Saint Peter's is the ancient

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, ...

Harborne Harborne is an area of south-west Birmingham, England. It is one of the most affluent areas of the Midlands, southwest from Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Background

There has been a church on the site since

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times and

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 ...

is even thought to have preached there. The base of an early preaching cross was found in the mid-1980s during work at the back of the church. The parish formerly covered what is now Smethwick (North Harborne), all of current Harborne and even parts of Quinton (Ridgeacre). The present building is Victorian, dating from the 1860s by architect

Yeoville Thomason Henry Richard Yeoville Yardley Thomason (17 July 1826 – 19 July 1901) was a British architect active in Birmingham. He was born in Edinburgh to a Birmingham family, and set up his own practice in Birmingham 1853–54. Life Yeoville ...

Elihu Burritt Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. ''Instead of Violence: Writings by the Great Advocates of Peace and Nonviolence Throughout Histo ...

, who was living in Harborne at the time was on the committee that oversaw the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

. The tower is far older and is all that remains of the medieval church. It is believed to date from the 14th century. The sanctuary was rebuilt during 1974/5 after a fire. 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 ...

Burials

Bob Brettle Robert "Bob" Brettle (1832–1872) was a successful Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer active in Birmingham, England, during the 1850s. He was known as "The Birmingham Pet". A silver belt, given to him by his patrons to honour his achievem ...

, boxer * David Cox, watercolourist - there is also a sanctuary memorial window to him. * Thomas Baker, watercolourist. He is buried next to David Cox. *

Anne Chamberlain Anne de Vere Chamberlain (; 1883 – 12 February 1967) was the wife of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. A successful businessman when they married, he credited her with encouraging him into political life, and rising to the premie ...

, wife of

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. * Sir Charles Haughton Rafter , Chief Constable of

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

between 1899 and 1935. * George Edward Hunt, jeweller There are also 40

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

of Commonwealth service personnel, 22 from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 18 from

World War II 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 ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.

List of Vicars

Curate = W. Harding (November 1826 – March 1827) *Rev Thomas Smith 1858-? *The Ven.

Ralph Creed Meredith Ralph Creed Meredith, M.A., (7 October 1887 – 10 January 1970) was an Anglican cleric who succeeded Edward Keble Talbot as Chaplain to His Majesty, King George VI and afterwards Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In New Zealand he was president ...

1919–20 *Canon Richardson *Ven. Sidney Harvie-Clarke,

Archdeacon of Birmingham The Archdeacon of Birmingham is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Birmingham. The archdeaconry was created within the Diocese of Worcester by Order-in-Council on 12 August 1892 (substantially from the Archdeaconry of Coventry ...

Angus Greer McIntyre 1971 *Michael Counsell 1976–89 *C.J.Evans (Fr.Jo) 1992–2008 *C.S.Ralph 2010–13 *Graeme Richardson 2014 - September 2019

Bells

The bells were purchased from the church of Bishop Ryder in Deritend and installed by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

. The ring of eight was dedicated on 2 March 1963. The tenor bell weighs nearly 13 cwt and the ring is in F#.

Organ

The organ dates from 1975, replacing a previous instrument destroyed in a fire. The organ specification was designed by George Miles, the church organist, and can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

List of organists

*Roland Mellor Winn 1874 - 1904 *Franklyn Mountford 1904 - 1927 (formerly organist at St James’ Church, Handsworth and St. John's Church, Truro) *W.E. Robinson * George Miles 1946Who's who in Music. Shaw Publishing Ltd. First Post War Edition. 1949-50 - 1988 *Ian Ledsham 1993 - 2000 *Victoria Gravenor 2001 - 2004 *David Friel 2005–present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harborne, Saint Peter's Church Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham Grade II listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Harborne