Places of Worship

The places of worship in the following list are arranged alphabetically by denominations which are italicized for convenience in reference, and, within the denominational groups, alphabetically by streets. Grouping under a denominational heading does not necessarily imply a close connexion with other places of worship in the same section or with the appropriate national organization, such as the Baptist and the Congregational Unions, or the Methodist Church.

Except where it forms an integral part of the name of a place of worship, e.g. 'Church of the Saviour', 'Cannon Street Memorial Church', the word 'church' has been confined to the meaning 'organized body of worshippers' and the word 'chapel' to the meaning 'building used for worship'. These usages, which have been adopted for clarity's sake alone, are not to be taken as prejudging in any way the character of a congregation or its place of worship.

Where available, figures for the cost of sites and buildings have been included, as a possible means of indicating the size, wealth, or vigour of congregations when other evidence is slight. The exact scope of the expenditure, however, to which the figures relate is often obscure, and the figures themselves are sometimes estimates.

Apostolic Church

Soho Road meeting-rooms were registered for public worship in 1939. (fn. 1)

Apostolic Faith Church

Broad Street meeting-rooms were registered for public worship from 1919 to 1925. (fn. 2)

Assemblies of God

Belgrave Road Glad Tidings Hall was registered for public worship in 1953. (fn. 3)

King's Road, Kingstanding Pentecostal Church was registered for public worship in 1946. (fn. 4)

Lodge Road, Hockley Pentecostal Church, formerly a Baptist chapel, (fn. 5) was bought in 1954 for £3,500. The congregation was founded in 1940, and met originally above a café in Hockley Hill. A shop in Hockley Brook was subsequently converted for worship. From 1945 weekday meetings began to be held in the vestry of the Lodge Road chapel which had been severely damaged by bombing in 1940. The chapel itself was repaired and reopened in 1955. Church membership in 1957 was said to be about 150. (fn. 6)

Sampson Road, Sparkbrook Glad Tidings Hall was registered for public worship in 1952. (fn. 7)

Stratford Road, Sparkhill Glad Tidings Hall meeting-rooms were registered for public worship in 1941. (fn. 8)

Baptists

Alexander Road, Acock's Green chapel was opened in 1903 (fn. 9) at a cost, exclusive of furnishings, of £2,260, (fn. 10) and was built on land presented by J. Walker. (fn. 11) Designed by Ingall and Son of Birmingham in the 'free Gothic' style it provided sittings for 300. (fn. 12) A new chapel, seating 470, was completed in 1914 for £4,177. (fn. 13) The church, formed in 1903, stemmed from a meeting of local Baptists gathered by Walker in 1902, (fn. 14) and for some time received help from Coventry Road. (fn. 15) Membership was 23 in 1904, 232 in 1914, (fn. 16) and 252 in 1956. (fn. 17)

Alcester Street St. Martin's Chapel: see Warwick St.

Alma Street mission hall was registered for public worship from 1909 to 1925, and replaced a mission registered the previous year in High Street, Aston Manor. (fn. 18)

Anderton Street Bethany Chapel was in use in 1875. (fn. 19) In 1892 it provided sittings for 200 and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 112. At this date it was a mission of Mount Zion Chapel, Graham Street. (fn. 20) In 1898 it was reopened by the Churches of Christ. (fn. 21)

Balsall Heath Road chapel played a part in the history of the Methodists and the Congregationalists as well as the Baptists. Built as an undenominational school-chapel by T. J. Moore, it was used, shortly after 1858, by a Congregational Mission, first established in King Street, while the Moseley Road Congregational chapel was being built. (fn. 22) From 1868 to 1871 Wesleyan Methodists were in occupation. (fn. 23) On their departure for their new chapel, also in Moseley Road, G. E. Thomas bought the premises and in 1873 formed a Baptist church there. The chapel, enlarged in 1867, was presented to the Baptist Union in 1883, and continued in use until the opening of the congregation's new chapel in Edward Road in 1900. (fn. 24) In 1892 there were sittings for 350, and a Sunday evening congregation of 247. (fn. 25)

Bankdale Road, Alum Rock Grenfell Church was opened in April 1956. Designed by F. B. Andrews in a simple modern style it was built of stone and brick, to provide sittings for 350. On the closing of Heneage Street chapel in 1952 a schoolchapel was built at Bankdale Road (fn. 26) to commemorate George Grenfell (1849-1906), (fn. 27) the Congo missionary and one-time member of Heneage Street. This building was still in use at the beginning of 1956, when church membership was 180. (fn. 28)

Beech Lanes, Quinton chapel owed its foundation to missionary work from Bond Street at the close of the 18th century. In 1824 a chapel was built (fn. 29) which, in 1892, provided 150 sittings. (fn. 30) Bond Street continued to supply the ministry until 1877, when the mission was transferred to High Street, Harborne, chapel, which was responsible until 1910. In 1935 a new chapel was opened at Warley, and Beech Lanes was closed. (fn. 31)

Beeches Road, Great Barr chapel was opened in December 1946 (fn. 32) for a church of 30 members, formed in the same month. (fn. 33) Mission work in this new housing estate was begun in 1937 by Christ Church, Victoria Road, with services in the Cooperative hall. (fn. 34) Church membership in 1956 was 77. (fn. 35)

Bevington Road mission room, in a converted shop, was opened in 1886 by Christ Church, Victoria Road, (fn. 36) and, in 1892, claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 92. (fn. 37)

Bond Street chapel was built in 1786 by members of the Cannon Street church who had seceded, in 1784, under the leadership of Edward Edmonds. Before the opening of the chapel the congregation had met for a time in a private house, in the open air, and in a room in Needless Alley. (fn. 38) In 1851 there were sittings for 692, and an average congregation of 565. (fn. 39) In 1859 the minister and congregation came under the influence of David King, evangelist for the Churches of Christ, and from 1859 to 1860 the chapel was used by a joint church which had adopted the tenets of the Churches of Christ. (fn. 40) Although the church returned to more orthodox Baptist practices in 1860, by the seventies membership had fallen off and financial difficulties became pressing. Annexation, in 1880, to the King Street People's Chapel (fn. 41) failed to save the situation, and the chapel ceased to be used by the Baptists by 1884. In 1886 it was acquired by the United Methodist Free Church, which continued to hold services there until 1890. (fn. 42) Bond Street members were responsible for much evangelical work during the century of the chapel's existence. In 1787 members were regularly preaching at Erdington, Yardley, Beech Lanes, and Heeley, and in 1791 at Coppice, near Coseley, where a daughter church was founded. (fn. 43) In the 19th century new chapels were opened at Beech Lane (1824), Harborne (1836) and Lodge Road, (fn. 44) q.v. Before it was taken over by the Methodists Bond Street chapel was described as of red brick with a stucco front. (fn. 45) This front had a central Venetian window flanked by projecting entrance lobbies each with a flight of steps and a doorway on the return wall. In 1885 a new red-brick façade was added, enclosing the earlier front. (fn. 46) The building was still in existence in 1961, having been used as a factory by Proctor, Avery & Wood for many years. Several original 18th-century features survived including parts of the internal gallery.

Booth Street mission hall and rooms were registered for public worship in 1928. (fn. 47)

Bracebridge Street, Bracebridge Hall was built in 1902 for £1,600. (fn. 48) It was designed by T. G. Price to seat 500 (fn. 49) and accommodated a mission originally founded from Christ Church, Victoria Road, in 1884. (fn. 50)

Bradford Street, Circus Chapel, formerly Ryan's Amphitheatre, (fn. 51) was converted in 1848, at a cost, including the purchase price, of £2,250. (fn. 52) In 1873 it was described as brick built, with four Ionic pilasters, supporting a plain pediment. (fn. 53) In 1851 there were sittings for 1,000 and an estimated Sunday evening attendance of 850. (fn. 54) At this date the chapel was said to be closely connected with Heneage Street. (fn. 55) Missions from which the Pershore Road and Gooch Street churches derive were founded from Bradford Street in 1867 and 1882 respectively, and members were largely responsible for the opening in 1861, of the Wycliffe Church, Bristol Road. (fn. 56) The church was dissolved in 1890, and the site sold to the corporation later to serve as the meat market. (fn. 57)

Bristol Road Wycliffe Church was completed in 1861 on a site provided by W. Middlemore, and was designed by James Cranstoun 'the first to bring the beauties of Gothic architecture into common use in Birmingham'. (fn. 58) The chapel, which cost £5,965, (fn. 59) was built of stone in an elaborate 14thcentury style, having a spired tower at the northwest corner and galleried aisles, each roofed under five small transverse gables. In 1892 it provided sittings for 950, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 332. (fn. 60) Founded in 1861 with 51 members, the church numbered 200 in 1911, when it was said to be 'steadily increasing'. (fn. 61) There were 38 members in 1956. (fn. 62) By 1961 the church had been closed and was standing derelict. The first minister, Jenkyn Brown, who served from 1861 was prominent in local affairs as a Liberal politician. (fn. 63) In 1892 Wycliffe was responsible for a mission at Hope Street, q.v., and before the Second World War a mission was conducted at Furnival Street in premises subsequently destroyed by bombing. (fn. 64)

Bristol Road, Northfield chapel was completed in 1937 for £5,000. Baptist worship in Northfield appears to have begun in 1911 when, for the convenience of the inhabitants of 150 new houses on the Bournville estate, services were held in the village hall. In 1915 a temporary building was opened in Bunbury Road, (fn. 65) seating 126, (fn. 66) and continued to be registered for public worship until 1937. (fn. 67) Church membership in 1956 was 150. (fn. 68) During the First World War mission work was begun at Longbridge from which the church at Turves Green derives. (fn. 69)

Brook Lane, Billesley chapel was opened in 1928, (fn. 70) and in 1956 provided sittings for 200. (fn. 71) The church originated in mission work begun, about 1897 by High Street, King's Heath chapel. (fn. 72) Membership in 1956 was 200. (fn. 73)

Cannon Street church, the 'mother church' of Birmingham Baptists, was founded in 1737 by local Baptists who had previously formed part of a church at Bromsgrove. There is said to have been a Baptist meeting in Birmingham from the beginning of the 18th century. (fn. 74) In 1738 the congregation built their first chapel, on land in Guest's Cherry Orchard, Cannon Street. It was, at first, a struggling cause, and in 1754, when there were only 14 members, disbandment was considered. Under James Turner's ministry however (1754-80), the meeting became firmly established, (fn. 75) and the chapel was twice enlarged, in 1763 and in 1780. In 1806 the old building was completely replaced (fn. 76) by a square chapel of red brick, its pedimented front having round-headed windows and a recessed porch with stone Tuscan columns. (fn. 77) In 1851 it provided 840 sittings and claimed an average attendance at the Sunday evening service of 500. (fn. 78) Church membership expanded from the 14 recorded in 1754, to 242 in 1788, (fn. 79) 425 in 1817 (fn. 80) and a maximum of 742 in 1837. (fn. 81) The 19th-century drift of population from the centre of the city, which had already reduced membership to 663 in 1859, (fn. 82) was felt even more strongly in the seventies, and when the chapel was closed as a result of town improvements in 1879, the congregation moved into Mount Zion Chapel, Graham Street in 1880. (fn. 83)

Branch chapels founded from Cannon Street include Bond Street (1786), Zion, Newhall Street (1814), q.v., Wythall Heath (1806), and Shirley Street (1845), both preaching stations as early as 1798, (fn. 84) Alvechurch (1828) (fn. 85) and King's Norton (1847). (fn. 86) From 1837 there was a branch preaching room in Hill Street, which had, in 1851, an average congregation of 35, and a day school attached. (fn. 87)

The Cannon Street minister, Samuel Pearce, was present at the foundation meeting of the Baptist Missionary Society at Kettering, in 1792, and Cannon Street became the first local auxiliary of the society. (fn. 88)

The old central chapel is commemorated by the Cannon Street Memorial Church, Soho Road, opened in 1930, q.v.

Charlotte Street chapel appears in Birmingham directories from 1875 (fn. 89) to 1882. (fn. 90)

City Road, Rotton Park chapel was built in 1923, (fn. 91) and in 1956 provided sittings for 300. (fn. 92) After the closing of Mount Zion, Graham Street, in 1913, 42 members joined Spring Hill church, and the joint congregation began to hold Sunday evening services in the City Road Council School. (fn. 93) In 1922 a new church was formed with 45 members. (fn. 94) In 1956 there was a membership of 125. (fn. 95)

Coventry Road, Small Heath chapel was opened in 1891 as a branch chapel of Victoria Street, with which it remained united for some time. Renovated in 1937 (fn. 96) it provided, in 1956, sittings for 900. (fn. 97) From 1892, when the Sunday morning services were already attracting an attendance of 800, (fn. 98) Coventry Road has consistently maintained its position as one of the leading Birmingham chapels. Church membership, however, 587 in 1936, (fn. 99) had by 1956, fallen to 331. (fn. 1) Daughter churches were founded at Alexander Road (1903) and Rowlands Road, Yardley (c. 1939), q.v. (fn. 2) In 1892 Coventry Road also had charge of a mission in Greenway Street, with sittings for 250, and another in Church Road, Saltley. (fn. 3)

Edward Road, Balsall Heath chapel was opened by the Balsall Heath Road congregation as their new chapel in 1900, at a cost of more than £6,000, (fn. 4) and in 1956 provided sittings for 550. Church membership in 1956 was 29. (fn. 5)

Ellen Street, Brookfields mission was opened as a domestic mission by Mount Zion Chapel, Graham Street, in 1866. (fn. 6) After worship had been carried on for some years in hired rooms a hall was built in 1879 for £300. (fn. 7) On the opening of the Church of the Redeemer, Hagley Road, in 1882, supervision was continued by Mount Zion church, which occupied the new chapel, and in 1885 the Ellen Street branch church had a membership of 59; (fn. 8) in 1892 the Sunday evening service attracted an attendance of 141. (fn. 9) The hall was still in use in 1909. (fn. 10)

Farmcote Road, Glebe Farm chapel was completed in 1949, (fn. 11) and provided, in 1956, sittings for 120. (fn. 12) The congregation was founded in 1937 by missionaries from Victoria Street, Bordesley Green. (fn. 13)

Freeman Street meeting was in existence in 1729 when a congregation of General, or Arminian Baptists registered for public worship a 'newly erected building belonging to Joseph Fullalove' in the street. (fn. 14) The church is said to have dissolved in 1754, its members joining the Cannon Street congregation of Particular Baptists. (fn. 15)

George Arthur Road, Saltley chapel was built in 1894. The church was founded by members of Victoria Street, Bordesley Green in 1893, (fn. 16) and probably stemmed from a Coventry Road mission in Church Road, Saltley, which, in 1892 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 130. (fn. 17) In 1956 there were sittings for 750 and a church membership of 59. (fn. 18)

George Road, Erdington William Spicer Aston Memorial Church was completed in 1929 at a cost, excluding the site, of £5,022 (fn. 19) and in 1956 provided sittings for 450. It was opened to replace an older building in Moor Lane, Witton, q.v. Church membership in 1956 was 89. (fn. 20)

Gooch Street tabernacle was the final address of a mission first established in Wynn Street by members of Bradford Street in 1882. Services were always held in hired rooms and were discontinued in 1911. (fn. 21)

Graham Street Mount Zion Chapel was opened in 1824 as St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and first used as a Baptist chapel in 1827. (fn. 22) It was an octagonal brick structure with a pedimented front and a recessed Doric portico, seating about 2,000 persons. (fn. 23) Church membership in 1831 was only 45, (fn. 24) but from 1844 the popular ministry of George Dawson (fn. 25) made 'Mount Zion' one of the most flourishing of Birmingham chapels. On Dawson's departure to found the undenominational Church of the Saviour, Edward Street, in 1846 the chapel was forced to close for some months, although church membership had, in 1844, reached 235. (fn. 26) By 1851, however, it had been reopened and claimed an average Sunday evening congregation of 700. (fn. 27) In 1864 membership reached a maximum of 593. During this prosperous period the church was responsible for much missionary activity. In 1853 work was begun which resulted eventually in the building of Spring Hill chapel, q.v., and in 1855 a preaching station was opened in Icknield Port Road. In 1860 Carter Lane mission chapel, Quinton, was taken over from Bond Street, and in 1866 the Ellen Street domestic mission opened. Most of these causes were adopted in 1882 by the new chapel in Hagley Road, q.v., to which most of the congregation migrated in 1882, the minority helping to form another successor church at Hamstead Road, Handsworth, q.v. (fn. 28) The old Cannon Street congregation occupied the vacated chapel and continued there until 1913, when the chapel was closed; it was later demolished. (fn. 29) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 650. (fn. 30)

Great King Street People's Chapel, with sittings for 250, was opened in 1848 (fn. 31) by 40 members of the Newhall Street church. (fn. 32) The first building was destroyed by fire in 1887 (fn. 33) and replaced by a second and larger chapel with 650 sittings. (fn. 34) The new building was of brick with stone dressings, and was designed by Crouch and Butler of Birmingham. (fn. 35) Attendance at the main Sunday service improved from an average of 175 in 1851 (fn. 36) to 500 in 1892. (fn. 37) In 1956 church membership was 82. (fn. 38) In 1851 members were responsible for a slum mission in Stayney Street (fn. 39) but this appears to have been given up by 1892. During the 1930s the People's Chapel played a leading part in mission work in the 'new areas' and, in particular, Kingstanding and Perry Barr, where new chapels were eventually opened. (fn. 40)

Guildford Street chapel, a hall originally built by A. J. Abbott, was taken under the charge of Christ Church, Victoria Road, in 1867. (fn. 41) In 1892 it provided sittings for 320. (fn. 42) The church, formed in 1880, originated in a mission undertaken by Heneage Street at the Asylum, Summer Lane, in 1856. (fn. 43) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 114 in 1892. (fn. 44) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1954. (fn. 45)

Hagley Road Church of the Redeemer was built in 1881-2 on a site presented by W. Middlemore, (fn. 46) to provide sittings for 1,000. (fn. 47) Founded in 1882, with a membership of 276, drawn mainly from the old church at Mount Zion, Graham Street, (fn. 48) by 1909 the church claimed 512 members, (fn. 49) despite the separation, in 1886, of a branch church at Spring Hill, q.v. In 1956 membership was 168. (fn. 50) The building, designed by James Cubitt of London, (fn. 51) is a tall cruciform stone church in the 13th-century style, having galleries in the aisles and at the crossing. The central octagonal tower has lost its tall parapet and pinnacles. The Church of the Redeemer continued missions at Ellen Street and Carters Lane which had been under the care of Mount Zion, (fn. 52) and in 1892 was concerned also with adult Sunday schools at Clark Street and Nelson Street. (fn. 53)

Hamstead Road chapel was built in 1883 at a cost of £7,000. A cruciform building in Hamstead and Corsham Down stone, it was designed by J. P. Osborne, in the '14th-century Gothic' style, (fn. 54) and in 1956 provided sittings for 740. (fn. 55) The church originated at the time of the migration of the Mount Zion congregation to Hagley Road in 1882, when a minority of 71 members formed a new church which met in temporary premises on Wretham Road. (fn. 56) Membership in 1956 was 200. (fn. 57)

Heneage Street chapel was built in 1841 at a cost of £4,000 (fn. 58) and, in 1851, provided sittings for 1,174. (fn. 59) After extensive alterations in 1845, 1862 and 1891 (fn. 60) it was described in 1908 as a 'large building of red brick with a plastered gable front, accommodating 720'. (fn. 61) The church was founded by members of Cannon Street, who, in October 1836, began to hold services in Great Lister Street. In 1851 there were more than 600 members (fn. 62) and an estimated Sunday evening attendance of 850. (fn. 63) By 1892 attendance at this service had declined to 515. (fn. 64) In 1950 the site of the chapel was compulsorily acquired by the corporation and it was closed. (fn. 65) Daughter chapels founded from Heneage Street were Bradford Street (1848), Guildford Street (1856) (indirectly) and Yates Street (1859), q.v. The old chapel is commemorated by the Grenfell Memorial Chapel, Bankdale Road, Alum Rock, q.v.

