The First 150 years
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.
Records
It seems
impossible to write a history of the church because apart from the registers of
births marriages and deaths housed in the
City library’s archives, we have
virtually no written accounts or personal histories. Whether they were all kept
safe and then unfortunately destroyed, or are still safe, I do not know. The
only records I know of are contained in photographs that Norman Bartlam has so
sensitively and attractively collected together in his 3 books on Ladywood, a
similar record by Mac Joseph, a ‘Centenary Year Book (let) ’ published by the
then Revd Norman Power in 1954, a ‘70 year’ booklet, a casual number of church
magazines through the period and the memories of those who either still live
amongst us or are scattered and may meet up together as members of the Old
Ladywood Association. Other than these, the history of St. John’s is contained
in the history of Birmingham, its people, past and present, its industrial
growth, its physical design and development, its parks and buildings.
Origins
St.
John’s is one of those buildings that tells not only of the history of
Birmingham but also of the Church of England. It apparently stemmed from a
Ladywood Mission encouraged by Dr Miller, Rector of St. Martin’s in the Bull
Ring in which parish we were at first, a £1000 gift and land given by King
Edwards’s School. The proposed site was next to a ‘green’, the last remnant of
Ladywood Green , a 17th century Great Plague burial ground.
The church’s
construction
Designed
by the well-known Victorian architect, S.S. Teulon, the church is in the
Victorian Gothic style It is much more simple and gracious than many of the
period apart from the idiosyncratic stone turrets and the nearly 100 stone heads
that adorn the church inside and out. None of these I think have been
recognised, not even as the first vicar, Canon Francis Morse.
It is
though the great sense of proportion which has for many been the most striking
feature of the church to the eye. Within the church the most major alternation
till the present day was the addition of the transepts in 1881 by the architect,
W.A Chatwyn, commemorated on the pulpit,. The transepts increased the sense of
spaciousness and except for a slight spoiling of the sight lines were a very
fitting addition. They were a replacement to a large gallery at the back of
church The old entrances to this are still visible and the church office now
uses the steps which were the access.
Churches in the area
In the
area, the first St. John’s school was built about 1860. The original St.
George’s church had been built in Edgbaston about 15 years earlier and St.
Augustine’s followed in 1868. St. Margaret’s parish was formed in 1876 and
Christ Church, Summerfield 1885.
Clergy
Sadly it
is often only those in a congregation with some kind of authority who are
remembered by history. Greater people may die unrecorded. One vicar who was very
up front was the Revd Runnels-Moss,
who, unusually in his
day – he was vicar from 1888-1921- was Anglo- West Indian, a man said to have
had passion and drama with the ‘warmth of less arctic skies’ . He began the
tradition of the church as ‘Evangelical’ but always without ‘narrow
fundamentalist extremes’. Other clergy like Canon Parslew (1927-40) and his
successor Norman Darrell are said to have begun and continued the work of
‘liberalising the thought of our fellowship’- though from what I wonder! . Canon
Norman Power was vicar from 1952-1988. A Birmingham man who became very well
known over the city through his weekly comment in the Evening Mail, he was
renowned for his stand on behalf of Ladywood people in the midst of the ravages
of redevelopment and is still very fondly remembered. He wrote ‘The Forgotten
People’ about those left not yet moved out, left behind in the squalor of no
one’s land. Our retiring vicar, the Revd Richard Tetlow, came in 1989 and our
half-time minister, the Revd Josephine Mason formally in 1992
Redevelopment 60s
style
Ladywood was more transformed
by the redevelopment of the late 60s than even in the war years. Many of its
back street industries and back yard houses were removed wholesale by first the
bombing and then the bulldozer. The tight community life was broken up for the
sake of improved housing and thousands of people moved to suburban areas like
Northfield, Rubery, Castle Bromwich etc. For that period this had a catastrophic
effect on church life both in numbers and morale. For many years in the 60s much
of Central Ladywood was a desert. St. John’s was the one place – with Springhill
Library – that was not demolished and kept its flag flying, literally.
Starting life up again in the
middle 60s, with some people returning but mostly with new inner city dwellers,
was a challenge for city and church. The new high-rise flats were initially a
pleasure and absorption of time and interest. Community bonds- negative as well
as positive- take years to build. Canon Power, we know, found the new way of
flat- living very hard to accept. Clubs had fallen apart. There was not the old
open friendliness nor the old authority. The church had a new challenge – to try
and encourage community bonds and participation by working alongside voluntary
agencies, tenants and the city council. Everyone was more equal, respect had to
be won and not assumed. The church was no different in this.
