St Matthew's Church (formerly All Saints' Church) is a
Church of England parish church in
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
,
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, England. It was rebuilt in 1820-1821 by
Francis Goodwin, but includes remains of the earlier church built around 1220 and dedicated to All Saints. It is a Grade II*
listed building
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 ...
, and on
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
's
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
. The church was rededicated to
St Matthew when rebuilt. The church is the oldest building in Walsall and serves as the main parish church of the town. It sits at a high elevation above the town on a hill and can be seen when entering the town.
The first Rector, Magister Serlo De Sunning, was appointed by King John in 1211.
From 1248 until 1538 appointments of Rector were given to Halesowen Abbey. Since then, appointments were made by the
Earl of Bradford
Earl of Bradford is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 for Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport. However, all the Newport titles became ...
and transferred to the
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Wes ...
in 1945.
The east window commemorates
Sister Dora
Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison, better known as Sister Dora (16 January 1832 – 24 December 1878), was a 19th-century Anglican nun and nurse who worked in Walsall, Staffordshire.
Life
Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison was born in Hauxwell, North Ridin ...
and the stained glass is the work of
Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls is an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards.
The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Bu ...
.
References
Churches completed in 1821
Walsall, St Matthew
Walsall, St Matthew
Buildings and structures in Walsall
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