- What to see
Entering by the South West Porch, a copy of the Meteyard memorial window to Jane Bird is on the left. The original was installed in the North Porch in 1939, stolen in 1996, and the copy was made by Hardings, using a black and white sketch and a colour photo of half as a guide, and installed in 1998. High on the north porch wall are details of the Coronation Clock.
Turn left inside the Church, and a wooden screen in memory of Robert Stevens, a former Church Warden, is on the left. This screen originally converted the base of the Tower into a Parish office; it is now the bell-ringing room. The tower is the oldest part of the Church, and was begun in the early 16th century. The bells were first rung from a room part way up the tower, the floor of which was removed during rebuilding in 1908 - 1910. The Coronation Clock, installed in the Tower in 1937, made it impossible to ring the bells, and they were considered dangerous. They were restored in 1991.
The window in the bell-ringing room in memory of Matilda Mary Tippetts was damaged by enemy action in December 1940, and partially restored after the War.
The North Aisle Lounge was constructed in 1969, and in 1974 the Font was moved there from what is now the bell-ringing room. It was realigned in 1999. This Font has been in at least five different places in the Church, and was first installed between 1823 and 1884.
The font in 1823 was described as a plaster copy of a mediaeval piscina, fixed to the west wall under the gallery. The gallery was removed in 1909. The font was moved to its present position in 2000. An incendiary bomb fell on the Church in December 1940. Canon Bax was fire-watching at the time, or the damage to the building would have been much worse. The charred end to one of the pews at the south east corner of the lounge is a reminder of this.
The windows in the North Aisle were badly damaged by enemy action in December 1940, though some of the tracery survived. Two are still plain glass. Enough of the window depicting Christ at the house of Simon the Pharisee was rescued to permit of its reconstruction. The figure of Christ (The Light of the World) remained intact, though the surrounding glass was damaged. This was widely regarded as a miracle at the time.
The Magnificat Window was installed in 1972.
The carved wooden screen with a Cornish theme at the east end of the North Aisle is in memory of James Prior, who was born near Truro. At the top there are brambles, below this there are pilchards, seaweed and sea-anemones, and then choughs and a Cornish cross. Behind this screen is the old ’Jones’ organ console.
The pulpit was given by the ladies of Moseley. The figures depict St. Anne, St. Agnes (carrying a lamb), All Saints (holding a chalice), Our Lord and the Virgin Mary. The first three are our daughter churches. In the Archives Department of the Central Library there is an undated drawing of the pulpit in the Chatwin plans for the rebuilding and enlargement in 1909.
The nave platform was built in 1998 to accommodate a nave altar; it is also used for concerts. Stand on the platform and look back down the central aisle. On the wall above the Stevens screen you can see the marks left by the roofs of three of the four churches which preceded this one, and a rare example of an early English arch, probably dating from the early 16th century.
The mosaic floor in the sanctuary was laid in 1898.
The Organ was built by Henry Jones for the National Art Treasures Exhibition in Folkestone in 1887. It was bought for about £400 less than the original cost, and extra pipes added. It was rebuilt by Messrs Nicholson of Malvern in 1966. In 1994, Trevor Tipple of Worcester began a major reconstruction, aimed at restoring as far as possible the sound of the Jones organ. This was completed in 1997.
The Chancel was rebuilt in 1897. The windows were destroyed by enemy action in December 1940, and an alabaster reredos in memory of F.H. Bell (a former organist) was badly damaged. Remains of the reredos may be seen behind the curtain behind the High Altar. The Inscriptions were “Praise the Lord. Praise God in His Sanctuary. Praise Him in the Firmament of His Power” and “To the Glory of God and in memory of Frederick Henry Bell. Born Nov 18 1853 died July 1903. A faithful servant of God in this His house and in the outer world. The centre portion of this reredos is erected by his fellow worshippers and other friends. Advent 1904.”
The present East Window, designed by Donald Taunton and executed by the Hardman studios, was consecrated in 1954.
The South Window contains parts of a memorial window to the Revd Colmore (Vicar 1876-1907), which was in the Lady Chapel before 1940.
There is a carving of the Virgin Mary above the east entrance to the Lady Chapel, which was given by Her Majesty the Queen for the 550th anniversary of the Church (1955).
The kneeler at the high altar rail was completed in 1997 by the ladies of the Church, following a design over a hundred years old.
The Lady Chapel was built in 1897, reordered in 1970 in memory of Thomas Harry Miles, and refurbished in 1998 in memory of Doris Maud Miles. The kneelers were originally made by the Tapissers’ Guild in 1936, and converted to their present style in 1971. (Dates are embroidered underneath.) Only the tracery of one of the pre-war windows survived December 1940. The first window depicts the Prodigal Son, the second has the pre-war tracery and the coats of arms of the Bishops of Worcester and Birmingham and the Archbishop of Canterbury (Moseley was in the diocese of Worcester until 1911). The South Window depicts the figures of Bede, Thomas Cranmer, Lancelot Andrews and John Keble. These windows are all the work of the Hardman Studio. The 18th century oak panelling came from St. Bartholomew’s when it was closed in 1938. The panel in front of the Aumbry was installed in 1997.
The windows in the South Aisle, dated 1910 onwards, escaped damage in 1940. Several were designed by the firm of Kemp and Tower. Messrs Kemp used a wheatsheaf as a trademark. When Mr Tower joined the firm, this was superimposed with a tower, which may be seen in the bottom left hand corner of these windows.
| Date | Note |
|---|---|
| 1405 | First chapel licensed, site unknown. |
| 1496 | Building of present tower begun. (Date given elsewhere as 1513). |
| 1514 | Church rebuilt with stone from walls of Bromsgrove Parsonage (2nd church). |
| 1780 | Church restored and enlarged (third church). |
| 1823 | Church enlarged - gallery at West end added to house a barrel organ (which played 6 tunes) and choir. 247 free seats, (fourth church). |
| 1838 | New barrel organ, could play 30 tunes. |
| 1853 | First manual organ. |
| 1872 | Church extended eastwards 21 feet, and first Chancel erected. Organ moved from the gallery at the West end and enlarged. |
| 1887 | New North Aisle built to accommodate increasing congregation. (1886?) |
| 1890 | New organ chamber built, new organ installed. |
| 1896 | New choir vestry built (today’s crèche). |
| 1897 | Lady Chapel added. |
| 1909 | Chancel as it stands today. |
| New nave and south aisle built to seat 907. | |
| Old oak high pews cut down to present size. | |
| 1923 | Tower restored. |
| 1934 | Sacristy built, organ chamber attached, electric organ blower fixed. |
| 1955 | Reredos (damaged in 1940) was taken down, parts of it may be seen behind the curtain at the East end. |
| 1969 | North Aisle lounge created. |
| 1969 | Lady Chapel refurbished. Kneelers are dated 1971. |
| 1974 | Font removed to North Aisle Lounge, alcove at west end screened off to be the parish office (present bell ringing chamber). |
| 1975 | Pews near the Lady Chapel moved to face North, for use of St Mary’s Singers, and to accommodate the piano. |
| Parish office moved to present site. | |
| Churchyard reordered. | |
| 1981 | Magnificat window installed. |
| 1991 | Bells in action again. |
| 1997 | Meteyard window stolen from NW porch, replacement installed in SW porch (1998). |
| 1998 | Old low wall separating the chancel and the nave removed, platform built extending the chancel into the nave, and nave altar dedicated. |