High Street, Erdington chapel was built in 1878 to seat 350 but by 1892 had been enlarged to accommodate 500. In 1894 it was described as a 'Gothic' building of red brick, with white stone dressings. (fn. 66) The church originated in meetings held from 1873 to 1876 at J. E. Guest's boarding school, and subsequently in a hired hall. During the pastorate of J. E. Dawson, from 1881 to 1906, membership increased from 40 to 300. (fn. 67) In 1956 it was 330. (fn. 68)

High Street, Harborne chapel was built in 1864-5 and enlarged in 1877. (fn. 69) In 1892 it provided sittings for 390 (fn. 70) and in 1956 for 450. (fn. 71) The church, formed in 1854, (fn. 72) originated as a village station of Bond Street in 1787. After 1820 the Harborne Baptists met in a private house, and subsequently at the Fish Tavern, North Road, until, in 1836, the first chapel was purchased from the Congregationalists for £350. (fn. 73) This was probably the 'Union' Chapel, built about 1820 to seat 224, and used, in 1851, jointly by Baptists and Congregationalists. At that date there was an estimated average Sunday evening congregation of 90 'recently much enlarged as a result of the popular style of preaching afforded from Spring Hill College'. (fn. 74) In 1892 a congregation of 236 was claimed. (fn. 75) Church membership in 1956 was 101. (fn. 76) From 1877 to 1910 Harborne chapel had charge of the old Bond Street mission at Beech Lanes, Quinton, q.v.

High Street, King's Heath chapel was built in 1816 to seat 300, (fn. 77) and rebuilt in 1872. (fn. 78) A third chapel, seating 550, was completed in 1898. It was designed by A. Harrison of Birmingham, and constructed of red brick, with Hollington stone dressings. (fn. 79) The church originated in 1813 as a branch of the General Baptist New Connexion church at Lombard Street, meeting in a cottage in High Street. (fn. 80) There were 201 members in 1817. (fn. 81) In 1892 the main Sunday service attracted a congregation of 279. (fn. 82) Church membership in 1956 was 219. (fn. 83) A daughter chapel was opened in Oxford Road, Moseley, q.v., in 1888.

Hope Street chapel, seating 300, was built in 1954 (fn. 84) to replace premises destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. The first Hope Street mission, under the care of Bristol Street Wycliffe Church, was established in the Alexandra assembly rooms by 1881 (fn. 85) and in 1892 222 attenders were claimed for a bible school at premises in the street. (fn. 86) In 1900, when Oxford Road, Moseley, took over the work, a 'very dilapidated' building was in use, and in 1906 a new hall was built as a memorial to S. A. Daniell, by his wife. (fn. 87) Designed by Silk and Mitton of Birmingham in a 'free adaptation of modern renaissance' this hall was built in bright red brick with stone dressings, and provided sittings for 375. (fn. 88) Church membership in 1956 was 28. (fn. 89)

Hope Street Emmanuel Free Church was opened in 1854, as a mission Sunday school, in a building 'erected at the sole expense of Joseph Weakley, of Grahamstown, South Africa' (fn. 90) and served for many years as a free Baptist chapel unconnected with the Baptist Union. It became briefly famous in 1889, when P. T. Stanford, a negro ex-slave, was invited to become pastor. (fn. 91) The building in use in 1892 provided sittings for 450, but attracted a Sunday evening congregation of only 59, (fn. 92) and three years later ceased to be registered for public worship. (fn. 93)

Lambeth Road, Kingstanding John Bunyan Hall, seating 200, was opened in 1948. (fn. 94) The church, formed in 1951 with 35 members, (fn. 95) originated in mission work by members of Great King Street People's Chapel, which had already, in 1939, resulted in the establishment of a Sunday school in Kingsland Road School. (fn. 96) There were 62 members in 1956. (fn. 97)

Latimer Street chapel appears in Birmingham directories as a Baptist chapel from 1873 (fn. 98) to 1884, from which date it is entered as Wesleyan. (fn. 99)

Lodge Road chapel, opened in 1860, was replaced in 1868 (fn. 1) by a building providing, in 1892, 600 sittings. (fn. 2) This second chapel was renovated in 1902. (fn. 3) It was severely damaged in the Second World War, and was sold to the Assemblies of God in 1954. (fn. 4) The church was founded in 1858 by members of Bond Street. (fn. 5)

Lombard Street chapel was built in 1785, (fn. 6) and repaired and enlarged in 1807. (fn. 7) In 1851 there were said to be 568, (fn. 8) and in 1892 800 sittings. (fn. 9) Lombard Street was the first chapel of the General Baptist New Connexion to be opened in Birmingham, after the congregation had met for twelve years in hired rooms in Park Street and Needless Alley. Until 1800 the Birmingham meeting formed part of a joint church, with one branch at Sutton Coldfield, and on separation retained a membership of only 33. By 1808 there were 105 members. (fn. 10) The Sunday evening congregation in 1851 was 275. (fn. 11) In 1889 a new chapel in Moseley Road, Highgate Park, was opened for the Lombard Street church and the old chapel is said to have closed, (fn. 12) but in 1892 a small congregation was still meeting in the old premises. (fn. 13) Daughter chapels were opened by Lombard Street members at High Street, King's Heath (1816) and Longmore Street (1866), q.v. George Cheatle, who became minister in 1809, served for 60 years. He was succeeded in 1872 by E. C. Pike, who, as secretary of the Birmingham Religious Education Society, helped to mould the policy of the School Board. (fn. 14)

Longmore Street tabernacle was opened by the Lombard Street church in 1866, after mission meetings the previous year in Lower Hurst Street. The chapel, which cost £2,000, (fn. 15) provided sittings for 300 in 1892. There was then a Sunday evening congregation of 241. (fn. 16) The church was dissolved in 1905. (fn. 17)

Moor Lane, Witton chapel was opened in 1885 and cost £750. It was built of brick with stone dressings, in the Gothic style, and provided sittings for 250. Baptist work began in this district as early as 1822, when Cannon Street was conducting a Sunday school in Moor Lane. In 1867 meetings were being held at the home of W. S. Aston, first superintendent of the Witton cemetery. The first separate place of worship, a wooden mission hall, was erected in 1873 for £80. By 1906 there was a church membership of 20, entered on the roll of High Street church, Erdington. Moor Lane was replaced in 1929 by a new chapel in George Road, q.v., and in 1950 the brick chapel and the old mission hall had been converted to industrial purposes. (fn. 18)

Moseley Road, Highgate Park chapel was opened by the Lombard Street church in 1889, partly to celebrate its recent centenary. (fn. 19) Designed by E. Harper of Birmingham in the 'early English Gothic' style it was built of brick with stone dressings, (fn. 20) and in 1892 provided sittings for 700. There was then a Sunday evening congregation of 254. (fn. 21) The chapel was closed and sold in 1934, members joining the Hall Green church, (fn. 22) and the proceeds being devoted to the building of new chapels at Yardley Wood and Warley. (fn. 23)

Newhall Street Zion Chapel was first used by Baptists as early as 1805, (fn. 24) when a congregation, allegedly of 'antinomians', began worshipping in a vacant meeting-house, originally built in 1791 for the Swedenborgians (fn. 25) and first registered as Zion Chapel in 1803. (fn. 26) By 1814 this congregation appears to have dissolved, and in that year a Particular Baptist church was formed at Zion by Cannon Street. (fn. 27) In the census return of 1851 'Zion Chapel, Newhall Street' is said to date from 1814. There were then 400 sittings, and an estimated average Sunday evening congregation of 300. (fn. 28) By 1892 the congregation had fallen to 100, (fn. 29) and in 1904 the chapel was closed. (fn. 30) Arthur O'Neill, the former pastor of a Christian Chartist chapel, is said in 1847, while minister of Zion Chapel, to have brought into union with its congregation that of the Congregationalist chapel in Livery Street. (fn. 31) Members of the Zion church were responsible for the opening, in 1848, of Great King Street People's Chapel, q.v.

Oxford Road, Moseley chapel was built in 1888 on a site presented by W. Middlemore, and cost £7,800. (fn. 32) It was designed by J. P. Osborne of Birmingham in the '14th-century Gothic' style and was built of Bromsgrove stone, with nave, transept, aisles and chancel. (fn. 33) In 1892 there were sittings for 570. The Sunday morning service at that date attracted an attendance of 305. (fn. 34) The church was founded by High Street, King's Heath, and the two chapels remained linked until 1905, when, on separation, Oxford Road retained 273 members out of 469. Membership reached a maximum of 449 in 1926 but 'later post-war tendencies were adverse to the holding of the gains made' (fn. 35) and in 1956 it had fallen to 167. (fn. 36) In 1900 Oxford Road took over the supervision of Hope Street mission, and in 1905 received 43 members from the church there. (fn. 37)

Pershore Road, Selly Park chapel was completed in 1877 at a cost of £3,400, of which W. Middlemore subscribed £2,600, (fn. 38) and, in 1892, provided 400 sittings. (fn. 39) Services had previously been held in the Dog Pool Chapel, a wooden mission hall erected in 1867 in St. Stephens Road by members of Bradford Street Circus Chapel. (fn. 40) The Sunday afternoon congregation in 1892 was 90. (fn. 41) Church membership, 228 in 1938, (fn. 42) had fallen in 1956 to 82. (fn. 43)

Priestley Road, Sparkbrook Union Baptist Church was registered for public worship from 1891 to 1905. (fn. 44) In 1892 it provided sittings for 300 and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 142. (fn. 45)

Rowlands Road, Yardley chapel was registered for public worship in 1948, (fn. 46) and in 1956 provided sittings for 150. The church, formed in 1949, (fn. 47) originated in mission work from Coventry Road which had resulted by 1938 in the holding of services at Church Road School. (fn. 48) Membership in 1956 was 109. (fn. 49)

Slade Lane, Yardley chapel, with sittings for 100, (fn. 50) was built in 1888 as a village station of Cannon Street, although Graham Street and the Circus Chapel also supplied preachers. Baptist missionary work in Yardley started from Bond Street in 1787, and the chapel was preceded by a cottage meeting in Slade Lane. (fn. 51) In 1892 there was a Sunday afternoon congregation of 30, (fn. 52) but a separate church was not formed until 1921. (fn. 53) Slade Lane was replaced in 1935 by a new chapel in Yardley Wood Road, q.v.

Soho Road Cannon Street Memorial Church was opened in 1930 at a cost of £7,000 (fn. 54) and in 1956 provided sittings for 480. (fn. 55) After the closing of Mount Zion, Graham Street, in 1913 services were held in the neighbourhood of Soho Road, at first in a council house, and then in hired premises. (fn. 56) In 1921 a church hall was registered for public worship. (fn. 57) Church membership in 1956 was 166. (fn. 58)

Spring Hill chapel was built in 1886 at a cost of £3,200. Designed by J. P. Osborne in the 'decorated Gothic' style, it was built of brick with Bath stone dressings, and provided sittings for 700. The church originated as a Sunday school inaugurated by Graham Street in College Street in 1854. The first separate place of worship, a schoolroom seating 260, was built in 1864 for £800. (fn. 59) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 235. (fn. 60) Church membership was 155 in 1887, 125 in 1937, (fn. 61) and 163 in 1956. (fn. 62) In 1892 a number of seceding members began to hold meetings at Dudley Road School, and this mission was later continued by the mother church until it was established as City Road church in 1922. (fn. 63)

Stechford church hall was built in 1926, (fn. 64) and in 1956 provided sittings for 200. (fn. 65) The first Baptist services at Stechford were held in 1906, in the council schools. From 1907 to 1926 the congregation used the Masonic Hall, (fn. 66) where, in 1911, the church was formed. There were 65 members in 1956. (fn. 67)

Stratford Road, Hall Green chapel, with sittings for 450, was opened in 1936, and cost £6,500, exclusive of the site, which was presented by the Circus Chapel Trust. Baptist activity in the district began, in 1912, with the holding of services in the Reading Room at the corner of Hamlet Road (subsequently a Friends' meeting-house), and a church was formed by 23 attenders in 1914. Disbanded in 1924 the church was re-formed the following year, and a temporary chapel was opened in 1926. In 1934 there was an accession of 30 members from the closed Highgate Park chapel. (fn. 68) Membership in 1956 was 240. (fn. 69)

Stratford Road, Sparkbrook chapel was built in 1878-9 on land presented by W. Middlemore, and cost about £8,550. Designed by W. Hale in an adapted form of the early Geometrical style it was built of brick and Bath stone, to provide sittings for 1,000. (fn. 70) The church is said to have originally consisted largely of former members of a mission in Priestley Road opened in 1873 and discontinued in 1879. (fn. 71) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 384. A daughter mission hall at Greet attracted a Sunday school attendance of about a hundred, and a small adult early morning school, (fn. 72) but was later 'found superfluous' and closed down. (fn. 73) Church membership in 1956 was 190. (fn. 74)

Timberley Lane Spurgeon Chapel was registered for public worship in 1955. (fn. 75)

Turves Green Road Longbridge Baptist Church, with 120 sittings, (fn. 76) was registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 77) Baptist work was begun during the First World War among munitions workers living in a bungalow town near the Austin factory, and was pioneered by members of the Northfield church. In 1922 the first chapel was opened in Hawkesley Crescent, where a church was formed in 1931. In 1954 it was decided to build a new chapel in Turves Green Road to serve a fast-growing post-war estate, and the old building was moved en bloc and placed alongside the new. (fn. 78) Church membership in 1956 was 47. (fn. 79)

Victoria Road, Handsworth chapel was opened as a mission of Christ Church, Victoria Road, in 1885, after cottage meetings had been held at the house of a Mr. Page. An iron sheeting building, erected at a cost of £240, (fn. 80) provided sittings for 200, and in 1892 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 71. (fn. 81)

Victoria Road, Six Ways Aston Christ Church, mentioned in a trust deed of 1862, (fn. 82) was built by the Cannon Street church in the early 1860s, (fn. 83) and in 1892 provided 800 sittings. (fn. 84) The church was formed in 1866 by 33 members dismissed from Cannon Street, (fn. 85) and by 1892 the Sunday evening service was attracting 373 attenders. (fn. 86) Church membership in 1956 was 233. (fn. 87) Branch chapels and missions opened in the 19th century were Guildford Street (1880), Bracebridge Hall (1884), Victoria Road, Handsworth (1885), and Bevington Road (1886), q.v. In 1937 Christ Church began mission work on a new housing estate at Perry Beeches, which resulted, in 1946, in the opening of a new chapel. (fn. 88)

Victoria Street, Bordesley Green chapel (formerly known as Victoria Street, Small Heath), was built in 1876, (fn. 89) and extensively rebuilt in 1920 and 1924. (fn. 90) In 1956 sittings were available for 450. (fn. 91) Mission work was begun in the district in 1873 by a church of 17 members. (fn. 92) In 1891 the first church moved to Coventry Road, q.v., and a new church was formed in the Victoria Street chapel with 66 members. (fn. 93) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 160 in 1892. (fn. 94) Church membership in 1956 was 194. (fn. 95) Daughter chapels or missions opened from Victoria Street were Coventry Road (1891), q.v., Blakeland Street (open in 1892), (fn. 96) George Arthur Road, Saltley (1893), Garrison Lane, Greenway Street (later handed over to Coventry Road), Hay Mills, (fn. 97) and Farmcote Road (1949), q.v.

