 2007, the building was severely damaged by fire. Approximately 75 firefighters and 15 engines from

West Midlands Fire Service West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Midlands, England. The service has 38 fire stations, with a blended fleet of vehicles and specialist resources. The service is led by a Chie ...

attended the fire at 06:00 GMT. The roof and all but one of the stained glass windows were completely destroyed, though the clock and bell tower and walls remained intact.

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

David Urquhart David Urquhart (1 July 180516 May 1877) was a British diplomat, writer and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament for Stafford from 1847 to 1852. He also was an early promoter in the United Kingdom of the hammam (known to westerners as th ...

, stated he was determined to rebuild the church.Birmingham Mail on-line news and video footage
/ref> It is believed that the fire was caused by

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

ists."Arson suspected as blaze wrecks church"
''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...

''. 5 October 2007 Rebuilding of the church started in January 2011 and was completed in 2012. The building work was undertaken by Linfords who also performed the cleanup of the fire damage in late 2007 and early 2008. The building was re-dedicated in December 2012 by the Bishop of Birmingham.

Tower bells

St Barnabas has a ring of eight bells.

Churchyard

The churchyard contains scattered

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of 66 service personnel, 29 of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 37 of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A Screen Wall memorial lists those buried in graves in the old ground that could not be individually marked.
CWGC Cemetery Report.

Notable clergy

* Jeremy Sheehy, later Principal of St Stephen's House, Oxford, served his curacy here from 1981 to 1983 *

Rodney Whiteman Rodney David Carter Whiteman (born 6 October 1940) is a British Anglican priest. He was Archdeacon of Bodmin from 1989 to 1999,''Church news.'' The Times (London, England), Tuesday, July 04, 1989; pg. 18; Issue 63437 and Archdeacon of Cornwall fr ...

, later Archdeacon of Bodmin and of Cornwall, served as vicar from 1979 to 1989

References

External links

Birmingham City Council - The History of Erdington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdington, Saint Barnabas Church Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham Churches completed in 1823 19th-century Church of England church buildings Saint Barnabas Church Commissioners' church buildings Thomas Rickman buildings 2000s fires in the United Kingdom 2007 disasters in the United Kingdom 2007 fires in Europe Building and structure arson attacks in England Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Religious buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson