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On March 15th 1854, after
two years of construction, St. John’s Church, Ladywood, was consecrated by
the Bishop of Worcester, - Birmingham was not a Diocese and had no bishop
until 1905.
"Quite
the most amazing church building I have ever come across. The
outside of the church looks fairly traditional, and you make your
way towards the door expecting the usual sort of thing inside --
pews, a stained glass window or two, perhaps a bit of heating if
you’re fortunate.
Instead what greets you simply takes your
breath away. The church has been refurbished to an astonishing
standard: the floor has been completely replaced (and there is now
under-floor heating); the pews have gone to be replaced by chairs; a
tower has been transformed to provide some interesting smaller rooms
spread over several levels; and the craft on display is incredibly
beautiful. The stained glass in general and the water feature in the
baptistry area in particular are worthy of special mention, but
there’s clearly been a lot of thought gone into every detail of the
refurbishment.
The space and facilities they have at their
disposal are an absolutely amazing example of what can be done with
a church building nowadays. "
12/1/2009
Visitor from Manchester
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