BELLS IN AND AROUND BIRMINGHAM: A SURVEY AND HISTORY (PART 1: PREFACE, EXPLANATORY NOTES, INTRODUCTION, LOCATIONS A-E) Chris Pickford Version date: 29/09/2020 Preface Not long after I took up ringing in 1966 I began collecting information on the bells in Worcestershire (where I was at boarding school) and Warwickshire (where my parents lived). I date my first ‘serious’ visits to April 1968 since when I have been working intermittently on comprehensive surveys of bells in the two counties. The prospect of tackling a large urban area like Birmingham was always a rather daunting one and for a long time I skirted round it. However, when I took on the role of Bells Adviser to the Birmingham Diocesan Advisory Committee in 1987 I decided to pick up the challenge and during the course of the next couple of years managed to visit nearly every belfry in the area. The work originally led to the creation of a Diocesan Inventory (rather in the format of the present National Bells Register) and the updating of the Council for the Care of Churches’ preservation list for the Diocese. I stepped down as Bells Adviser in 1998 but in 2003-4 - following a return to the Midlands - I did some further survey work and wrote up the entire work in its present form. Since then I have tried to keep it up to date as best I can. I never intended this to be a book - and long ago gave up talking of books to replace Walters’s books on the Church Bells of Warwickshire (1910) Church Bells of Worcestershire (1925-31) - as this sort of study is too specialised (and too detailed in this form) for traditional publication. Commercial publishers, certainly, aren’t interested. I do believe, though, that the survey is worth completing even if it remains unpublished. In making the draft version available I wish it to be clearly understood that I have no desire to be at all protective of this work. The information has only been collected and put together in this way in order to make the material accessible to all who have an interest in it. I am keen that it should be used and enjoyed, and I am happy for parts of it to be quoted or copied (preferably with acknowledgment) as seems helpful. I am happy for the sentiments in this paragraph to be liberally interpreted even though copyright law might restrict such uses if strictly applied. To that end I have previously made copies of the file available to quite a number of people in the past and now I am glad that the Guild has expressed a wish to ‘publish’ it online. There are just three further points to make – two caveats, and a request 1. This is still work in progress and so the content of my master copy - not synchronised with the online version - is frequently changing (with revisions to existing entries as well as new additions). So this version may not be entirely up to date. 2. While I can be cavalier about my own copyright in this work, I ought to point out that the copyright in some of the extensive quotations may belong to others. In any published use, care needs to be taken to ensure that third party copyright is not infringed. 3. The request is simply that anyone with additional information, suggestions and corrections let me know so I can make any necessary amendments As to what is presented here, please note that there are no illustrations yet. The list of photographs at the beginning is simply a working list of what might be included later on. Similarly, there are the beginnings - but no more than that - of a general introduction to the work. This was begun in 2004 but work came to an abrupt halt owing to a change in employment and I have never got round to completing it. Lastly, a full version of this work should include analytical lists of the bells cast by each founder, the bellhanging work of the various firms and clocks arranged by maker and date. A spreadsheet version of this information exists ready for future extraction into a suitable format. Finally, the main survey covers the area of the City and its suburban hinterland. The rural part of Birmingham Diocese in Warwickshire and in the modern Solihull Metropolitan Borough is included in my main Warwickshire survey. It has been fully researched but not yet written up in as much detail as the Birmingham part. For completeness, the current versions of the main belfry descriptions - by no means complete or in an ideal format - are provided as a separate file with its own preface. Chris Pickford FSA 29 September 2020 4 Walmsley Court, High Street, Kinver, DY7 6HG Tel: 01384 872519 or (mobile) 07811 453525 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Explanatory notes This is intended as a parallel publication to “Warwickshire”. Combining the two seems impractical both on account of size and also because “Birmingham” covers areas that were never in Warwickshire. Boundaries have changed several times, and the complexity of the