Warwick Street People's Chapel was completed in 1878 at a cost of £800. Designed by G. Ingall of Birmingham in the 'Romanesque' style, it was built of red pressed brick and provided sittings for 300. (fn. 98) The People's Chapel was a private venture of two generations of the Martin family: S. W. Martin (d. 1897) and his son S. J. Martin (d. 1921) who served without payment as ministers for nearly sixty years. It originated in work carried on from 1865 in Warwick Street by Dr. S. W. Martin, an attender at the Circus Chapel, Bradford Street. (fn. 99) In 1892 the Sunday evening service attracted an attendance of 213. (fn. 1) From 1890 S. J. Martin had charge of a branch mission in Penn Street. He succeeded to the Warwick Street ministry in 1897. In 1913 the old chapel was abandoned for St. Martin's chapel, Alcester Street, closed in its turn on the death of S. J. Martin in 1921, when the district had become a depopulated factory area. (fn. 2)

Wharf Road, King's Norton chapel, seating 150, was built in 1842, (fn. 3) and was bought in 1847 for the use of a mission of Cannon Street, (fn. 4) whose congregation had previously met in a room at the Navigation Inn. (fn. 5) Baptist worship seems however to have begun much earlier locally. In 1829 there were said to be three Baptist meeting houses in King's Norton parish, with congregations ranging from 18 to 40. (fn. 6) At the time of the 1851 census there were two Baptist chapels, one with sittings for 120, built c. 1815, and the other 'King's Norton chapel, Moseley Yield' with sittings for 200, built in 1816. (fn. 7) In each case the largest chapel is probably identifiable with High Street, King's Heath, q.v. (fn. 8) In 1892 only one chapel, with sittings for 150 and a Sunday evening congregation of 44 sent in a return to the unofficial census completed by the Birmingham News. Church membership in 1956 was 33. (fn. 9)

Wynn Street mission was opened in 1882 by C. P. S. Wood, (fn. 10) and was carried on with the aid of members of Bradford Street Circus Chapel. (fn. 11) The mission moved eventually to Gooch Street Tabernacle, q.v.

Yardley Green Road, Newbridge Baptist Chapel, seating 250 (fn. 12) was completed in 1930. (fn. 13) The church was formed in 1928 to provide a place of worship for the new housing development between Small Heath, Stechford, and Yardley. (fn. 14) Membership in 1956 was 53. (fn. 15)

Yardley Wood Road chapel, seating 250, (fn. 16) was opened in 1935 (fn. 17) and replaced an earlier chapel in Slade Lane, q.v. Church membership in 1956 was 84. (fn. 18)

Yates Street, Aston Manor chapel was built in 1862. (fn. 19) It was built of red brick, (fn. 20) and provided, in 1892, sittings for 320. (fn. 21) In 1898 it was rebuilt and enlarged. The second chapel was designed by T. Guest of Birmingham in the 'early decorated' style, and was built of brick with Bath stone dressings, to accommodate 450. (fn. 22) The church was founded in 1859 by a secession of 110 members from Heneage Street, who met at first in a room in Bagot Street. (fn. 23) In 1892 the Sunday evening service attracted a congregation of 137. (fn. 24) Church membership in 1956 was 34. (fn. 25)

Baptists: Strict Baptists

Crabtree Road Zoar chapel, formerly a Methodist New Connexion chapel, was registered for worship in 1898, (fn. 26) by seceders from Frederick Street led by Mr. Buckley. (fn. 27) It continued to appear in the directories until 1941.

Frederick Street Salem chapel was registered for public worship in 1851 (fn. 28) by a congregation of Calvinists formerly of the Cave of Adullam, Bartholomew Street, and temporarily accommodated at the Salem chapel, Peck Lane. (fn. 29) It was described in 1873 as built of blue brick in the 'Italian' style, and ornamented with stone pilasters. (fn. 30) In 1892 there were sittings for 300. (fn. 31) In 1854 a Strict Baptist church was formed in Birmingham by Mr. Beard of Hankerton (Wilts.), and the majority of the attenders at Frederick Street, led by J. T. Dennett, adopted adult baptism. A baptistery was built for the chapel at the beginning of 1862. (fn. 32) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 200, (fn. 33) but in 1957 church membership was said to be 'about 12', and the congregation 30 or 40. J. T. Dennett, who served as pastor for 39 years, was for a time editor of the Gospel Standard. (fn. 34) From 1923 there has been no settled minister. (fn. 35)

Summer Row mission room was registered for public worship in 1906 (fn. 36) by seceders from Frederick Street led by Mr. Carmalt. It was closed after a few years, the members rejoining Frederick Street, (fn. 37) and registration was cancelled in 1925.

Wheeler Street Rehoboth chapel was registered for worship from 1869 to 1895. (fn. 38)

Baptists: Welsh Baptists

John Bright Street, where a meeting room at no. 38 was registered for public worship in 1928, (fn. 39) is the latest meeting place of the Birmingham Welsh Baptists, affiliated to the Denbigh, Flint, and Merioneth Baptist Association. (fn. 40) The Birmingham Welsh church was first received into the Midland Baptist Association in 1854, (fn. 41) and in the following year the congregation had a place of worship, though no regular pastor, in Bell Barn Road. (fn. 42) This was formerly a Wesleyan chapel, and was bought in 1853. There were 26 members in 1855. (fn. 43) In 1870 the congregation consisted of only 6 persons, who worshipped at the house of Edward Jones in Ann Street (later renamed Colmore Row). In 1890 the regular meeting-room was at the offices of the West Midland Baptist Association in Colmore Row, (fn. 44) where, in 1892, there was a Sunday evening congregation of 25. (fn. 45) Shortly after this the Masonic Hall (and former synagogue), Severn Street, was used for a time. (fn. 46) Church membership in 1957 was 60. (fn. 47)

Bible Pattern Church Fellowship

Warwick Road City Temple, formerly a Congregational chapel, was purchased in 1956. (fn. 48)

Brethren (fn. 49)

Anderton Street chapel, formerly belonging to the Churches of Christ, was used by a Brethren's meeting from 1934. It was closed in 1944 through lack of support and sold. (fn. 50)

Ann Street (later Colmore Row) school was in use for a Brethren's meeting in 1851. The estimated Sunday evening attendance was 55. (fn. 51)

Anthony Road, Saltley Alum Rock Hall was registered for public worship in 1929. (fn. 52) It was not in use in 1957. (fn. 53)

Barrows Lane, Sheldon gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1946. (fn. 54)

Broad Street gospel room was registered for public worship from 1909 to 1925. (fn. 55) From 1912 to 1925 a 'bible institute' was also registered, in rooms in the Stratford Hall, St. Peter's. (fn. 56)

Charlton Road, Kingstanding gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1938. (fn. 57) It was not in use in 1957. (fn. 58)

Dell Road, Cotteridge gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1922, (fn. 59) but is known to have been in use the previous year. (fn. 60) It was open in 1957. (fn. 61)

Glastonbury Road, Yardley Green gospel hall was registered for public worship from 1931 to 1948. (fn. 62) There was said to be a meeting at this address in 1957. (fn. 63)

Great Brook Street Ebenezer Hall was registered for public worship from 1937 to 1952, (fn. 64) and may be identifiable with an Ebenezer Hall in use in 1921. (fn. 65)

Great Charles Street Central Hall was registered for public worship in 1867. (fn. 66) In 1892 a Sunday evening congregation of 56 was claimed. (fn. 67) Registration for public worship ceased in 1925, but the hall appears to have been closed before 1921. (fn. 68)

Green Lane, Small Heath gospel hall, a brick building, (fn. 69) is mentioned in 1878. (fn. 70) In a deed of 1886 it was described as 'until recently. . . a Wesleyan Methodist chapel'. (fn. 71) In 1892 there was said to be a Sunday evening congregation of 50. (fn. 72)

Hunton Hill (Gravelly Hill) Slade Assembly Hall was registered for public worship in 1926. (fn. 73) It was open in 1957. (fn. 74)

Jiggins Lane, Bartley Green gospel hall was opened in 1922. (fn. 75) It was open in 1957. (fn. 76)

Leigh Road, Saltley gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1914. (fn. 77) It was open in 1957. (fn. 78)

Lonsdale Road, Harborne gospel hall was registered for worship in 1935. (fn. 79) There was a Brethren's meeting in Harborne in 1892, with a congregation of 17, (fn. 80) and also in 1921. (fn. 81) Lonsdale Road hall was open in 1957. (fn. 82)

Lozells Road, Aston Manor Fairbairn Hall was registered for worship in 1911. (fn. 83) In 1919 it was re-certified as Hartington Hall. (fn. 84) It was not included among the Brethren's meetings in 1957. (fn. 85)

Miles Street, Camp Hill gospel hall, with sittings for 250, was open in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation of 55. (fn. 86) It was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War, and a new site nearby purchased in 1949. (fn. 87)

New Street, Erdington gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1897, (fn. 88) and was open in 1957. (fn. 89) A Brethren's meeting existed at Erdington in 1892, for which a Sunday evening congregation of 91 was claimed. (fn. 90)

New John Street West 'free mission hall' (fn. 91) attracted in 1892 the largest Brethren congregation, with a Sunday evening attendance of 148 and a Sunday school of 320. (fn. 92) It was open in 1957. (fn. 93)

Park Lane gospel hall was open in 1892, when there was a Sunday morning congregation of 73. (fn. 94) It was in use in 1957. (fn. 95)

Pershore Road, Stirchley gospel mission hall was registered for public worship in 1937. (fn. 96) It appears to have been closed before 1957. (fn. 97)

Rann Street, Ladywood Gospel Hall was open in 1892, when there was a Sunday morning congregation of 33. (fn. 98) It was in use in 1957, when there were said to be 30 in fellowship. (fn. 99)

Ruston Street gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1867. (fn. 1) It was mentioned in 1954, (fn. 2) but was not included in the Brethren's meetings in 1957. (fn. 3)

St. Helier's Road, Northfield Helier Hall was registered for public worship in 1940. (fn. 4) It was open in 1957. (fn. 5)

St. Mary Street gospel room was registered for public worship from 1887 to 1925. (fn. 6)

Station Road, Northfield Friends' Hall was registered for public worship by a Brethren's meeting in 1943, (fn. 7) and was open in 1957. (fn. 8)

Tiverton Road, Bournbrook gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1895, (fn. 9) and is probably identifiable with the Selly Oak hall which claimed, in 1892, a Sunday evening congregation of 70. (fn. 10) It was open in 1957. (fn. 11)

Trinity Road, Birchfield gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1897, (fn. 12) and was open in 1957. (fn. 13) A meeting at 'Birchfield meeting room' in 1892 attracted a Sunday evening congregation of 47. (fn. 14)

Tyburn Road, Pype Hayes gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1942. (fn. 15) It was open in 1957. (fn. 16)

Waterloo Road, South Yardley gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1911. (fn. 17) It was open in 1957. (fn. 18)

Waterloo Street chapel, so described in 1850, (fn. 19) appears to have been the first permanent Brethren's meeting-place in Birmingham. It was registered at the Worcester Diocesan Registry in September 1843, when it was described as a 'room'. (fn. 20) The chapel made no return to the religious census of 1851, and it seems likely that in that year the congregation had moved to Ann Street, nearby, q.v.

Waverhill Road gospel hall was in use in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation of 67. (fn. 21) It was open in 1957. (fn. 22)

Wenman Street, Balsall Heath gospel hall was registered for public worship in 1870, (fn. 23) and in 1892 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 87. (fn. 24) It was open in 1957. (fn. 25)

Wood Street, Bath Row meeting was registered for public worship from 1867 to 1906. (fn. 26)

Brethren: Open Brethren

Beeches Road, Perry Barr Beeches Assembly Hall was registered for public worship in 1939. (fn. 27) It was open in 1957. (fn. 28)

Cape Street, Winson Green Hebron Gospel Hall was registered for public worship from 1926 to 1954. (fn. 29) A Brethren's meeting is known to have existed at Cape Hill in 1921. (fn. 30)

High Street, King's Heath Hope Chapel was registered for public worship in 1924. (fn. 31) A Brethren's meeting is known to have existed at King's Heath in 1921. (fn. 32) There was a meeting-place in the High Street in 1957. (fn. 33)

Catholic Apostolic Church

Newhall Street chapel was built as a Presbyterian church and was used by the Presbyterians until 1834, (fn. 34) when it appears to have been acquired by the Catholic Apostolic Church. In 1849 it was called the Unknown Tongue Chapel and was described as 'a small, plain building'. (fn. 35) In 1851 there were 300 sittings, and an average congregation of 120. (fn. 36) The chapel was replaced in 1873 by Summer Hill Church, q.v., and the site was, in 1893, occupied by the Birmingham Assay Office. (fn. 37)

Summer Hill Church was completed in 1873. (fn. 38) It was designed by J. A. Chatwin, and has been described as a 'handsome structure of brick and terracotta, with a very lofty nave and chancel'. (fn. 39) A Sunday morning congregation of 215 was claimed in 1892. (fn. 40)

Villa Street, Hockley evangelists' chapel, seating 300, was erected in 1851, and claimed, in that year, an average congregation of 100. (fn. 41) It is possibly identifiable with Villa Street chapel, registered for worship in 1857, and used by the Latterday Saints and the Unitarians successively. (fn. 42)

Christadelphians

Alcester Road hall, a brick building with sittings for 150, was opened in 1952. (fn. 43) Meetings were first held in 1924 when a room was hired at Alcester Lanes End, and in 1939 there were said to be 40 to 50 regular attenders. (fn. 44) The ecclesia was associated with the Temperance Hall (later Midland Institute) group. (fn. 45)

Ann Street (later Colmore Row) school was the first Birmingham meeting-place of the Christadelphians, and was used by them from 1864 to 1866, when it was replaced by Athenaeum Hall, Temple Row, q.v. There were 53 members of the ecclesia at the end of 1865. (fn. 46)

Beaumont Road, Bournville hall, a brick building with sittings for 200, was opened in 1927, and cost £2,300. The congregation had previously met for about five years in the Bournville Co-operative Hall. (fn. 47) The ecclesia was associated with the Masonic Hall (later Suffolk Street) group. (fn. 48)

Easy Row meeting-room was registered for public worship from 1900 to 1911, (fn. 49) and was used for the weekday-evening meetings of the New Street Masonic Hall ecclesia. (fn. 50)

Erdington ecclesia (Temperance Hall group) was founded in 1908 and met for a time at the Osborne Road school. In 1957 the meeting-place had been for some years the High Street Cooperative Society Hall. (fn. 51)

Hazelwell Street institute, formerly the Friends' Institute, Stirchley, was in use for Christadelphian meetings in 1954 (fn. 52) and 1957. (fn. 53)

Heather Road, Small Heath hall, with sittings for 250, was opened in 1939. The ecclesia was founded in 1924, and was associated with the Temperance Hall group. (fn. 54) In January 1939 it was meeting in the Co-operative Society meeting-room, Coventry Road. (fn. 55)

Heathfield Road, Perry Barr hall, in converted premises, was bought in 1952 by the Birmingham North ecclesia, (fn. 56) associated with the Temperance Hall group. Previous meeting places included a hired hall in New Inn Road, Handsworth, registered for public worship from 1932 to 1941, and hired premises in Kingstanding. (fn. 57)

Institute Road, King's Heath hall was registered for public worship in 1955. (fn. 58) The ecclesia, associated with the Masonic Hall group, had a meeting-place in Institute Road as early as 1906. (fn. 59)

John Bright Street ecclesia withdrew from fellowship with the Birmingham (Temperance Hall) ecclesia in 1919. (fn. 60) As a separate ecclesia it continued to meet in hired premises, and in 1956 was using the Shakespeare Rooms, Edmund Street. Its membership was then said to be 'very small'. (fn. 61)

Lincoln's Inn, Corporation Street meeting was registered for public worship from 1887 to 1906. (fn. 62)

Longbridge Lane, Northfield meeting-house, formerly a Friends' meeting-house, was bought by the Christadelphians in 1953. (fn. 63) It was first used for Christadelphian meetings in 1911. (fn. 64)

New Street Masonic Hall was the permanent Sunday meeting place of an ecclesia from 1884 (fn. 65) to 1910, when it was replaced by Suffolk Street hall, q.v. A Sunday evening attendance of 182 was claimed in 1892. (fn. 66) Weekday-evening meetings were held from 1900 in Easy Row, and, possibly, before that date, in Lincoln's Inn, q.v. At the time of the division among Christadelphians which took place in 1884 over the question of the full or partial inspiration of the Bible the Masonic Hall ecclesia adopted the liberal position. Until the reconciliation in 1957 it and its successor, Suffolk Street, remained at the head of one of two distinct 'confederations' of Birmingham ecclesias. (fn. 67)

Orphanage Road, Erdington hall, a brick building seating 70, was built in 1921. The ecclesia, associated with the Masonic Hall group, was founded in 1900, (fn. 68) and in 1901 was said to number about 20. (fn. 69) The meeting-place was already established in Orphanage Road by 1908. (fn. 70)

Paradise Street, Midland Institute began to be used for meetings by the Birmingham Central ecclesia in 1932, after the lease of Temple Street Temperance Hall had run out. In 1957 three missionary Sunday schools were being conducted by members, at Yardley, Kitt's Green, and Weoley Castle. (fn. 71)

Ridgacre Road, Quinton Ridgacre Hall, a brick building seating about 120, was built in 1938. The ecclesia was associated with the Temperance Hall group. (fn. 72)

Sheldon ecclesia began meeting, in 1954, in Lyndon Green school. (fn. 73)

Station Road, Acock's Green hall, a brick building with sittings for 170, was built in 1902. The ecclesia, founded in 1896, was associated with the Temperance Hall group. (fn. 74)

Suffolk Street hall was opened, in 1910, by the Masonic Hall ecclesia as its new place of worship. (fn. 75)

Summer Lane chapel, accommodating 500, was used by the Christadelphians for some time after its abandonment by the Swedenborgians in 1876, (fn. 76) and was in use in 1879. (fn. 77)

Temple Row, Athenaeum Hall, seating 300, was rented by the Christadelphians in 1866, and opened as a 'Christadelphian synagogue'. (fn. 78) In 1871 the Birmingham ecclesia transferred its meetings to the Temperance Hall, Temple Street, q.v.

