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| St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook | |
|---|---|
 | |
 St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook | |
| Location | Sparkbrook,Birmingham, England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| Website | saintagathas.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Architect | W. H. Bidlake |
| Years built | October 1899 – 1901 |
| Specifications | |
| Height | 36.6 metres (120 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Birmingham |
| Archdeaconry | Birmingham |
| Deanery | Central Birmingham |
| Parish | St. Agatha, Sparkbrook and St. Barnabas, Balsall Heath |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Rt RevdPaul Thomas SSC (AEO) |
| Priest | Vacant |
| Laity | |
| Organist | David Lane |
TheChurch of St Agatha is aparish church in theChurch of England inSparkbrook inBirmingham, England.
It was designed byW. H. Bidlake and is now aGrade I listed building.[1]
Made of brick and decorated with stone, building started in October 1899. It was funded by the sale of the site ofChrist Church,New Street which was demolished the same year to make way for shops and offices - Christchurch Buildings. That site later becameVictoria Square after Christchurch Buildings were demolished in 1970. St Agatha was consecrated in 1901 by theBishop of Worcester (Charles Gore) as Birmingham was in the diocese ofWorcester until 1905 at which time Gore was made the firstBishop of Birmingham. A parish was assigned to the church in 1902 fromChrist Church, Sparkbrook, andSt Paul's Church, Balsall Heath. The font and only bell came from Christ Church, along with its foundation stone dated 1805. In 1959, the church hall received a licence for public worship.
The building has had an eventful history; the sanctuary end was completely destroyed by a German bomb in 1940 and the entire roof was lost in a fire in 1957. From 1940 to 1960 parts of the building were bricked off and the sense of lightness, that the interior now has, was temporarily lost.
The church was slightly damaged by theBirmingham Tornado on 28 July 2005. However the adjoiningLadypool Primary School was extensively damaged and lost its distinctiveMartin & Chamberlain tower.
Major restoration work took place from 2002 to 2005, mostly funded by the National Heritage Lottery Board. This included the stabilisation of the tower. The restoration work was designed by Apec Architects.[2] The restored church was officially reopened in January 2005 byPrince Edward and the Countess of Wessex.
| 1889 | Fr Charles Wilcox |
| 1903 | Fr Gerald Vacqueray |
| 1910 | Fr Thomas Sanders |
| 1912 | Fr James Talbot |
| 1918 | Fr George Rosenthal |
| 1939 | Fr Alban Tilt |
| 1948 | Fr Eric Hill |
| 1955 | Fr Bernard Hopper |
| 1968 | Fr Neville Cross |
| 1971 | Fr Frederick Bernardi |
| 1978 | Fr Leonard Boyd |
| 1990-2014 | Canon John Hervé |
| 2016-2020 | Fr John Luff |
| 2023-2025 | Fr Thomas Singh |
From its beginning St Agatha's was strongly part of theAnglo-Catholic movement. Although situated in the Diocese of Birmingham the church is under the oversight of theBishop of Oswestry (currentlyPaul Thomas), theProvincial episcopal visitor and is a part ofForward in Faith. Until the 1950s there was a ring of similar churches around inner-city Birmingham - the so-called 'Biretta Belt'. Many of those churches have closed but St Agatha's itself remains open despite being in an almost entirely Muslim ward of the city. The church's priest is shared withSt Barnabas' Church, Balsall Heath.[3]
The church is noted for its music - supplemented by a recently restored three-manual Nicholson organ -its liturgy and diverse congregation, and is well known beyond the parish and the city.
Celebrants have included the Archbishop of York, the Most ReverendDavid Hope at the centenary Mass in May 2001.
The church hall is used by the Birmingham City Amateur Boxing Club, originally Ladywood Amateur Boxing Club, founded by Frank O'Sullivan.[4]
52°27′39″N1°52′26″W / 52.4609°N 1.8738°W /52.4609; -1.8738
