St Mary's Convent is a house for the community of the local

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

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. ...

. Although it is situated between the Lozells and

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

parts of the city, the community also serves the parish in Handsworth. It was founded in 1840 and was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. On 25 April 1952 it was designated as a Grade II* listed building by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

History

Foundation

In 1840, the

came to Birmingham at the invitation of

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church who became the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Born ...

. At the time he was coadjutor bishop of Thomas Walsh, the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar (or vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. Th ...

. They set up a convent with the help of many interested parties. John Hardman of Hardman & Co. who lived opposite donated the land for them. The cost of building the convent was met by Hardman and the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

who donated £2000. They then commissioned

to design the building for them. The chapel of the convent, dedicated to Saint Mary served as the parish church until 1847.British Listed Buildings
retrieved 13 April 2013Slevin, Malachy ''St Francis Church Handsworth'' (Birmingham, 1994), pp.1-17

St Mary's Church

In 1845, with the local Catholic population increasing, the convent chapel was no longer large enough to accommodate the congregation. So they decided to build a larger church next to the convent.Lozells
from ''William Dargue - A History of Birmingham'' retrieved 13 April 2013 In July 1847, St Mary's Church was opened and consecrated by Bishop William Wareing. After St Francis of Assisi Church was built opposite the convent in 1894, St Mary's Church became the convent chapel. However, St Mary's Church was destroyed during

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 opposing ...

and not rebuilt. The site of the church is now occupied by St Francis Catholic Primary School. The school has a close relationship with the convent next door who have a representative on the school's board of governors.Governors
from St Francis Catholic School, retrieved 14 April 2013

Exterior

St Mary's Convent, Handsworth.JPG, View along Hunters Road South Side St Mary's Convent, Handsworth.JPG, Side of the convent

References

External links