The heart of our community is the area known as “Moseley Village”, and there is still something of a village feel about the place. There are local shops, pubs and restaurants and a small “green” which was remodelled with public funding in 1999 and now hosts the monthly Farmers’ Market. Moseley is home to many musicians and artists and has a reputation as a creative centre. It is a multi-ethnic and multi-faith community with a broad cross section of society.
The growing population of the combined parishes is currently over 13000, of which about a quarter is Muslim.
A large number living in Moseley are academics or concerned with the arts or professions. There is also a considerable number of elderly people, mental health service users, people with disabilities and unemployed people, due mainly to the clustering of sheltered accommodation, residential homes and care units.
In common with most cities, alcohol and drugs are social issues of particular concern. Some parts of the parish, bordering on Balsall Heath and neighbouring parishes have been described as Urban Priority Areas.
Housing in the parishes consists largely of substantial Victorian / Edwardian villas, large, detached family houses and more modern on-going developments of smaller houses, flats and apartments.
There is some multi-occupation (students and young people) and a number of hostels, nursing and rest homes together with sheltered accommodation. There is a hospital (Moseley Hall) with its own chaplain, specialising in care of the elderly.
Moseley has its own Church of England Primary School (see p.16). There are also two Roman Catholic Primary Schools (St. Monica’s; St. Martin de Porres), Uffculme Special School, Moor Green Junior, Moor Green Infant, Park Hill Primary and King David School, the only Jewish school between London and Manchester. These include some of the most highly regarded primary schools in the City.
Queensbridge School – a Performing Arts College – is the only Secondary School within the boundaries of the two parishes.
Apart from St. Mary’s and St. Anne’s, Moseley also contains the separate parish of St. Agnes. Other Christian congregations are St. Columba’s United Reformed Church, Riverside Church (meeting in Queensbridge School), Hope Chapel (independent brethren) and Calvary Church of God in Christ (Pentecostal). Roman Catholic and Methodist churches are in adjoining parishes.
Churches Together in Moseley is the local ecumenical group, which arranges a variety of joint activities each year. Participating churches include the three Anglican churches, URC, Calvary Church, Riverside Church Fellowship and St. John and St. Martin’s RC church from Balsall Heath.
The community magazine Birmingham 13 was originally a joint churches initiative and is now in its 25th year.
Other faiths in the wider area are represented by the Jamia Hanza Mosque, a Buddhist Centre, Sikh Gurdwaras, a Synagogue, and a Bahai group.
There is a growing inter-faith group which initially grew from dialogue between the Christian churches and the Muslim community. This group currently includes representatives from the local Buddhist, Jewish and Bahai communities who meet together on a regular basis and organise community events. Several members of both parishes attend.
Moseley has a number of community groups working for the good of the area and its residents. These include the Moseley Society, the Moseley Forum, the Moseley Community Development Trust (MCDT), the Moseley and District Churches Housing Association, several residents’ associations and Birmingham 13, the local community magazine.