St John the Baptist's Church, Longbridge 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, ...

in 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 Britai ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

History

The church was designed by G H While of Bromilow, While and Smeaton. The church was consecrated in 1957 and a parish was formed from St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton at the same time. It was built to serve the expanding car-making area around the Longbridge plant. The church is noted for five oak statues on the

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s of the west window designed by G H While and carved by the

Robert Pancheri Celestino Enrico Pancheri (ca. 1881 – 21 November 1961) was an Italian sculptor and carver who worked in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He was born in Italy but came to England to work for the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts at the end of the ...

of Bromsgrove. The central figure is of

St 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 ...

holding a cross, with a lamb lying on the Bible. Around him are depictions of

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

with a raven,

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

with a branch, Ezekiel with a wheel and

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

with a scroll. The church was used by the architect as a model for St Boniface's Church, Quinton which was built 2 years later.

Organ

A two manual organ from

St Thomas in the Moors, Balsall Heath St Thomas in the Moors, Balsall Heath is a former Church of England parish church in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. History The foundation stone was laid on 28 November 1870 by Mrs Sands Cox of Dosthill Hall in memory of Edward Townsend Cox and Jan ...

was installed in 1958 by Nicholson and Co of Worcester. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longbridge Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Churches completed in 1957 20th-century Church of England church buildings