Temple Street, Temperance Hall was used for meetings of the Birmingham ecclesia from 1871, when an attendance of almost 1,000 was claimed. (fn. 79) In 1892 the Sunday evening attendance was 319. (fn. 80) The Temperance Hall ceased to be used for meetings in 1932, and was replaced by meetings at the Midland Institute, Paradise Street, q.v. At the time of the split in 1884 (fn. 81) the Temperance Hall ecclesia adopted the fundamentalist position. Until the reconciliation of 1957 it and its successor at the Midland Institute remained at the head of one of two distinct 'confederations' of ecclesias in Birmingham. (fn. 82)

Washwood Heath Road hall, a brick building with sittings for 175, was built in 1934. The meeting was founded in 1934 at Ward End, Washwood Heath. (fn. 83)

York Road school, Hall Green, was used from 1940 by a meeting founded in 1938. (fn. 84)

Christian Chartist Church

The Birmingham Christian Chartist Church met in one of three chapels in Newhall Street. This appears to have been occupied, in 1839, by a Methodist Association congregation. (fn. 85) On his first visit to Birmingham, in 1840, Arthur O'Neill is said to have been offered the pastorate of this chapel, (fn. 86) and to have recruited a congregation of Christian Chartists from Baptist and Methodist workmen. (fn. 87) The church aimed at furthering 'temperance, morality and knowledge', and as well as a political association, its members organized children's schools and a sick club. (fn. 88) O'Neill was arrested in 1842 for Chartist activities, and on his release in 1844 he became a Baptist, moving to Zion Chapel in the same street. (fn. 89) In 1855 the former Chartist church was occupied by St. Martin's 'District Church and School'. (fn. 90) According to one account, in 1840 O'Neill also became minister of the Congregational chapel in Livery Street, and eventually led part of its congregation into union with the Baptists at Zion, Newhall Street. (fn. 91) Livery Street was re-opened by the Latter-day Saints in 1845. (fn. 92)

The Christian Community

Bristol Road meeting-room, in the school-house of the Old Meeting church, was opened as the first permanent chapel of the Christian Community in Birmingham in 1946. The congregation, founded in 1942, had formerly met in rented premises in the same street. In 1950 it moved to Wentworth Road, q.v. (fn. 93)

Monument Road mission-hall was registered for public worship in 1949. (fn. 94)

Wentworth Road, Harborne 'The Moorlands' was acquired in 1950 as the residence for a 'family community' of six to eight people, and as a meetingplace for the Birmingham church. In 1958 there were said to be 30 members. (fn. 95)

Christian Scientists

Broad Street chapel, seating 700, formerly a Presbyterian place of worship, was acquired in 1929 by members of the Birmingham Second Church (fn. 96) which had been formed in 1924-5 out of the First Church. (fn. 97) Alterations to the building included the construction of a reading-room in the space below the gallery. Despite the addition of seating accommodation for a further 100 the chapel is said to have become overcrowded by 1931, and in the following year the Birmingham Third Church, shortly afterwards accommodated at Steelhouse Lane, q.v., received official recognition. (fn. 98)

Camp Hill chapel, formerly a Presbyterian place of worship, was used by the Birmingham Third Church from 1942. (fn. 99) It was sold to the Seventh-day Adventists at the beginning of 1955, (fn. 1) the congregation moving to premises in Sandy Lane nearby. (fn. 2)

King's Norton church was opened in 1938 for the use of the Birmingham Fourth Church, founded the previous year. (fn. 3)

Newhall Hill chapel, formerly a Unitarian place of worship, (fn. 4) was bought in 1921 for the use of the Birmingham First Church. The First Church was founded in 1913 by the union of two earlier congregations which met in Birmingham and King's Norton respectively. (fn. 5) The Birmingham group had previously met in two rooms at Avebury House (registered 1906-9), (fn. 6) a reading-room in Corporation Street (registered 1909-10), (fn. 7) and at Ruskin Buildings, Corporation Street (registered 1910-15). (fn. 8) The King's Norton group, recognized by the Christian Science Board of Directors, Boston, in 1908, (fn. 9) met at 'The Rookery', King's Norton (registered 1910- 16). (fn. 10) Until the opening of Newhall Hill the combined church appears to have met at the Corn Exchange Buildings, Carrs Lane (registered in 1915). (fn. 11) Newhall Hill chapel was closed in 1953, the congregation moving to Sandon Road, q.v. (fn. 12)

Sandon Road church, the new place of worship of the Birmingham First Church, was opened in 1953. (fn. 13)

Steelhouse Lane Ebenezer Hall, formerly a Congregational chapel, was registered in 1933 for the use of the Birmingham Third Church, (fn. 14) founded in 1931-2 by about 70 members of the Second Church, Broad Street. (fn. 15) The hall was damaged by bombing in 1941, and in 1942 the congregation moved to Camp Hill chapel, q.v. (fn. 16)

Churches of Christ

Anderton Street chapel, a brick building seating 200, came into the possession of the Churches of Christ in 1898. (fn. 17) It was formerly a Baptist chapel. (fn. 18) The church had previously met in Powell Street, q.v. The chapel was sold in 1933, (fn. 19) and the place of meeting moved to Quinton, q.v. The building was subsequently used by a Brethren's meeting. (fn. 20)

Beaumont Road, Bournville chapel, a 2-story building of brick with stone dressings, seating 100, was completed in 1914. The church was formed in 1906 and met originally at Ruskin Hall, Bournville. (fn. 21) There were 83 members in 1956. (fn. 22)

Bond Street Baptist chapel was occupied from 1859 to 1860 by a church which had adopted the tenets of the Churches of Christ. (fn. 23)

Charles Henry Street chapel, with sittings for 350, was opened in 1864, and was enlarged in 1891 to seat 400. The church, founded in Bradford Street in 1857, had met subsequently at Bond Street chapel, q.v., and at the Oddfellows' and Temperance Halls, Temple Street. (fn. 24) There were 265 members in 1892, (fn. 25) and a Sunday evening congregation of 170. (fn. 26) The chapel was closed in 1912, (fn. 27) the congregation moving to Moseley Road, q.v.

Cherry Street meeting-room was in use in 1858 and 1859. The church, the first Birmingham church connected with the Churches of Christ, appears to have been founded in 1857, when there were ten members meeting in a schoolroom in Bradford Street. In 1859 it moved to Bond Street, q.v. (fn. 28)

Geach Street chapel, a brick building seating 400, was built in 1869 for a church founded from Charles Henry Street in 1865. (fn. 29) There was a church membership of 215 in 1892, (fn. 30) and a Sunday evening congregation of 144. (fn. 31) The chapel was completely demolished by bombing in 1941. In 1957 temporary premises with a capacity of about 50 had been erected on the site. (fn. 32)

Goosemoor Lane, Erdington chapel, a brick building seating 100, was opened in 1930 for a church formed in 1908. (fn. 33) Church membership in 1956 was 65. (fn. 34)

Great Francis Street chapel, a brick building with sittings for 120, (fn. 35) was in use in 1885, (fn. 36) and was built for a church formed in 1873. (fn. 37) In 1892 church membership was 78, (fn. 38) and the Sunday evening congregation 62. (fn. 39) Membership in 1956 was 54. (fn. 40)

Harborne meeting was in existence in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation of 55. (fn. 41)

Kingstanding meeting, in hired premises, was founded in 1944. (fn. 42) Church membership in 1956 was 19. (fn. 43)

Moseley Road chapel, a brick building with sittings for 400, was opened in 1912 to replace Charles Henry Street, q.v. (fn. 44) Church membership in 1931 was 348, and in 1956, 155. (fn. 45)

Powell Street chapel, with sittings for 60, (fn. 46) was opened in 1886. (fn. 47) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 56. (fn. 48) The chapel appears to have closed in 1898, the church moving to Anderton Street, q.v. (fn. 49)

Priestley Road chapel, a brick building seating 60, (fn. 50) formerly belonging to the Latter-day Saints, (fn. 51) began to be used by the Churches of Christ about 1938. (fn. 52) The church was founded in 1928 and met at first in a schoolroom in Rea Street. About 1931, when 61 members were claimed, (fn. 53) the place of meeting was moved to a converted public house in Conybere Street (fn. 54) (registered in 1934 as Hick Street, Highgate, meeting-house). (fn. 55) Membership at Priestley Road in 1956 was 43. (fn. 56)

Quinton meeting was the successor to the Anderton Street church, closed in 1933, q.v. The congregation moved first to Dudley Road Board School and finally to the Community Hall, Quinton, (fn. 57) where, in 1945, there was a church membership of 33. (fn. 58) The meeting was discontinued in 1948. (fn. 59)

Stratford Road, Sparkhill chapel, a brick and stone building seating 200, was opened shortly after 1898 for a church formed in that year. (fn. 60) Church membership in 1956 was 145. (fn. 61)

Yardley Wood Road, Billesley schoolroom was opened in 1931 for a church formed two years previously. (fn. 62) There were 54 members in 1945. (fn. 63) The meeting was discontinued in 1948, and the building was subsequently re-opened as a Full Gospel church. (fn. 64)

Churches of God

Alleyne Road hall, Erdington, was registered for public worship in 1952. (fn. 65)

Congregationalists and Independents

Allison Street mission room was opened by Carrs Lane Town Mission in 1837. (fn. 66) It was replaced after about six years by Bordesley Street chapel, q.v.

Arden mission was opened in cottage premises by members of the Saltley Road congregation in 1883, and was continued, from 1884, in rooms rented from Arden Road Board School, (fn. 67) where in 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 97. (fn. 68) The mission was subsequently (c. 1918) transferred to Bennett's Hill House, and, in 1924, to the Welfare Room, Metropolitan Road. In 1934 a shop in High Street, Saltley, was acquired and converted. (fn. 69) Church membership in 1957 was 44. (fn. 70)

Balsall Heath Road chapel c. 1860-8: see under Baptists. (fn. 71)

Bishopsgate Street chapel was registered for public worship in 1817. (fn. 72)

Bordesley Street chapel, originally used by the Primitive Methodists, (fn. 73) was rented by Carrs Lane Town Mission from 1845, (fn. 74) and bought in 1855. (fn. 75) The church was formed in 1860, and in 1867 numbered 100 members. (fn. 76) In 1875 the congregation moved to Gooch Street, q.v., retaining Bordesley Street as a mission station until 1880, when it was sold to the Salvation Army. (fn. 77)

Brackenbury Road, Kingstanding Ebenezer Memorial Church was completed in 1934 (fn. 78) to serve the population of new housing estates. It was designed by Harrison and Tracey of Birmingham and built in rustic facing brick, at a cost, including site and furniture, of £12,000. (fn. 79) Sittings were provided for 508. The church was founded in 1927, and in 1957 numbered 109. (fn. 80)

Carrs Lane chapel, the 'mother chapel' of Birmingham Congregationalism, was founded in 1748 by a secession from the Unitarian Old Meeting. (fn. 81) The first building, on a site acquired in 1746, (fn. 82) was used until 1801, and provided sittings for 450. (fn. 83) It lay between Carrs Lane and New Meeting Street, shut in by buildings on all sides and 'surrounded with about forty families of paupers'. (fn. 84) In 1802 a second chapel, described as 'cold, comfortless and somewhat repulsive in appearance' was built. Although galleries were added in 1812 this proved too small for a growing congregation, and in 1820 a third chapel was completed (fn. 85) on an extended site to provide sittings for 1,800. (fn. 86) Designed by Thomas Whitwell, (fn. 87) it was a large brick building with Greek Revival features and two tiers of round-headed windows at the sides. The frontage to Carrs Lane had a central projection surmounted by a pediment and a Doric entrance recessed under a tall archway. Internally there were galleries on three sides and a single-span coffered ceiling. Behind the pulpit rose an impressive Ionic colonnade beneath a segmental arch. (fn. 88) In 1876 a new brick front in a contemporary Renaissance style was built, and more commodious gallery staircases were provided behind it. (fn. 89) Castiron arcades were introduced internally in 1884 to give extra support to the roof and at the same time the chapel was re-seated. (fn. 90) An organ, erected in the south gallery in 1825, was placed behind the pulpit in 1876; in 1908 a new organ was installed and this was rebuilt in 1931. (fn. 91) By 1892 the sittings had been reduced to 1,450. (fn. 92) The Sunday evening congregation was 1,500 in 1851, (fn. 93) and 835 in 1892. (fn. 94) Church membership reached a maximum figure of 1,253 in 1907. (fn. 95) In 1957 it was 735. (fn. 96)

Most Birmingham Congregational churches derive either from Carrs Lane, or from a seceding church established at Livery Street, q.v., in 1802. By 1849 Carrs Lane had been directly responsible for erecting chapels at Wheeler Street, Garrison Lane, Palmer Street, q.v., Rushall Lane (Yardley), and, outside the boundaries of modern Birmingham, in Smethwick and Minworth. (fn. 97) From 1837 town mission work was carried on in a series of chapels, including Allison Street, Bordesley Street, Gooch Street, Cattell Road, and Moseley Street, q.v. In 1908 the Digbeth Institute, q.v., was built for this work. J. A. James, (fn. 98) minister of Carrs Lane from 1805 to 1859, was prominent in the movement which resulted in the foundation of the Congregational Union. (fn. 99) R. W. Dale, (fn. 1) minister from 1854 to 1895, was a pioneer member of the Birmingham School Board. (fn. 2) Of the members of the congregation, Henry Nott (d. 1844), a one-time Bromsgrove bricklayer, joined an early mission to Tahiti in 1797, and later translated the Bible into Tahitian. Another, a missionary, Edith Coombes (1862-1900), was killed in China during the Boxer rising. (fn. 3)

Cattell Road mission hall, with sittings for 250, (fn. 4) was built in 1892 as a sequel to work carried on in Greenway Street, Small Heath, by Carrs Lane Town Mission. (fn. 5) There was then a Sunday evening congregation of 121. (fn. 6) The mission was closed in 1923. (fn. 7)

Church Road, Yardley mission, a wooden building, was erected in 1873 by William Morgan of Stechford. In 1875 Warwick Road church took charge of the work, and a permanent church hall was built in 1879, (fn. 8) with sittings for 160. There was then a congregation of 146. (fn. 9) The church became independent of Warwick Road in 1882. (fn. 10) Membership in 1957 was 26. (fn. 11)

Coleshill Road, Hodgehill Stoney Lane Memorial Chapel was registered for public worship in 1954, (fn. 12) and commemorates Stoney Lane Chapel, destroyed in 1940, q.v. It is a brick building in a simple modern style with a glazed porch and a small rectangular tower. Church membership in 1957 was 54. (fn. 13)

Coventry Road, Hay Mills chapel, seating 350, (fn. 14) was completed in 1900 at a cost of £2,070. The church was of dual origin. In 1885 Church Road mission began services in Speedwell Road, transferred about 1887 to a lean-to mission room in King's Road. (fn. 15) From at least 1892 there were also services at the Redhill Board School, inaugurated by Coventry Road, Small Heath. (fn. 16) The two missions united in 1895. (fn. 17) Church membership in 1957 was 70. (fn. 18)

Coventry Road, Small Heath chapel was built in 1868 at a cost, exclusive of site and furnishings, of £2,293. Designed by W. F. Poulton of Reading in the 'early Gothic' style it was built of red brick relieved with black and white bricks and Bath stone dressings, to accommodate 600. (fn. 19) The church originated as a mission founded from Palmer Street (fn. 20) in 1858 and was first accommodated in a schoolroom in Coventry Road, opened in 1863 at a cost of £404. (fn. 21) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 320. (fn. 22) Church membership, 120 in 1879, was increased after 1880 by the transfer of some former members of Bordesley Street, and in 1889 was 189. (fn. 23) By 1957 it had fallen to 51. (fn. 24)

Crescent Locks, Scotland Street Boatmen's chapel, seating 150, was erected in 1841, as a mission of Carrs Lane to canal workers, and in 1851 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 99. (fn. 25) It continued in use until 1872, when it was used briefly for a Welsh Congregational church before closing. (fn. 26) Its work had been by then largely superseded by the Boatmen's Bethel, Worcester Wharf, q.v. (fn. 27)

Dartmouth Road, Bournbrook church hall, seating 350, (fn. 28) was built in 1932. (fn. 29) The church was formed in 1894, (fn. 30) and in 1902, when services were being held in a corrugated iron building, numbered 30 members. For some years after 1902 Dartmouth Road was a mission of Francis Road, q.v. (fn. 31) Church membership in 1957 was 21. (fn. 32)

Dartmouth Street mission was conducted by Carrs Lane chapel from 1883 to 1938. (fn. 33) In 1892 the Dartmouth Street Board School was in use. (fn. 34)

Darwin Street chapel was in use in 1858, (fn. 35) and is probably identifiable with a building belonging to T. P. Buckingham registered for public worship from 1854 to 1863. (fn. 36)

Digbeth Institute, on the old Battery site opposite Rea Street, was opened by Carrs Lane in 1908 as a social and religious centre in a slum area. (fn. 37) Designed by A. Harrison in the 'free Renaissance' style, the buildings were constructed of brick with grey terracotta dressing, and roofed with green Delabole slates. (fn. 38) The main chapel hall provided 1,400 sittings. (fn. 39) In 1908 there were also a café, a readingroom, a billiards-room, a gymnasium, a boys' gamesroom, a bandmaster's room, and various class-, club-, and assembly-rooms. (fn. 40) The institute was closed in 1954. (fn. 41)

Etwall Road, Hall Green chapel, seating 200, (fn. 42) was opened in 1929 and cost £3,500. The church was formed in the same year with 71 members. (fn. 43) In 1957 membership was 73. (fn. 44)

Fazeley Street chapel, a mission of Carrs Lane, was in use in 1892, when there were sittings for 120, and a Sunday evening congregation of 88. (fn. 45) Fazeley Street first appeared in a Birmingham directory in 1885, when it was listed as a Church of England mission hall. (fn. 46) The Congregational mission was transferred to Moseley Street hall, q.v., in 1897. (fn. 47)

Francis Road, Edgbaston chapel was completed in 1856, at a cost of £5,000. (fn. 48) It underwent important alterations in 1892-3, (fn. 49) and by 1908 was providing sittings for 1,000. (fn. 50) The church, formed in 1856 with 49 members, originated in 1854 in private mission work by members of Carrs Lane and Steelhouse Lane. (fn. 51) By 1862 there were 200 members. (fn. 52) In 1875 Moody and Sankey, on their visit to Birmingham, (fn. 53) 'undertook a short ministry' at Francis Road which resulted in an increase of 85 members. (fn. 54) The most successful period of the chapel's work was the 1890s. The Sunday evening service in 1892 attracted more than 450, (fn. 55) and church membership reached a maximum of 613 in 1899. By 1926 it had fallen to 185, (fn. 56) and by 1957 to 74. (fn. 57) The church, designed by Yeoville Thomason (fn. 58) in the 'Early English' style, is built of Hollington stone with limestone dressings. It is cruciform in plan and has a tall spired tower at the west end. Eastward extensions apparently date from the late 19th century. The church was responsible for missions in Sherborne Street (1871), q.v., Wood Street (c. 1878) and Dartmouth Road (1902), q.v.

