St Mary's Church, Temple Balsall is a

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 ...

in the

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, ...

Temple Balsall Temple Balsall () is a village in the civil parish of Balsall, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English West Midlands, situated between the large villages of Knowle (where population details as taken at the 2011 census can be ...

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

, West Midlands, England.

History

The church is of 13th century style but was heavily restored by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

in 1849. The church is a Grade I

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 ...

. It is thought that the church was built by the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and is the Mother Church of the Templars and the Knight Hospitallers. Knights of both Orders are illustrated in the Altar window.

Organ

The church has a small pipe organ by Porritt of Leicester, which was restored and revoiced by the late Peter Collins 2012–2014. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

References

Grade I listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Preceptories of the Knights Hospitaller in England Church of England church buildings in the West Midlands (county) Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the West Midlands (county) Buildings and Structures of the Knights Templar {{england-church-stub

History

Organ

See also

References