Saint Peter's is the ancient

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 ...

Harborne Harborne is an affluent area sited south-west of Birmingham, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward in the Government of Birmingham, England#Districts, formal district and ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Background

There has been a church on the site since

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

times and

St Chad Chad (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon monk. He was an abbot, Bishop of the Northumbrians and then Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. After his death he was known as a saint. He was the brother of Bishop C ...

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. Elihu Burritt, who was living in Harborne at the time was on the committee that oversaw the restoration. 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 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 ...

Burials

* Bob Brettle, 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, wife of

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. * 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 of Commonwealth service personnel, 22 from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 18 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.
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 1919–1920 *Canon Richardson *Ven. Sidney Harvie-Clarke, Archdeacon of Birmingham *Angus Greer McIntyre 1971 *Michael Counsell 1976–1989 *C.J. Evans (Fr.Jo) 1992–2008 *C.S. Ralph 2010–2013 *Graeme Richardson 2014 – September 2019 *Rev Can Kate Stowe 2020 - Present

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 (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

. 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 – 2023 *Simon Palmer 2024 -

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