Garrison Lane chapel, a mission of Carrs Lane, was built in 1829 for £400. The mission was founded in 1822 in Great Barr Street as a Sunday school, which is said later to have moved to Watery Lane, (fn. 59) though there was still a Congregational chapel in Great Barr Street in 1839. (fn. 60) Garrison Lane was replaced in 1843 by Palmer Street chapel, q.v.

Gooch Street chapel, seating 300, (fn. 61) was purchased by Carrs Lane Town Mission from Lady Huntingdon's Connexion in 1861, and reopened as a school and mission station. (fn. 62) In 1875 the church previously established at Bordesley Street moved to Gooch Street. There were then 70 church members. (fn. 63) In 1892 a Sunday evening congregation of 88 was claimed. (fn. 64) The church was dissolved in 1894, and in 1897 the chapel was sold to the Friends. (fn. 65)

Graham Street Highbury Chapel was opened in 1844 and provided sittings for 1,000. (fn. 66) It is a building of red brick with stone dressings, the front having a pedimented gable, round-headed windows, and a classical doorway. In 1851 there was a congregation of 300. (fn. 67) In 1879 the church migrated to Soho Hill, where a new chapel, q.v., was opened. A church was subsequently formed in the abandoned chapel by Charles Leach, a popular preacher, formerly minister of Monument Road Methodist New Connexion chapel, (fn. 68) and the Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 445. (fn. 69) From 1913 the premises were registered as the Highbury Hall, (fn. 70) until in 1930 they were sold and reopened by the Elim Church. (fn. 71)

Hamstead Hill, Handsworth Wood Elmwood Chapel, a converted house, was opened in 1946. After the sale of Soho Hill chapel in 1941 Congregational services were held for some years at Gibson Road Unitarian chapel, until the opening of the new Elmwood Chapel. (fn. 72) Church membership in 1957 was 290. (fn. 73)

Harborne Union Chapel c. 1820-35: see under Baptists. (fn. 74)

High Street, Erdington chapel, seating 360, (fn. 75) was built in 1839 at a cost of £1,500, and was described as 'a neat Gothic chapel'. (fn. 76) It was improved and enlarged in 1863-4, (fn. 77) and in 1892 provided sittings for 500. (fn. 78) Congregational services began at Erdington in 1814, in a building in Bell Lane, used in later years as a Roman Catholic chapel, (fn. 79) a village lock-up, and a parochial clubhouse; this building was demolished in 1902. (fn. 80) The Sunday evening congregation was 120 in 1851 (fn. 81) and 173 in 1892. (fn. 82) There was a church membership of 265 in 1957. (fn. 83) Mission work by the Erdington church culminated, in 1929, in the opening of a chapel at Pype Hayes, q.v.

King Street, Balsall Heath mission room was opened in 1858 by a mission which subsequently moved to Balsall Heath Road, q.v. (fn. 84)

Ladypool Road mission hall seating 200 in 1955, (fn. 85) was opened in 1894 by the undenominational Sparkbrook Gospel Mission, founded in 1886. The congregation became affiliated to Moseley Road Congregational church in 1901. (fn. 86) The building in use in 1957 provided sittings for 508. Church membership was then 60. (fn. 87)

Lansdowne Street West Birmingham Brotherhood Church registered rooms in Lansdowne Buildings for public worship from 1912 to 1925. (fn. 88)

Legge Street chapel, seating 426, (fn. 89) was originally built for the Primitive Methodists, and was taken over by Congregationalists while still incomplete. It was opened for worship in 1825. In 1837 the congregation migrated to Livery Street, then temporarily unoccupied, under the leadership of a Mr. Griffiths, but in the following year a new ministry was begun by Peter Sibree, (fn. 90) and in 1851 there was an average Sunday evening congregation of 150. (fn. 91) In 1867 the chapel was adopted as a mission station by Steelhouse Lane, but was sold in 1872 (fn. 92) for £450. The proceeds were devoted to building a new chapel in Park Road, Aston Park, q.v. (fn. 93) Legge Street was subsequently reopened by the Salvation Army. (fn. 94)

Livery Street chapel was first used for worship by the Unitarians from 1791 to 1802. (fn. 95) In 1802 Jehoiada Brewer, minister, since 1796, of Carrs Lane, led a secession to found a new church in the recently vacated building. In 1818 the church moved into the new Ebenezer Chapel, Steelhouse Lane, but a congregation continued to use the old chapel, with interruptions, until 1837, when the Legge Street congregation took it over. (fn. 96) In 1840 Arthur O'Neill became pastor at the age of 23, and may have transformed Livery Street for a time into a Chartist Church. (fn. 97) In 1845 most of the church members appear to have moved into the newly-built Highbury Chapel, Graham Street, (fn. 98) and the Livery Street chapel was acquired and reopened by the Latter-day Saints. (fn. 99) In 1847 O'Neill is said to have united the Livery Street and Newhall Street congregations in a Baptist church at Zion Chapel, Newhall Street. (fn. 1)

Lodge Road mission hall and institute was built in 1895 at a cost, including the site, of £3,550. Designed by G. C. Marks of Chancery Lane, London, and A. Holt of Kenilworth, it was built of red brick with stone facings, and included, as well as the chapel hall, a coffee bar and refreshment room, a reading room, and a library. (fn. 2) The church originated in work begun by Union Row chapel in 1883, (fn. 3) and subsequently carried on in Norton Street Board School by Soho Hill. In 1892 this mission attracted a Sunday evening congregation of 255. (fn. 4) Church membership was 93 in 1895, (fn. 5) but by 1900 had fallen to 59, (fn. 6) and in 1957 was only 4. (fn. 7)

Moat Lane, Yardley Digbeth in the Field church hall seating 100 (fn. 8) was opened in 1949. The church originated in 1937 when a sports pavilion was opened for use as a Sunday school. (fn. 9) Membership in 1957 was 80. (fn. 10)

Moseley Road, Balsall Heath chapel, with sittings for 1,000, (fn. 11) was opened in 1862 for the use of a church formed the previous year. Church membership increased rapidly from 48 in 1862 to 150 in 1867, (fn. 12) and in 1892 there was a Sunday afternoon congregation of 700. (fn. 13) In 1953 the chapel was said to have been 'not used for some years' and it was sold two years later. (fn. 14) In 1901 the church took over responsibility for the Ladypool Road mission. (fn. 15)

Moseley Street hall was bought in 1897 by Carrs Lane Town Mission from the Methodist New Connexion when the latter congregation moved to a church in Ombersley Road. (fn. 16) The building was extensively altered and the missions formerly carried on at Fazeley Street, q.v., and Rea Street Board School were united to form the nucleus of the workers at the new mission. In 1902 there was a men's club-room attached to it. (fn. 17) Up to 1903 the number of sittings was said to be 400 and 300 hereafter. (fn. 18) The mission appears to have been closed between 1911 and 1912. (fn. 19)

Newtown Row 'The Refuge' was in use in 1839. (fn. 20)

Oxford Street chapel was described as an Independents' chapel in 1795. (fn. 21) It is known to have existed in 1789, (fn. 22) when the minister was a Mr. Harker, and it was still in being in 1800. (fn. 23) It is probably identifiable with the chapel acquired by the Methodist New Connexion in 1811 and known to have been built before 1800. (fn. 24) A newspaper account of March 1800 mentions a robbery suffered by the 'Methodist' chapel in Oxford Street. (fn. 25)

Palmer Street chapel, seating 400, (fn. 26) was built by Carrs Lane in 1843 for the congregation of Garrison Lane, at a cost of £800. (fn. 27) In 1851 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 250. (fn. 28) The church was formed in 1860, and in 1867 numbered 130 members. (fn. 29) The chapel was sold in 1876, the congregation moving to a new building in St. Andrew's Road, q.v. (fn. 30) Palmer Street was responsible for the founding of Coventry Road, Small Heath chapel, q.v.

Parade Trinity Tabernacle, a 'small brick building' (fn. 31) seating 194, was built in 1840. In 1851 there was an estimated average congregation of 100. (fn. 32) For many years the church was listed as 'Calvinist' or 'Independent Calvinist' (fn. 33) and only about 1880 was this designation changed to Congregational, probably to mark the rebuilding of the chapel. (fn. 34) In 1892 there were sittings for 500, and a Sunday evening congregation of 490. (fn. 35) The tabernacle ceased to appear in the Birmingham directories in 1911. (fn. 36)

Park Road Aston Park chapel seating 950, (fn. 37) was opened in 1874 to replace a preaching room in use since 1872. (fn. 38) In 1892 there was a congregation of 394 and a subsidiary mission in Aston Lane with an attendance of 67. (fn. 39) Church membership in 1957 was 95. (fn. 40) The building was demolished in the 1950s and a schoolroom was subsequently used for services. (fn. 41)

Pype Hayes chapel was opened in 1929. The church was formed in 1928 as a sequel to services conducted by High Street, Erdington, at Paget Road Council School. (fn. 42) Membership in 1957 was 175. (fn. 43)

St. Andrew's Road chapel, seating 600, (fn. 44) was built for the Palmer Street congregation in 1876, (fn. 45) and was rebuilt in 1903. (fn. 46) In 1922 it became the chapel of the Watery Lane Central Mission, (fn. 47) closed before 1957. (fn. 48) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 293. (fn. 49)

Saltley Road chapel, a 'small, neat, brick chapel', costing £800, (fn. 50) was built in 1825 at the expense of J. S. Green, (fn. 51) and provided sittings for 180. (fn. 52) A new chapel seating 700 (fn. 53) was opened in 1869. While still a churchwarden of St. James', Ashted, Green had begun services in a warehouse in Ashted Row, about 1820. (fn. 54) In 1851 the main Sunday service attracted a congregation of 69, (fn. 55) but by 1892 this figure had increased to 541. (fn. 56) Church membership in 1957 was 39. (fn. 57)

Sharp Street chapel, an old warehouse with accommodation for 286, was taken over by a body of 'Calvinistic Independents' in 1833, and in 1851 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 50. (fn. 58)

Sherbourne Street mission, seating 150, (fn. 59) was opened by members of Francis Street chapel in 1871, (fn. 60) for a congregation founded the previous year in Mill Street. The mission premises were used for Sunday schools, worship, and week-day evening meetings, and for a 'British Workman' temperance coffee-house. (fn. 61) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 70. (fn. 62) The mission was discontinued when the lease expired in 1902. (fn. 63)

Soho Hill chapel was built in 1879 at a cost, including the site, of £17,000. (fn. 64) It was designed by J. H. Fleming in the 'Lombardic' style, (fn. 65) and provided, in 1892, sittings for 1,000. The church was a continuation of Graham Street, q.v. The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 883, (fn. 66) and church membership reached a maximum of 580 in 1898. (fn. 67) The chapel was closed and sold in 1941, the congregation moving, eventually, to a converted house at Hamstead Hill, q.v. (fn. 68)

Steelhouse Lane Ebenezer Chapel, seating 1,600, (fn. 69) was built by the church meeting at Livery Street chapel, q.v., and opened in 1818. (fn. 70) It was described as 'a large and substantial edifice with a handsome front'; this had a pediment and a recessed, colonnaded porch. (fn. 71) The estimated Sunday morning congregation in 1851 was 600. (fn. 72) Church membership, 330 in 1853, reached a maximum of 480 in 1868, and by 1889 had fallen to 315. (fn. 73) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 393; the chapel had by then been rearranged to seat 900. (fn. 74) It was closed in 1929, and the site sold. (fn. 75) Ebenezer Chapel was responsible for the founding, before 1834, of daughter chapels at Coleshill, Solihull, Knowle, and Marston Green. (fn. 76) From 1867 to 1872 members had charge of a subsidiary mission at Legge Street, q.v.

Stoney Lane, Sparkbrook chapel, seating 350, was built in 1896 for £2,700. In 1901 a vestry and lecture hall were added for a further £1,260. (fn. 77) The chapel was destroyed by bombing in 1940, (fn. 78) and is commemorated by a memorial church in Coleshill Road, q.v.

Stratford Road chapel began its existence in 1901 as an 'iron room', (fn. 79) serving the population of a large new housing estate. Carrs Lane chapel provided the mission room, and the Stoney Lane and Warwick Road churches were initially responsible for supplying ministers. (fn. 80) A Gothic building was planned in 1905, (fn. 81) but the first permanent chapel was not completed until 1934. Designed by W. H. Bidlake it was built on the basilican plan, with a wide nave, and provided sittings for 377. It was constructed of brick and stone at an estimated cost of £10,000. (fn. 82) Church membership in 1957 was 192. (fn. 83)

Union Row, Handsworth Union Chapel was built in 1788 for Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, (fn. 84) and was first used by the Congregationalists in 1806. It was improved in 1819, (fn. 85) and in 1851 provided sittings for 580. (fn. 86) In 1871 considerable alterations were made, increasing accommodation to 800. They included a new front of brick with Bath and Hollingworth stone dressings, designed in an Italian Romanesque style by G. Ingall of Birmingham. (fn. 87) Church membership in 1849 was 90, (fn. 88) and the average congregation, in 1851, 350. (fn. 89) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 380, (fn. 90) and by 1897 church membership had reached 190. (fn. 91) In 1957 it was 145. (fn. 92) The Union Chapel helped with the mission work which resulted in the building of Lodge Road and Winson Green Road chapels, q.v.

Warwick Road, Acock's Green chapel, seating 450, was opened in 1860. Designed by Yeoville Thomason of Birmingham in 'geometric Gothic of the 13th century' it was built of yellow Rugby bricks with plinths, string courses, and bands of red and blue brick, and Bath stone dressings. (fn. 93) It was extended in 1895 at a cost of £3,000 to provide a further 92 sittings. (fn. 94) The church originated in 1820 when a Sunday school began to meet in a granary near Yardley parish church. Services were subsequently held, under the supervision of Carrs Lane, at a cottage in Tyseley. In 1827 a cottage in Rushall Lane was converted for use as a chapel, (fn. 95) providing sittings for 166. (fn. 96) The congregation was said to be about 45 in 1829, (fn. 97) and 125 in 1851. (fn. 98) In 1892 there was a Sunday morning congregation at Warwick Road of 135. (fn. 99) The chapel was closed in 1956 and sold to the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship. (fn. 1) In 1862 Warwick Road began a mission at Beggarly Green, Olton, (fn. 2) which eventually resulted in the opening of a chapel at Kineton Road, Olton. (fn. 3) Another mission, begun in 1875, culminated in the opening of a mission hall in Church Road, Yardley, q.v. Another, in Spring Lane, was founded in 1882, and was still in use in 1902. (fn. 4) In 1892 it provided sittings for 200, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 62. (fn. 5)

Watford Road, King's Norton chapel, seating 300, was built in 1903. (fn. 6) The church originated in mission services begun in 1901, in the Friends Hall. (fn. 7) Membership in 1957 was 176. (fn. 8)

Waverley Road chapel, seating 200, was in use in 1892 and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 75. (fn. 9) It was mentioned in the Birmingham Red Book for 1892 and 1893 only.

Well Street chapel, with sittings for 250, was in use in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation of 245. (fn. 10) It was mentioned in the Birmingham Red Book from 1890 to 1894.

Weoley Castle chapel, on the square in the centre of the housing estate, was completed in 1936 at a cost of £5,500, and provided sittings for 300. It was designed by E. G. Harrison and Tracey of Birmingham in a simple style and was built of Blockley bricks, roofed with double Roman tiles. The site was presented jointly by four members of the Cadbury family. (fn. 11) Church membership in 1957 was 67. (fn. 12)

Westminster Road, Birchfields chapel was opened in 1879 (fn. 13) at a cost of £6,500 and was built on land given by William Webb. (fn. 14) Designed by Ingall and Hughes of Birmingham in the Gothic style it was built of brick with Bath stone dressings and provided sittings for 900. (fn. 15) A Sunday school was added in 1895. The church was formed in 1882 with 100 members, (fn. 16) and originated in 1875 when mission services, sponsored by Wheeler Street chapel, were begun at the Perry Barr Literary Institute. (fn. 17) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 527 in 1892. (fn. 18) Church membership in 1957 was 210. (fn. 19) A mission was opened in Franchise Street in 1900 (fn. 20) which was still extant in 1908. (fn. 21)

Wheeler Street, Lozells chapel, seating 380, (fn. 22) was opened in 1839 on land given by B. Millichamp. (fn. 23) The building had a gabled stucco front with round-headed windows and a central doorway. In 1863 a new church, an imposing red brick structure with its entrance recessed within a tall arch, was built immediately to the north. It was designed by Poulton and Woodman of Reading and provided sittings for 1,000. (fn. 24) The church originated in 1833 when a Sunday school was opened in a farmhouse in Lozells Lane (later renamed Lozells Road) by a deacon of Carrs Lane. (fn. 25) The main Sunday service attracted a congregation of 106 in 1851 (fn. 26) and of 368 in 1892. (fn. 27) Church membership in 1957 was 64. (fn. 28) In 1942 the buildings were badly damaged by bombing, and the congregation shared the use of St. George's Presbyterian Church for a time. (fn. 29) The chapel of 1839, in use as a church hall after 1863, was restored and reopened for services in 1947. (fn. 30) The shell of the later building was still standing in 1961. Members of Wheeler Street church were responsible for mission work resulting in the opening, in 1879, of Westminster Road chapel, q.v.