Redevelopment
90s style
30 years
later redevelopment all over again was agreed essential. Many vast flats were
replaced by small scale blocks with attractive semi-detached family homes,
‘Crescents’ and gardens. The physical improvement to housing and the environment
has been enormous. While some of this has resulted in extremely expensive flats
–flats again, but often for non-families and weekday workers- mostly alongside
the canals, the combination of City and Housing Association development has been
of very positive benefit.
Church life- 60s-90s
As in the 60s so in the 90s,
St. John’s has aimed to work with residents and agencies to ease the
redevelopment and its effect on the human spirit. For example the vicar was for
a time chair of the local Anti- Poverty initiative in the early 90s. St. John’s
has gained too from increased availability of funds, as in large grants
totalling nearly £50,000 to refurbish the Church Hall.
Throughout this time,
especially in the mid 70s, the church worked hard to maintain both building and
congregation. It was not easy. Society expectations changed greatly after the
60s. Church numbers fell away, new attractions and transport offered new
alternatives to church. Private money increased, community living decreased.
Church was never the natural home and culture of the majority of the inner city
population. Now it seemed superfluous to even more people.
Church
restoration and redevelopment
New life
however is always the possibility. It did not seem immediate when the church
was in danger of closure due to dry rot and general decay despite the
congregations having picked up to a regular and viable 50-60. Suddenly in 1992/3
we needed £36,000 to restore rotten beams. We had no funds of our own. 48/ 50
of us in June 1994 voted to go for restoration and redevelopment.
St. John’s and St. Peter’s
Ten years on, the church as
congregation has combined with St. Peter’s from Springhill which closed in
2000. Since then we are St. John’s and St Peter’s. Together we have a have
beautiful ‘new’ church that has developed the potential of the old elegant but
dark and dysfunctional building with great respect and care. We are very
grateful to all those who made this amazing transition possible whether as
workers and funders. Particularly we thank our architects, Rod Robinson of
Hereford for collaboration with our vision and the Heritage Lottery Fund for
paying for almost half the total cost of approaching £1million.
Our
modern setting
We have
to do likewise with our lives, respect where we have come from, live as best we
can in the present and open the doors to the future. We have to do the same with
our church and churches in thought and action as well as in our buildings. The
21st century is a new era: mass and immediate communication; in Britain more
people have more private money than ever; newly named fears abound, terrorism
replacing ‘the nuclear bomb’ ; nations are rich and poor in themselves but
especially across national frontiers starvation and Aids contrast with plenty;
growing children are not always given the love and attention they need with
untold consequences for society too; priorities of service to community in work
and leisure compete with more selfish ambitions
Our future as a
church
The church has to be as ever in the midst of
it all. The Anglican church has a prime opportunity with its best established
buildings to stay put and work on every new front it can. Of paramount
importance, it can be in the forefront of forging relationships of mutual
acceptance with people of differing origin, race and faith who are
now neighbours in our great city which is so central to such potential in
Britain.
Each church has to work out where it comes
from and where it wishes to go. For the time being St . John’s and St. Peter’s
has done that and called its project Ladywood ARC (Art, Religion and
Community). The church is now basically one whole flexible lovely space The
vision is to open it all to the whole community, Ladywood and city and even
country, for whatever good and decent activity people of all variety wish to do
here. We have already in the last year been opened for dance, professional
plays, concerts, city drugs, national anti-racism and diocesan
meetings/conferences as well as our increased possibilities for drama and music
for worship itself. Ladywood Interfaith Education Project from within the church
teaches Christianity to 8 local schools alongside the local Pagoda teaching
Buddhism and the local Synagogue Judaism and seeking to expand with Islam: a
marvellous and very significant modern innovation.
Hope for the church in the future
So we live on with great hope,
offering what we can to God especially through our understanding of the way of
Jesus Christ. Ours is a plural world which can either be to everyone’s advantage
or to our mutual downfall. Our changeable membership stays at around 90-100
adults and 20-30 children with a regular attendance in the mid 60s and about 15
children. Many do come to church less regularly but it has an eternal attraction
and importance for our world. Such a size is viable particularly with the great
potential and additional support of a project alongside like Ladywood ARC. We
pray that those of us who see the next 50 years at least in some part will be
able to contribute to the peace and well-being of us all with God throughout our
One World. That is just how it has always been.
It is just maybe now that the
stakes of life or death,
love and goodness or terror and hatred,
trust and openness or ignorance and prejudice
duty, devotion and commitment or greed and egotism,
inclusion and justice or exclusion,
poverty or wealth
are higher than they have ever been.
‘I have come that you may have
life in all its abundance’ ‘Therefore chose life’
(John and Deuteronomy)
Richard Tetlow, Vicar (Retired 7th September 2008)
Click here to see pictures from our 150th Anniversary celebration in2004
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