evolution of administrative areas (civil and ecclesiastical) means that it is hard to define areas that will be generally meaningful and readily understood. Maps [not included in this version] 1) Birmingham ancient parish – with outline of county boundaries, and spot locations for main places in surrounding area (Aston, Edgbaston, Handsworth, Kings Norton, Moseley, Northfield, Sutton, Yardley etc) 2) Present City of Birmingham – and places just outside the edge – with diocesan and county boundaries as practicable 3) Coverage of volume showing main area, outline of motorway ring, and “fringe areas hatched to indicate level of coverage 4) Location maps for main districts (e.g. Aston, Edgbaston, Handsworth, Harborne, Moseley, Smethwick) Coverage: Main area of the City of Birmingham – all Church of England churches (past and present), some public buildings, most buildings with public clocks, and other places of interest Area A – Worcestershire and Staffordshire sides (basically as main area) Area B – Warwickshire side (the outlying deaneries). Summary entries (describing existing bells – not a full historical account) for churches. Other buildings not included. This area will be covered in full in the companion volume on Warwickshire. The aim of the two publications is to provide full coverage of the area at its greatest extent, although “Birmingham” has been less exhaustively investigated – in terms of secular locations with clocks and bells – than the rest of “Warwickshire”. Any division must be artificial, but treating “Birmingham” and “Warwickshire” as separate blocks should have the advantage of creating comprehensive reference books for two distinct areas. For this volume, the original intention had been to arrange by dedication and then by place, using the system adopted by the Victoria County History. This avoids the complexities of new parishes created from new ones and districts formed from parts of others, but it is not so readily accessible to readers unfamiliar with the area. While it works well for churches, it fails to provide a satisfactory framework for secular buildings. The order of the entries therefore follows the general principle of arranging the church or building by district and then alphabetically by dedication or name. This has the advantage of grouping entries by locality so you can see what churches and bells are listed in (e.g.) Edgbaston. Cross references are also given, however, to show where entries for particular districts (e.g. Gravelly Hill) can be found. For separate churches formed out of ancient parishes, further cross references have been provided (e.g. CASTLE BROMWICH – see also SHARD END, All Saints). Places where new parishes have been formed from parts of several older parishes are generally listed under their new name, with cross-references back to the others (e.g. Kings Heath, Stirchley). Complete consistency is nigh impossible, but what I have aimed to do is to group entries and provide cross-references in such a way that the reader will find entries within no more than two searches. Some places are particularly difficult, the worst areas being Bordesley and Small Heath where churches have gone under alternative names at different dates. Duddeston and Nechells provides another example of this. Work done Visit notes – inscriptions and basic details extracted Card index – key information extracted M&S index – searched quite thoroughly Tilley & Walters – done Main card index and “Warwickshire” index – checked for stray references Worcester Diocese card index – consecrations etc Lists of founders, hangers and clockmakers lists compiled on Excel Approximate weights marked * Work still required Scan through cards and computer entries to look for omissions Specific research query list Country houses and public buildings ILLUSTRATIONS Maps MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS [not included in this version] Map Birmingham parish – see above Map Birmingham City (as now) – see above Map Coverage map – as above Maps Site of Blews, Barwell and Carr foundries (Goad Plans, if available) Map Good Knaves End, Edgbaston (Smith’s foundry) 1. Aston: church (old engraving?) 2. Aston: Tenor bell 3. Balsall Heath, St.Paul: New steel campanile 4. Birmingham: Art Gallery (full page from G&J catalogue 1907) 5. Birmingham, Art Gallery: Postcard view (CJP) 6. Birmingham, Bishop Latimer’s: Church (WDCC?) 7. Birmingham, Bishop Ryder’s: Church 8. Birmingham, Christ Church: Church and Town Hall (Local Studies?) 9. Birmingham, City Bushell: From Warwickshire Records 10. Birmingham, Market Hall: Clock chime and bells, 1939 (Local Studies? – or newspaper) 11. Birmingham, Public Offices: Exterior Church (Local Studies - (Birmingham Faces and Places Vol.II p.15 – 1 May 1889) 12. Birmingham, Spring Hill Library: Exterior 13. Birmingham, St.Bartholomew: Church (Local Studies?) 14.