Winson Green Road chapel, seating 420, was built in 1882. Mission work in the district began in 1859, when Robert Ann of Graham Street chapel inaugurated meetings in Slough Lane, and open-air services in Mary Hill. Members of the Union Chapel also helped in the work, and in 1870 a mission hall was built to be replaced by the new chapel 12 years later. (fn. 31) There was a Sunday afternoon congregation of 299 in 1892. (fn. 32) Church membership was 60 in 1957. (fn. 33)

Congregationalists: Welsh Congregationalists

Wheeler Street chapel, seating 231, was completed in 1872. It was designed by F. D. Johnson of Birmingham and cost £1,100. (fn. 34) The church originated in a meeting held at the Temperance Hotel, Moor Street, in 1860, at which John Jones of Smithcote preached. A church was formed in 1861 which, in 1864, was meeting at Ann Street Temperance Hall. The first chapel is said to have been secured in 1868, (fn. 35) but in 1872 the Welsh Congregationalists were meeting at the Boatmen's Chapel, Crescent Locks, q.v. (fn. 36) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 95 at Wheeler Street. Church (fn. 37) membership in 1957 was 172. (fn. 38)

Elim Church

Alton Road, Bournbrook Elim Church, formerly an undenominational mission, was acquired in 1944. The congregation, founded from Graham Street, had formerly met in a hired hall. Church membership in 1957 was 110. (fn. 39)

Broadstone Road, Yardley Elim Church, a brick building, was opened in 1950. Church membership in 1957 was 70. (fn. 40)

Castle Square, Weoley Castle Elim Church, a brick building, was opened in 1946. The church was formed in 1941 by members of Graham Street, and met at first in the Community Hall. Membership in 1957 was 65. (fn. 41)

Golden Hillock Road Elim Tabernacle, a brick building (fn. 42) seating 750, was opened in 1934. It was the first place of worship in Birmingham to be built for the Elim Church. The church, said to number 500, had previously met for three years at Moseley Road Baptist Church. (fn. 43) Membership in 1957 was 180. (fn. 44)

Graham Street Elim Tabernacle was opened in 1930 as the first place of worship of the Elim Church in Birmingham. (fn. 45) The building had previously been used as a Congregational chapel. (fn. 46) Church membership in 1957 was 300. (fn. 47)

Handsworth New Road Elim Church was acquired in 1954 for a congregation which had previously worshipped in hired premises since at least 1937. Church membership in 1957 was 30. (fn. 48)

Lodge Road Elim Church was in use in 1932. (fn. 49)

Muntz Street Elim Church, formerly a Methodist chapel (fn. 50) and a Full Gospel church, (fn. 51) was opened in 1954. (fn. 52)

South Road, Erdington Elim Church, a temporary building formerly an undenominational mission, (fn. 53) was registered for public worship in 1939. (fn. 54) The church, founded from Graham Street, numbered 80 in 1957. (fn. 55)

Warren Road, Kingstanding Elim Church, a brick building, was opened in 1957. The church was founded in a temporary building in 1937. Membership in 1957 was 190. (fn. 56)

Wood End Lane, Erdington Elim Church was registered for public worship from 1936 to 1952. (fn. 57)

Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (fn. 58)

Bromford Lane Birches Green Evangelical Free Church was registered for public worship in 1947. (fn. 59)

St. Andrew's Street, Small Heath Dr. Crabbe Memorial Mission was established in the former Railway Mission hall in St. Andrew's Street in 1948. The mission appears to have been founded about 1918, in honour of the former superintendent of the Birmingham Medical Mission, q.v., and occupied the Dr. Crabbe Memorial Hall, Bordesley Street, from 1925 to 1947. (fn. 60) Immediately prior to the move to St. Andrew's Street it met at a hall in Sandy Lane, belonging to the Presbyterian Church. (fn. 61)

Sandwell Road, Handsworth Watville Memorial Church was registered for public worship in 1934. (fn. 62)

Free Church of England and Reformed Episcopal Church

Alum Rock Road Emmanuel Church, a brick building, (fn. 63) was in use in 1909, when there were 24 communicants. (fn. 64) The congregation was founded in 1903. (fn. 65) A daughter mission existed in Aston Road for some years after 1913. Ormond Street church, q.v., although founded independently, later became a mission of Emmanuel Church, (fn. 66) and in 1940-1 there was a combined church membership of 241. (fn. 67) It was claimed in 1953 that there were 171 communicants. (fn. 68)

Ormond Street church hall was dedicated in 1933. (fn. 69) The congregation, said to have been founded in 1891, (fn. 70) first registered a mission room in Ormond Street for worship in 1907, (fn. 71) and in 1911 claimed 41 communicants. (fn. 72)

Friends

Alcester Street Brothers Well Met mission and social club was built in 1903. (fn. 73) It was sold to the corporation in 1919, for use as a school clinic. (fn. 74)

Bath Row, Edgbaston meeting-room was the first permanent branch meeting founded by Bull Street members. It began in 1872 as a meeting held in a schoolroom in Bath Row. (fn. 75) In 1892 there was a Sunday morning congregation of 77. (fn. 76) The meetingroom was replaced in 1893 by a new hall at George Road, q.v. (fn. 77)

Belgrave Road mission hall was in use in 1906. (fn. 78) It was closed before 1920. (fn. 79)

Berkeley Road institute, a brick building with a hall seating 250, was opened in 1906. (fn. 80)

Blakeland Street, Little Bromwich hall, a brick building seating 150, was opened in 1923. Adult school and Sunday school work had begun in the district in 1906, and was accommodated at first in a converted shop. (fn. 81)

Bournville Works, Stirchley meeting-room was in use from 1882 to 1892, and was a 'small dining-room near Moseley's Lodge', by Stirchley station, seating at first about 24. It was later enlarged, and the attendance in 1891 was said to be from 35 to 60. The meeting owed its foundation to the removal, in 1879, of Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate works from Bridge Street, Birmingham, to their new site at Bournville, and the consequent migration of management and staff, some of whom were Quakers. It was preceded by Christian Society evening meetings at the Stirchley Street Board School, started in 1879. The congregation moved in 1892 to Stirchley Institute, Hazelwell Street, q.v. (fn. 82)

Bristol Road, Selly Oak meeting-house, a brick building seating 200, was opened in 1927. Christian Society meetings for worship are said to have been held in the Workman's Hall, Selly Oak, from 1879, (fn. 83) and in 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 170 at 'Selly Oak', meeting in a building seating 200. (fn. 84) The Workman's Hall, in Elliott Road, was a temperance club on the 'British Workman' model, built on the initiative of a group of Unitarians in 1871. In 1894 George Cadbury opened the Selly Oak Institute, Bristol Road, which was used for worship until the new meeting-house was built in 1927. (fn. 85) In 1899 the institute consisted of a main hall, ancillary rooms, and a temperance tavern, or 'Cyclists' Arms'. (fn. 86) In 1954 there was said to be an average Sunday attendance at the meeting-house of 70. (fn. 87)

Bristol Street Board School was used for Christian Society meetings from February 1877, (fn. 88) when the headquarters of the Society were transferred from Severn Street. There was a Sunday evening congregation of 166 in 1892. (fn. 89) In 1895 the place of meeting was moved to Gooch Street hall. (fn. 90)

Bull Street meeting-house, first built to replace Newhall Lane in 1703, (fn. 91) was twice enlarged in the 18th century, namely in 1778 and 1792. (fn. 92) It was a simple rectangular structure with its gable-ends at right angles to the street (fn. 93) and was said in 1830 to have been 'encompassed within a long plain brick wall with one entrance and one small window'. (fn. 94) It had a 'neat interior' (fn. 95) and provided sittings for 372. (fn. 96) In 1856-7 it was replaced by a new meeting-house of red brick with stone dressings, designed by T. Plevins in an Italianate style and having a portico of four Doric columns. (fn. 97) This building, set back behind a forecourt with its graveyard to the north, was constructed to seat 340 in the body with gallery accommodation for a further 160. (fn. 98) It was closed in 1931 when the present meeting-house, a simple brick building designed by H. Lidbetter, was erected on the same site. The latter was opened in 1933 (fn. 99) and provides sittings for more than 500. (fn. 1) From 1703 to 1873 Bull Street was the sole Quaker meeting in Birmingham, and its history during this period has, therefore, been considered in the general article on nonconformity. In 1851, when membership was 380, the estimated Sunday morning congregation was 272; (fn. 2) in 1892, despite the loss of members to daughter meetings, it had risen to 300. (fn. 3) The numerical strength of the Bull Street meeting appears to have reached a maximum in 1915 when the total of members was 529. (fn. 4) In 1954 the average attendance at meetings was said to be 60. (fn. 5)

Cheapside 'Swan with Two Necks', a converted public-house with a hall seating 50, was in use in 1909 as an adult school and social club. (fn. 6)

Church Road, Northfield meeting-house, a brick building seating 150, was opened in 1931. The first meeting-place of the Friends in Northfield is said to have been a disused malt-house, near the Bell Inn on Bunbury Road. (fn. 7) In 1892 the building in use had sittings for 225. (fn. 8) About this date George Cadbury built the Northfield Institute, on land in Bunbury Lane acquired in 1891, and the institute hall was used for meetings until the new meetinghouse was built. In 1899 the institute premises contained, as well as the main hall, a post office, a 'Cyclists' Arms' temperance coffee-house, a social club and schoolrooms. (fn. 9) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 192, (fn. 10) and the average attendance in 1954 45. (fn. 11)

College Road, Saltley institute was founded by a deed of 1905. From 1918 until 1946, when it was sold, it was administered by the trustees of the William White Memorial School, Windsor Street, q.v. (fn. 12)

Conybeare Street mission hall, a corrugated iron structure seating 50, was in use in c. 1884. It was replaced in 1886 by new premises in Upper Highgate Street, q.v. (fn. 13)

Cross Street bible mission rooms were in use in 1871. (fn. 14) The premises consisted of two dwellinghouses thrown into one to provide a large meetingroom on the first floor, and three ancillary classrooms. (fn. 15) The mission was closed in 1891, the congregation uniting with a meeting at Severn Street, q.v. (fn. 16)

Dawlish Road mission hall, a corrugated iron structure seating 150, was opened in 1909, (fn. 17) and may have replaced a meeting in Tiverton Road, registered for worship in 1900. (fn. 18) The hall was closed in 1938. (fn. 19)

Farm Street hall was opened in 1894 at a cost, including the site, of £2,840. (fn. 20) It was planned for use as an adult schoolroom, a meeting-place, and a coffee tavern. (fn. 21) In 1889 an adult school which had been carried on at Great King Street Baptist chapel moved its headquarters to Farm Street Board School, and the Christian Society founded a dependent congregation. (fn. 22) In 1908 there were 31 members and 37 attenders. (fn. 23) The average meeting attendance in 1954 was said to be 12. (fn. 24)

Garrison Lane Board School was in use as an adult school and mission in 1906 (fn. 25) and 1908. (fn. 26)

George Road, Edgbaston meeting-house, a single story brick building seating more than 200, (fn. 27) was opened in 1893, and cost, with the site, £2,243. It was built for the congregation previously meeting at Bath Row, q.v. (fn. 28) In 1908 the George Road meeting was the second largest in Birmingham, with 146 members and 31 attenders. (fn. 29) The average meeting attendance in 1954 was said to be 20. (fn. 30)

Gooch Street hall, a brick building seating 150, (fn. 31) formerly belonging to the Congregationalists, (fn. 32) was in use in 1895 for Christian Society meetings, (fn. 33) and from 1905 until 1921 was recognized as a Particular Meeting. (fn. 34) It was closed for worship before 1954. (fn. 35) The premises were severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War. (fn. 36)

Green Lane, Bordesley Green institute was used by a Friends' meeting from 1908 to 1941. (fn. 37) The premises were sold in 1942. (fn. 38) The meeting appears to have been preceded by an adult school, held in 1899 (fn. 39) and 1906 (fn. 40) in the Little Green Lane Council School.

Hay Green Lane mission hall, a corrugated iron building seating 100, (fn. 41) was used for a Friends' meeting from 1903. (fn. 42) It was closed in 1940, and subsequently taken down. (fn. 43)

Hazelwell Street, Stirchley meeting-house, a brick and stone building seating 250, was opened in 1913. (fn. 44) The Friends' meeting for which it was opened originated in 1882 as the Bournville factory meeting, q.v. In 1892, while continuing to be known as 'Bournville' meeting, this congregation moved into Stirchley Institute, recently completed by Cadbury's, (fn. 45) which provided sittings for 500. About this date there was a Sunday evening attendance of 408, (fn. 46) but in 1905 a large number of members and attenders left to found the third 'Bournville' meeting at Linden Road, q.v. (fn. 47) In 1917 there were 100 members and attenders. (fn. 48) In 1954 the average meeting congregation was said to be 12. (fn. 49) In 1954 and 1957 the institute was used for Christadelphian meetings. (fn. 50)

Holly Avenue, Dogpool Hall, a corrugated iron building seating 150, was registered for public worship in 1906. (fn. 51) It was closed in 1939, and, after suffering bomb damage in the Second World War, was dismantled. (fn. 52)

Hospital Street 'Prince of Wales' hall, a former public house, was re-opened as an adult school in 1901. (fn. 53) In 1904 it was the meeting-place of a branch of the Christian Society. (fn. 54) It was closed in 1957. (fn. 55)

Linden Road, Bournville meeting-house, a brick and stone building in the Tudor style with a main hall seating 300 and gallery accommodation for 60, was opened in 1905. (fn. 56) It was intended to provide a place of worship for Bournville village, where by 1905 500 houses had been built, and was designed by W. A. Harvey of Birmingham, the consulting architect for the Bournville Village Trust. In 1915 an organ was presented to the meeting-house by George and Elizabeth Cadbury, and this feature, said to be unique among Friends' meeting-houses, earned Bournville meeting the nickname of the 'Quaker Cathedral'. Although mission meetings had been previously held at the Ruskin Hall, Bournville, the Linden Road meeting was founded in 1905 by 66 members and attenders of the Hazelwell Street meeting, q.v. By 1915 the total of members, attenders, and associates had risen to a maximum of 345. (fn. 57) Average attendance at Sunday worship in 1954 was said to be 80, and was the highest for the Birmingham Friends' meetings. (fn. 58)

Longbridge Lane meeting-house, a brick building with sittings for 225, (fn. 59) was built in 1878, at a cost of £380. The site was given by F. Impey. (fn. 60) Missionary activity at Longbridge appears to have started in 1877, (fn. 61) and by 1882 there were 29 members and attenders (fn. 62) and in 1892 a Sunday evening congregation of 198. (fn. 63) Membership appears to have reached a maximum of 53 in 1904. (fn. 64) By 1908 it had fallen to 36 (fn. 65) and the decline continued until in 1912 meetings were discontinued. The building was subsequently used by Christadelphians and Wesleyans, (fn. 66) and was sold to the Christadelphians in 1953. (fn. 67)

Montpellier Street rooms, in a laundry, were in use as a Christian Society meeting-place in 1878. (fn. 68) The members also conducted a crêche on the premises. (fn. 69) In 1882 the meetings were transferred to the Moseley Road Board School. At that date there were 90 members. (fn. 70)

Moseley Road institute, a brick building seating 2,000, was built at the expense of Richard Cadbury, and opened shortly after his death in 1899. The institute was equipped as a centre for adult school and mission activity and comprised, as well as the main hall, a lecture hall, a gymnasium and numerous classrooms. (fn. 71) It united in one building work previously carried on at Moseley Road Board School (1882-9), (fn. 72) Chandos Street, (fn. 73) and Upper Highgate Street, q.v. In 1908, when 800 were said to attend the Sunday afternoon Bible class, (fn. 74) the total of members, attenders, and associates was 649. (fn. 75) By 1920 this figure had fallen to 293. (fn. 76) The average Sunday meeting attendance in 1954 was said to be 50. (fn. 77)

Newhall Lane meeting-house was registered for worship in 1689. (fn. 78) It was replaced by Bull Street, q.v., in 1703.

Raddlebarn Lane mission hall, a corrugated iron building seating 150, (fn. 79) was opened in 1922. (fn. 80) It was preceded by another hall built on the same site by Edward Cadbury in 1903, and originally known as Friends Hall, Selly Hill, (fn. 81) which was destroyed by fire in 1916. During the intervening period the congregation met at Raddlebarn Lane Council School. (fn. 82) The hall was closed in 1950, and was subsequently used by Birmingham corporation for educational purposes. (fn. 83)

Rea Street 'Coppersmiths' Arms', a converted public-house, was opened as an adult school in 1902 (fn. 84) and was in use as a Christian Society mission in 1908. (fn. 85) The school, which was founded in 1877, (fn. 86) had previously been held in a farmhouse. (fn. 87)

Severn Street British School, a single story brick building, (fn. 88) was used in 1845 for the first Birmingham adult school, founded by Joseph Sturge. (fn. 89) About 1852 an upper story was added, to provide accommodation for a girls' school, (fn. 90) and shortly after 1870 three more rooms were added. (fn. 91) Religious meetings in connexion with the classes began before 1864, although the Christian Society, whose headquarters were at the school until 1877, was not founded until 1873. (fn. 92) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 202. (fn. 93) The Christian Society was still meeting at the schools in 1908. (fn. 94)

Staniforth Street hall, a two-story brick building with two chief rooms seating 200 and 100 respectively, was opened in 1890. (fn. 95) Adult school work began in Staniforth Street in 1883, 'in a large and dilapidated schoolroom formerly connected with Bishop Ryder's Church', and was also accommodated for a time at Dartmouth Street Board School. (fn. 96) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 116. (fn. 97) Attendances are said to have 'rapidly dwindled' after 1930, and the premises were sold in 1946, the remaining attenders joining the Farm Street congregation. (fn. 98)

Station Road, Northfield mission hall, a corrugated iron building seating 100, was opened in 1909, (fn. 99) and was preceded by a meeting-room in use in 1906. (fn. 1) It appears to have been taken over by the Brethren in 1943. (fn. 2)

Stratford Road, Hall Green meeting-house, a brick building erected in 1883, was used by a Christian Society mission in 1908. (fn. 3) The average Sunday meeting attendance in 1954 was said to be 17. (fn. 4)

Upper Highgate Street mission hall was opened in 1886 to accommodate an adult school and mission begun at Conybeare Street, q.v., c. 1884. At the opening 400 persons were present. In 1899 the classes were moved to Moseley Road, q.v., (fn. 5) but the hall was still used by the Christian Society in 1908. (fn. 6)

Upper Priory Priory Rooms were built in 1861 at a cost, excluding the site, of £1,700. (fn. 7) They were opened primarily to accommodate the women's adult school founded in 1848 at Ann Street school, (fn. 8) and do not appear to have been customarily used for worship. From 1931 to 1933 the Bull Street congregation met in the rooms while their new meetinghouse was being built. (fn. 9)

Warwick Road, Greet institute, a brick building with a large hall seating 250, and five smaller rooms, was opened in 1904. (fn. 10) In 1954 there was estimated to be an average Sunday meeting attendance of only 4, (fn. 11) and for 'many years' before 1957 a large part of the premises is said to have been converted for welfare and other purposes. (fn. 12)

Watford Road Cotteridge Meeting-house, a brick building, was opened by George Cadbury (fn. 13) in 1901. (fn. 14) The congregation was founded in the same year by about 36 members of the Hazelwell Street meeting, (fn. 15) and in 1908 numbered 71 members, attenders, and associates. (fn. 16) In 1954 the average Sunday meeting attendance was said to be 45. (fn. 17)

Windsor Street William White Memorial School, a brick building, with a large classroom seating 100, was opened in 1906. It was closed shortly after 1950 to make way for a corporation development scheme. (fn. 18)

Full Gospel Churches

Millpool Hill, Alcester Road South church was registered for public worship in 1947. (fn. 19)

Muntz Street church, formerly a Methodist chapel (fn. 20) was re-registered for public worship in 1945. (fn. 21) It became an Elim church in 1954. (fn. 22)

Priory Road, Yardley Wood church was registered for public worship in 1945. (fn. 23)

Yardley Wood Road, Billesley tabernacle, formerly belonging to the Churches of Christ, (fn. 24) was registered for public worship in 1948. (fn. 25)

Jehovah's Witnesses (formerly Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and International Bible Students' Association).

Corporation Street meeting-rooms were registered for public worship from 1914 to 1925. (fn. 26)

Howard Street Birmingham Tabernacle was registered for public worship from 1923 to 1954. (fn. 27)

Hunter's Road Hockley Bible Students' Institute was registered for public worship from 1915 to 1925, and from 1918 by a congregation of 'old Baptists'. (fn. 28)

Lincoln's Inn, Corporation Street Watch Tower Room was registered for public worship in 1910 by a group which moved c. 1912 to Upper Priory, q.v. (fn. 29)

Stratford Road, Sparkhill meeting-rooms were registered for public worship from 1940 to 1952. (fn. 30)

Trinity Road Kingdom Hall was registered for public worship in 1954. (fn. 31)

Upper Priory meeting-room was registered for public worship in 1912. (fn. 32)

Labour Church (fn. 33)

Birmingham Labour Church, in connexion with the Labour Church Union, was founded in 1893, and from 1894 to 1897 occupied Bond Street chapel, formerly a Baptist and a Methodist place of worship. (fn. 34) Fifty members were present at a meeting in 1894. In 1897 the church moved to Oozells Street Board School, and in the following year to Bristol Street Board School, where it continued for some years; in 1900 a membership of 100 and an average attendance of 80 were claimed. (fn. 35) The title of the body was changed in 1909 to Birmingham Socialist Church. The church was dissolved shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Another 'labour church' existed at Stirchley at least from 1911 to 1913 and probably for a longer period. (fn. 36) Throughout the congregation's history two tendencies existed among the members: agnosticism and an illdefined Christian socialism. Tom Groom, for many years secretary of the church, was a former member of the Guild of St. Matthew, the Anglican socialist order founded by Stewart Headlam. (fn. 37) The Birmingham Church did not subscribe to the five articles on which the national church was based, and required of its members only 'adhesion to the moral and economic laws that may be adduced from the Fatherhood of God or the Brotherhood of Man'. (fn. 38) At the same time it adopted religious forms, holding regular Sunday evening services, and publishing a hymnal in several editions. In 1899 J. A. Fallows, formerly a minister of the Church of England, became secretary. (fn. 39) Fallows was also secretary of the Socialist Centre, and there were other links with the political labour movement. In 1895 the Labour Church combined with the Birmingham Fabian Society to found the Socialist Lecture Committee, and in 1901 it took part in the formation of the Birmingham Labour Representation Council. In 1909 the church was described by its committee as 'the common meeting ground of men and women representing all sections of the socialist movement'. (fn. 40)

A subsidiary youth organization, the 'Cinderella Club', was said to have been founded by Robert Blatchford in 1893, (fn. 41) and as the 'Clarion Cinderella Club' it survived the Labour Church. (fn. 42) It was explicitly non-political and devoted itself to treats and excursions for poor children, and similar social and charitable work. For several years the club conducted a holiday cottage for crippled children outside Birmingham. (fn. 43) The first Clarion Cycling Club was formed at a meeting of the Birmingham church in 1894. (fn. 44)

Lady Huntingdon's Connexion

Bartholomew Street Cave of Adullam was completed in 1791 at a cost of £600. (fn. 45) It was built for John Bradford, the first minister, formerly curate of Frelsham (Bucks.). (fn. 46) The congregation was attributed to Lady Huntingdon's Connexion by Hutton in 1795, (fn. 47) but was described simply as 'Calvinist' in 1830, (fn. 48) and as 'Independent Calvinist' in the 1851 Census return, (fn. 49) so that its 19th-century affiliation is not clear. In 1849 the chapel was sold to the L.N.W.R. for £1,755, (fn. 50) and pulled down, the congregation moving to Salem Chapel, Peck Lane, a new building seating 400, completed in 1851. The average Sunday evening congregation at this time was 350. (fn. 51) In 1852 the congregation moved again, to a chapel in Frederick Street, where it shortly afterwards adopted adult baptism, and continued as a Strict Baptist church. (fn. 52)

Cregoe Street Morton Chapel, in no. 11 court, was registered for worship in 1869 (fn. 53) and continued to appear in the directories until 1880.

Gooch Street chapel was registered as an 'Independent Calvinist' chapel in 1851, (fn. 54) in lieu of Peck Lane, q.v. It was sold to Carrs Lane Town Mission in 1861. (fn. 55)

King Street chapel, a former theatre, (fn. 56) was registered for public worship in 1786. (fn. 57) It continued in use until 1842, (fn. 58) when, the lease expiring, (fn. 59) the congregation moved to Peck Lane, q.v.

Paradise Street chapel is said to have been the first chapel of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion in Birmingham, and was opened shortly after 1774. (fn. 60) It seems likely that it became a Congregational chapel after the opening of King Street in 1786. (fn. 61)

Peck Lane chapel, (fn. 62) 'an elegant, spacious building', (fn. 63) was built in 1842 for the King Street congregation, and dismantled in 1850 (fn. 64) by the L.N.W.R. in the process of building New Street Station. (fn. 65) The congregation moved into temporary accommodation at the Oddfellows' Hall, where in 1851 there was an estimated average Sunday attendance of 440. (fn. 66) A new chapel was registered in Gooch Street in 1851.

Rednall Heath chapel, with sittings for 120, (fn. 67) was registered for worship by the minister of King Street in 1832, (fn. 68) and in 1851 had an estimated Sunday evening congregation of 40. (fn. 69)

Union Row, Handsworth Union Chapel, with sittings for more than 500, was built in 1788. By 1803 the congregation had 'much declined in consequence of the misconduct of a minister' and the chapel was closed, to be reopened in 1806 as a Congregational chapel. (fn. 70)

Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

Booth Street chapel was opened in 1913 for a congregation previously worshipping in Wretham Road, q.v. From 1929 to 1932 the headquarters of the Latter-day Saints' British Mission was established at no. 23, Booth Street. Branch churches existed at Saltley from 1914 to 1926 and at Sparkbrook from 1909 to 1913 and from 1926 to 1945, meeting in hired premises. (fn. 71)

Cambridge Street chapel was in use from 1852 to 1858. (fn. 72)

Farm Street, Hockley chapel was in use from 1860 and appears to have replaced Villa Street, q.v. It was closed in 1900, the congregation moving to Wretham Road, q.v. (fn. 73) A Sunday evening congregation of 50 was claimed in 1892. (fn. 74)

Livery Street chapel, formerly a Congregational chapel, (fn. 75) was occupied by the Latter-day Saints from 1845 to 1855. (fn. 76) The Presiding Elder claimed, in 1851, an average Sunday evening congregation of 1,500. (fn. 77)

Oxford Street chapel, formerly used by the Methodist New Connexion, (fn. 78) was occupied by the Latter-day Saints from 1865 to 1868. (fn. 79)

Thorp Street chapel was in use from 1855 to 1858. (fn. 80)

Villa Street, Hockley chapel was occupied by the Latter-day Saints from 1853 to 1860. (fn. 81)

Wretham Road Assembly Rooms were used from 1900 to 1913 by the congregation formerly meeting at Farm Street, q.v. The congregation subsequently moved into Booth Street chapel, q.v. (fn. 82)

Latter-day Saints (Reorganized)

Gravelly Hill chapel, the ground floor of nos. 168 and 170, was registered for public worship from 1941 to 1956. (fn. 83) It appears to have been replaced by Yardley Wood Road, q.v.

Priestley Road, Sparkbrook chapel, at no. 62, was in use in 1892, when a Sunday afternoon congregation of 35 was claimed. (fn. 84) In 1909 new premises at no. 39 were registered, (fn. 85) and the old chapel was acquired by the Salvation Army. (fn. 86) Priestley Road chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1941, but is said to have been acquired by the Churches of Christ about 1938. (fn. 87) It appears to have been replaced by Gravelly Hill, q.v.

Yardley Wood Road chapel was registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 88)

Liberal Catholics

Corporation Street meeting-room, in Walmer Buildings, was registered for public worship in 1925. (fn. 89)

Methodists

Adams Hill Ebenezer Chapel was built by Primitive Methodists in 1866, (fn. 90) possibly for a congregation reported in 1851 as worshipping at Bartley Green. (fn. 91) The chapel in use in 1940 was a brick building seating 23, with four ancillary rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 92) Church membership in 1932 was 25. (fn. 93)

Addison Road, King's Heath chapel, a wooden building seating 150, (fn. 94) was registered for public worship by the United Methodists in 1927. (fn. 95) There was a Bible Christian chapel on the site in 1908. (fn. 96) Church membership in 1932 was 54. (fn. 97)

Alum Rock Road, Saltley chapel, was opened as a Wesleyan chapel in 1893 and cost £2,020. It was rebuilt in 1905 for £4,529. (fn. 98) In 1940 the second chapel, a brick building, provided seats for 960 and had a school hall and thirteen ancillary rooms. (fn. 99) Church membership in 1932 was 367. (fn. 1)

Aston Lane, Perry Barr chapel, a brick building seating 310, (fn. 2) was opened by the Wesleyans in 1891, and cost £2,349. (fn. 3) In 1892 a Sunday evening congregation of 202 was claimed. (fn. 4) Church membership in 1932 was 84. (fn. 5)

Aston Road chapel is mentioned in 1839 as a Methodist New Connexion chapel, (fn. 6) but in 1851 was occupied by the Primitive Methodists. There were then sittings for 90 and an average congregation of 70. (fn. 7)

Balfour Street (formerly King Street, Mary Street), Balsall Heath chapel, a brick and stone building seating 350, designed by J. H. Hawkes, was opened in 1927 by the Primitive Methodists, in part to replace Bristol Hall, Bristol Street. The first chapel on the site was a mission hall built by the Gooch Street church in 1874. (fn. 8) In 1892 the building in use provided sittings for 200, and claimed a Sunday morning congregation of 65. (fn. 9) Church membership in 1932 was 100. (fn. 10) The chapel was sold after Methodist Union in 1932, (fn. 11) and in 1953 was being used by metal merchants. (fn. 12)

Balloon Street Friendly Tabernacle, (fn. 13) said to have been the first chapel of the Primitive Methodists in Birmingham, was opened in 1826, (fn. 14) and was soon the meeting-place of a church with more than 100 members. (fn. 15) Some time before 1831 the church separated from the Primitive Methodist Connexion, which it did not rejoin until after 1846. (fn. 16) The chapel was open in 1849, (fn. 17) but appears to have been closed before the 1851 religious census.

Balsall Heath Road chapel (Wesleyan chapel 1868-71). See under Baptists.

Bank Alley, Dale End chapel, was registered for public worship in 1799. (fn. 18)

Bath Street chapel, seating 600, was built by the Wesleyan Association in 1839, and claimed in 1851 an average Sunday morning congregation of 150. (fn. 19) It ceased to appear in the directories after 1884.

Bell Barn Road chapel, a converted building, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1834 and was used by them until 1853, when the congregation moved to Bristol Road, Birmingham, and the chapel was sold to the Welsh Baptists. (fn. 20)

Belmont Row (formerly Coleshill Street) chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1789, (fn. 21) and in 1851 provided sittings for 1,085. (fn. 22) In 1892 accommodation had been reduced to 850. (fn. 23) The Sunday evening congregation in 1851 was said to be 650 (fn. 24) and in 1892 518. (fn. 25) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1932. (fn. 26) In 1961 the shell of the building was still standing as part of the premises of the Birmingham Waste Co., Ltd.

Benson Road Nineveh Chapel, a brick building, was opened in 1822 after two years' missionary work by West Bromwich Wesleyans among workmen from the Soho works. (fn. 27) In 1851 there were sittings for 215. (fn. 28) The chapel was enlarged in 1866, and again in 1874, when school premises were added, (fn. 29) and in 1892 there were sittings for 280. (fn. 30) In 1851 a Sunday evening congregation of 90 was claimed, (fn. 31) and in 1892 a Sunday afternoon congregation of 322. (fn. 32) Church membership in 1932 was 54. (fn. 33) The building, retaining its stucco front with twin doorways and a date tablet of 1822, was closed for worship in 1958. (fn. 34)

Bolton Road mission hall, a corrugated iron building used by the Wesleyans, was open in 1908. (fn. 35) In 1914 it was conducted by the Handsworth Theological College. (fn. 36) The building was sold in 1921 for £550. (fn. 37)

Bond Street chapel, formerly a Baptist place of worship, was acquired by the United Methodist Free Church in 1886, and continued in use until 1890. (fn. 38) It was subsequently leased to the Labour Church, q.v.

Bordesley Street chapel, seating 300, (fn. 39) was rented by a congregation of Primitive Methodists from 1831, (fn. 40) and appears to have been taken from the connexion and let to Carrs Lane Congregational Town Mission in 1843. (fn. 41)

Bradford Street chapel was opened by John Wesley in 1786. (fn. 42) As rebuilt in 1826 it provided sittings for 851. (fn. 43) By 1892 accommodation had been reduced to 672. (fn. 44) The Sunday evening congregation was said to be 350 in 1851 (fn. 45) and 594 in 1892. (fn. 46) Church membership, 298 in 1902, (fn. 47) had fallen to 179 in 1932. (fn. 48) The chapel was closed in 1936 (fn. 49) and sold in 1938. (fn. 50) Members of Bradford Street helped to found the churches at Coventry Road and Warwick Road, Sparkhill, q.v. (fn. 51)

Branston Street chapel was built by the Wesleyan Reformers in the early 1850s, (fn. 52) and was registered for public worship in 1856. (fn. 53) It continued to appear in the directories until 1897, although the registration was cancelled in 1895. (fn. 54)

Brays Road, Sheldon chapel, a wooden building formerly used by the Presbyterians, (fn. 55) was re-opened by the Methodists in 1952. (fn. 56)

Bridge Street, Hockley chapel, seating 156, was built by the Methodist New Connexion in 1849, and in 1851 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 30. (fn. 57) It appears to have been closed before 1856 (fn. 58) and was possibly later used as the Boatmen's Bethel. (fn. 59)

Bristol Road, Birmingham chapel was built by the Wesleyans in 1834. In 1851 it provided sittings for 410. (fn. 60) Extensions and alterations were notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1860 and in 1868, (fn. 61) and in 1892 accommodation had been increased to 800. (fn. 62) The chapel was described about this time as built of stone, in the 'Perpendicular' style. (fn. 63) Extensive renovations were completed in 1898 at a cost of £6,175, (fn. 64) and in 1940 the chapel was described as a brick building seating 750, with thirteen ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 65) The Sunday evening congregation was said to be 300 in 1851, (fn. 66) and 561 in 1892. (fn. 67) Church membership was 145 in 1932. (fn. 68) The chapel was destroyed by bombing in 1940. (fn. 69)

Bristol Road, Northfield chapel is said to have been built by the Wesleyans in 1841, (fn. 70) although the first registration of a chapel for Methodist worship in Northfield was made in 1838. (fn. 71) In 1851 the chapel in use provided sittings for 120. (fn. 72) The completion of a new chapel, costing £1,333, was notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1905. (fn. 73) In 1940 it was described as a brick building seating 265, with four ancillary rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 74) A new chapel to replace the earlier one was built after the end of the Second World War. (fn. 75) The Sunday evening congregation was 36 in 1851. (fn. 76) Church membership in 1932 was 77. (fn. 77)

Bristol Road, Northfield (Primitive Methodist) chapel, 'a building near the Bell Inn', had been registered for public worship by 1856. (fn. 78) It was possibly the former malt-house later used as a meeting-place by the Friends. (fn. 79)

Bristol Road, Selly Oak St. John's Church was opened by the Wesleyans in 1835, and provided sittings for 108. (fn. 80) It was replaced in 1877 (fn. 81) by a new chapel costing £2,414 (fn. 82) which provided sittings for 350. (fn. 83) Important extensions were notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1909, (fn. 84) and in 1940 St. John's was described as a brick building seating 494, with a school hall and seven other ancillary rooms. (fn. 85) The church originated in cottage meetings which followed the appointment in 1829 of C. Bridgewater as inspector of tolls at the Selly Oak locks. (fn. 86) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 35 in 1851, (fn. 87) and a Sunday afternoon attendance of 118 in 1892. (fn. 88) Church membership in 1932 was 150. (fn. 89)

Bristol Road, Selly Oak St. Paul's Church was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1874. In 1908 (fn. 90) a new brick chapel seating 500 was built which had in 1940 five ancillary rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 91) The congregation was founded in 1870 and met at first in the open air, then in cottages, and finally in a hired dance-hall, before the first chapel was built. (fn. 92) In 1892 there was a Sunday afternoon attendance of 107. (fn. 93) Church membership in 1932 was 193. (fn. 94)

Bristol Street Bristol Hall, a brick building, was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1899 to replace Gooch Street, and cost £7,000. It comprised a lecture hall, a mission hall, five classrooms, and other rooms. It was closed in 1928 and was sold, 'owing to the removal of the usual congregations and the large increase of the Jewish population in the immediate neighbourhood'. (fn. 95) The congregation moved to Balfour Street chapel, q.v., and the building was subsequently used as a synagogue. (fn. 96)

Buck Street Sea Horse Hall, a former publichouse and concert hall, was acquired in 1893 by a Wesleyan mission begun, the previous year, in Great Lister Street, in connexion with the Birmingham Central Mission. It was converted for missionary and social reclamation work, and provided sittings for 250-300 persons. (fn. 97) Church membership in 1932 was 41. (fn. 98)

Cambridge Road, King's Heath chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1887. It was replaced, in 1897, (fn. 99) by a brick chapel seating 570, (fn. 1) built at a cost of £7,710. (fn. 2) In 1940 there were two attached school halls and nine ancillary rooms. (fn. 3) A Sunday morning congregation of 135 was claimed in 1892. (fn. 4) Church membership in 1932 was 300. (fn. 5)

Cartland Road, Stirchley chapel, a corrugated iron building with sittings for 160, (fn. 6) was erected by the Primitive Methodists in 1906, to serve a congregation that had originated in a series of cottage meetings. The first Stirchley Primitive Methodist meetings were held in an old theatre. (fn. 7) In 1932 church membership was 22. (fn. 8)

Cecil Street Cecil Hall, formerly a malt-house, was acquired by the Birmingham Wesleyan Central Mission in 1889 and converted for religious and social uses. (fn. 9) In 1892 there were sittings for 224 and a Sunday evening congregation of 275. (fn. 10) In 1898 accommodation was said to be available for 400. (fn. 11) The hall was closed in 1926. (fn. 12)

Chapel Street, Handsworth Ebenezer Chapel, a brick building, was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1866. It was extended in 1889, (fn. 13) and in 1892 provided 250 sittings. There was then a Sunday evening congregation of 123. (fn. 14) Church membership was 54 in 1932. (fn. 15)

Cherry Street chapel, the first chapel built for the Wesleyans in Birmingham, was opened by John Wesley in 1782, (fn. 16) and cost £1,200. In 1822 a second chapel was built to replace this; (fn. 17) it was described in 1830 as 'a large plain brick building, handsomely decorated within'. (fn. 18) It occupied a corner site and had rows of six windows on each face with three doorways to the front. (fn. 19) In 1851 it provided sittings for 1,500. The Sunday morning congregation was then 456. (fn. 20) The chapel was demolished when Central Hall, Corporation Street was constructed in 1887. (fn. 21)

City Road, Edgbaston chapel, a brick building seating 300, (fn. 22) was opened in 1903, and cost £3,472. (fn. 23) Church membership in 1932 was 117. (fn. 24)

College Road, Quinton chapel was registered for worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1890, (fn. 25) and appears to have replaced Quinton Bethesda Chapel, q.v. In 1940 it was described as a brickbuilt chapel with sittings for 250. (fn. 26) Church membership in 1932 was 67. (fn. 27)

Constitution Hill Wesley Chapel, a red brick building, (fn. 28) was built by the Wesleyans in 1828 and cost £2,000. (fn. 29) In 1851 there were sittings for 1,080. (fn. 30) The congregation is said to have begun as a Sunday school in a former Congregationalist schoolroom at Livery Street in 1818. (fn. 31) In 1851 the largest attendance on the census Sunday was 800, (fn. 32) and, in 1892, 422. (fn. 33) The chapel was closed and sold in 1918. (fn. 34)

Corporation Street Central Hall was built in 1887, at a cost of £27,481, (fn. 35) in part to replace Cherry Street chapel, q.v. As well as the hall itself, with sittings for 1,100, a smaller chapel with accommodation for 350 was used for worship, and in 1892 a joint Sunday evening congregation of 1,014 was claimed. (fn. 36) The first building was soon found to be inadequate for an expanding congregation, and in 1903 it was replaced by a larger hall at a cost of £96,165. The old hall, known as the 'King's Hall' was leased for secular purposes, and in 1908 was a cinema. Designed by Messrs. E. and J. Harper of Birmingham in what was said at the time to be 'a free treatment of Renaissance, chiefly using terracotta', (fn. 37) the new Central Hall comprised a main hall seating 2,000, and 32 other rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 38) The building remains one of the most impressive of its period in Birmingham and its tall slender tower, reminiscent of an Italian campanile, is a noted landmark. The street frontage, which has a row of shops on the ground floor, is faced with red terracotta. The principal entrance beneath the tower incorporates detail showing the influence of 'Art Nouveau'. The lofty windows of the main hall, filled with 'Perpendicular' tracery, occupy the upper part of the frontage at its southern end. Church membership in 1932 was 781. (fn. 39) The Central Hall was the headquarters of the Birmingham Central Mission, in connexion with which 'overflow' meetings for worship were held at the Midland Institute in the 1890s (fn. 40) and at the Carlton Theatre, seating 200, rented in 1901. (fn. 41) Attendance at the Sunday evening service at the Midland Institute in 1892 was 1,050. (fn. 42)

Court Oak Road, Harborne chapel, a brick building seating 250, (fn. 43) was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1921. (fn. 44) Church membership in 1932 was 15. (fn. 45)

Coventry Road, Hay Mills chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1929, and cost £4,896. (fn. 46) It was built of brick to seat 300, with two ancillary rooms and a school hall. (fn. 47) Methodist worship in Hay Mills began before 1873, when a mission hall, in the Long Causeway, Coventry Road, was registered for public worship. (fn. 48) The hall provided sittings for 120, (fn. 49) and was sold shortly before 1897 for £425. Fresh temporary accommodation was obtained, and at the beginning of 1929 worship was being carried on in 'an old iron building in bad repair', seating 200. (fn. 50) The congregation was 125 in 1892 (fn. 51) and 150 in 1929. (fn. 52) Church membership in 1932 was 124. (fn. 53)

Coventry Road, Small Heath chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1876 to replace Green Lane chapel, q.v., and cost £5,587. (fn. 54) Designed by D. Smith and Son of Birmingham it was built of brick with Bath and Hollington stone dressings, (fn. 55) and in 1892 provided sittings for 860. (fn. 56) In 1929 Sunday schools were added for £1,524, (fn. 57) and in 1940 the chapel had sittings for 730, and seventeen ancillary rooms. (fn. 58) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 670 in 1892 (fn. 59) and a church membership in 1932 of 240. (fn. 60)

Crabtree Road Brookfield Chapel, belonging to the Methodist New Connexion, is mentioned from 1886 to 1894. (fn. 61) In 1892 there were sittings for 200 and a Sunday afternoon congregation of 85. (fn. 62) The chapel was acquired by a congregation of Strict Baptists in 1897. (fn. 63)

Cuckoo Road chapel, seating 300, was built as a mission of Rocky Lane United Methodist Free Church in 1878 and cost £800. It was sold in 1883, and was subsequently used by the Church of England. (fn. 64)

Dudley Road Cape Chapel, a brick building seating 200, (fn. 65) was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1876. (fn. 66) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 62 in 1892, (fn. 67) and a church membership of 52 in 1932. (fn. 68)

Dudley Road Trinity Chapel, a brick building seating 500, with eight ancillary rooms, (fn. 69) was opened by the Methodist New Connexion in 1903. The congregation's first chapel, opened in 1862, was in Heath Street, Winson Green. In 1889 this was abandoned for a school-chapel in Dudley Road, where in 1892 a corrugated iron chapel was erected (fn. 70) with sittings for 350. The Sunday evening congregation at this time was 240. (fn. 71) Church membership was 47 in 1889 (fn. 72) and 114 in 1932. (fn. 73)

Edward Street Church of the Saviour, formerly an independent Unitarian chapel, was acquired by the Primitive Methodists in 1896, (fn. 74) and was registered by them for public worship from 1897 to 1909, when the registration was transferred to Spring Hill chapel, q.v. (fn. 75)

Elkington Street school-chapel was registered for public worship by the Bible Christians in 1897, and ceased to be so registered in 1925. (fn. 76)

Elmdon Road, Bournbrook chapel, a brick building seating 250, was opened by members of Selly Oak (Bristol Road) Primitive Methodist church in 1901. (fn. 77) In 1932 there was a church membership of 54. (fn. 78)

Erdington Orphanage Chapel was, from 1862-8, a Wesleyan 'preaching place'. Services were held in the small hall of the Erdington Almshouses, founded by Sir Josiah Mason, and used, until 1868, as the temporary home of the Josiah Mason Orphanage. (fn. 79)

Farcroft Avenue, Handsworth chapel, mentioned in a deed of 1900, (fn. 80) was registered for public worship by the Bible Christians in 1903, (fn. 81) and was sold, in 1936, for £1,800. (fn. 82) The church, which numbered 36 in 1932, (fn. 83) united with that of Rookery Road chapel. (fn. 84)

Franchise Street, Perry Barr meeting-room was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists from 1868 to 1896. (fn. 85)

Garrison Lane chapel, seating 250, (fn. 86) was open in 1868, (fn. 87) and was a Primitive Methodist chapel. There was a Sunday evening congregation of 57 in 1892. (fn. 88) The building appears to have been sold in 1918, and was in use the following year as a mission of St. Matthew, Duddeston. (fn. 89)

George Street, Aston Villa chapel, seating 200, (fn. 90) was built by the Wesleyans in 1850 and cost £600. In 1865 it was replaced by a new building (fn. 91) costing £4,620, which, after extensive alterations in 1875 and 1889, (fn. 92) provided 830 sittings. (fn. 93) There were further important alterations in 1934, (fn. 94) and in 1940 the chapel provided sittings for 816 and comprised thirteen ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 95) The church was founded by members of Constitution Hill church. The largest Sunday attendance on census Sunday was said to be 140 in 1851 (fn. 96) and 335 in 1892. (fn. 97) Church membership in 1932 was 222. (fn. 98) In 1878 George Street took charge of a mission in Porchester Street, which was eventually transferred to Lozells Street, q.v.

Gooch Street Bethesda Chapel, seating 700, was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1852. (fn. 99) It was replaced by the Bristol Hall, Bristol Street, q.v., in 1899. There was a Sunday evening congregation of 201 in 1892. (fn. 1)

Gospel Lane chapel, a brick building seating 270, (fn. 2) was opened in 1935, and cost £4,171. The congregation had met previously in the Severne Road Council School. (fn. 3) Church membership was 12 in 1932 (fn. 4) and 27 in 1935; (fn. 5) in 1932 the church was Primitive Methodist.

Gravelly Hill Hart Memorial Chapel, seating 500, (fn. 6) was designed by Ewen Harper, (fn. 7) and was built by the United Methodists in 1890 at a cost of £5,000. (fn. 8) The site was presented by Alderman W. H. Hart in 1886. The church originated as a mission of Rocky Lane. (fn. 9) In 1892 there was a Sunday afternoon congregation of 191. (fn. 10) Church membership in 1932 was 155. (fn. 11)

Green Lane, Small Heath chapel, seating 128, was built by the Wesleyans in 1841, and in 1851 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 40. (fn. 12) It was replaced by the Coventry Road chapel, q.v., in 1876, and was sold in 1879 for £360. (fn. 13) It appears subsequently to have been used by a Brethren's meeting. (fn. 14)

Hagley Road, Quinton chapel was bought by the Wesleyans in 1878 for £1,000. (fn. 15) It appears to have replaced the Ridgacre Chapel (Quinton), built in 1780, q.v. Church membership in 1932 was 29. (fn. 16) The chapel was closed in 1935, and the congregation united with that of the former Primitive Methodist chapel in College Road. (fn. 17)

Hall Green meeting-house, described in June 1829 as a 'newly erected schoolroom', was said to have a congregation of about 40 in the following September. (fn. 18)

Handsworth Providence Chapel, seating 150, was built in 1847 by the 'Wesleyan Christian Union', and in 1851 claimed an average congregation of 160. In the 1851 census return the compiler, Thomas Hands, is described as 'founder of the chapel'. (fn. 19)

Hatchett Street chapel appears as a Wesleyan place of worship from 1850 to 1890. (fn. 20)

Hatchett Street Havergal House was registered for public worship in 1940, on the closing of the nearby chapel at Newtown Row, q.v. (fn. 21) Havergal House was opened about 1892 as a girls' club, in connexion with the Birmingham Wesleyan Central Mission. It was rebuilt in the 1930s (fn. 22) at a cost of £4,435, and was described in 1937 as a Sunday school. (fn. 23)

Harborne preaching-room, in North Harborne, was conducted in 1851 by the Methodist New Connexion, and claimed an average congregation of ten. (fn. 24)

Hay Green, Bournville chapel was registered for public worship by the United Methodists in 1932. (fn. 25) In 1940 it was described as a brick building with a main hall seating 150 and two ancillary rooms. (fn. 26) Church membership in 1932 was 12. (fn. 27)

High Street, Erdington chapel, a brick and stone building in the 'Perpendicular' style seating 508, (fn. 28) was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1912. (fn. 29) In 1940 there were seven ancillary rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 30) Church membership in 1932 was 184. (fn. 31)

Highgate Road (formerly Queen Street and Thomas Street) Sparkbrook Chapel was built by the Methodist New Connexion in 1849, (fn. 32) and sold to the Primitive Methodists in 1854. (fn. 33) At this date it provided sittings for 144. (fn. 34) It appears to have been rebuilt before 1892, when there were 230 sittings. (fn. 35) The average congregation in 1851 was said to be 200, (fn. 36) and the Sunday evening congregation on census Sunday in 1892 105. (fn. 37) The chapel ceased to appear in the Birmingham directories in 1909.

Hill Street meeting-room was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1845. (fn. 38)

Holliday Street mission hall, a brick school chapel, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1875, and cost £1,060. (fn. 39) In 1892 sittings were available for 200. (fn. 40) Alterations to the building were notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1928 and 1933, (fn. 41) and in 1940 there was a main hall, seating 150, with three ancillary rooms, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 42) Church membership in 1932 was 25. (fn. 43) The premises were sold in 1955. (fn. 44)

Holyhead Road chapel, seating 200, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1873 at a cost, including the site, of £1,470. A few years later it was replaced by the Asbury Memorial Chapel, opened on the same site in 1885. The Memorial Chapel was designed by J. Ball of Birmingham in the 'early English' style, (fn. 45) and was built of brick, with stone dressings. (fn. 46) Sittings were provided for 600. (fn. 47) Extensive alterations in 1896 included the addition of a chancel, (fn. 48) and an extra 100 sittings. (fn. 49) In 1940 the chapel comprised a main hall seating 560, and eight ancillary rooms, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 50) The church originated in meetings begun in the summer of 1872 at a house in Boulton Road. In 1891 there were 600 members, (fn. 51) and in the following year a Sunday afternoon congregation of 555. (fn. 52) By 1932 membership had fallen to 182. (fn. 53)

Hope Street chapel was registered for public worship by the Wesleyan Reformers in 1864, (fn. 54) and re-registered by the United Methodist Free Churches in 1875. (fn. 55) It ceased to appear in the Birmingham directories after 1878.

Icknield Square mission hall was opened by the Wesleyans shortly before 1881, and cost £500. (fn. 56) The building in use in 1892 was said to provide sittings for 250. (fn. 57) In 1940 it was described as a brick chapel seating 125. (fn. 58) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 90, (fn. 59) and church membership in 1932 55. (fn. 60)

Icknield Street East Summer Hill Chapel, seating 175, was built by the Wesleyans in 1838, and claimed in 1851 a Sunday evening congregation of 150. (fn. 61) By 1868 it had been taken over by the Primitive Methodists, (fn. 62) and it continued to appear in the directories as a Primitive Methodist chapel until 1882.

Inge Street St. John's Chapel was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1822. (fn. 63) In 1851 it provided sittings for 300, and claimed an average Sunday evening congregation of 230. (fn. 64) It appears to have been closed before 1856, and in 1868 the site was occupied by St. Martin's parochial school. From 1875 to 1888 or 1889 a Wesleyan chapel, also called St. John's, was open on the same site. (fn. 65)

Jenkins Street Conference Hall was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1895 and cost £7,000. (fn. 66) It was built to replace Jenkins Street chapel, a building seating 470, with a Sunday evening congregation in 1892 of 450. (fn. 67)

King's Road, Kingstanding chapel was completed shortly before 1937, and cost £11,667. (fn. 68) In 1940 it was described as brick-built, and comprised a main hall seating 400, and ten ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 69) Methodist mission work in the district started in 1934 when a temporary 'House of Friendship' seating 200, designed by Messrs. Crouch, Butler, and Savage, was erected. (fn. 70)

Kingsbury Road, Tyburn chapel was opened in 1903 and cost £986. (fn. 71) It was designed by Messrs. Crouch, Butler, and Savage, and built of brick and stone. (fn. 72) In 1940 there were sittings for 150 and four ancillary rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 73) The church appears to date at least from 1869, when an earlier chapel at Tyburn was registered for public worship. (fn. 74) Membership in 1932 was 43. (fn. 75)

Knutsford Street mission room was in use as a Wesleyan mission in 1875. (fn. 76) In 1892 there were 250 sittings and a Sunday evening congregation of 140. (fn. 77) The mission ceased to appear in the Birminghad directories in 1933.

Ledsam Street chapel, a Wesleyan place of worship, is mentioned from 1856 to 1872. (fn. 78)

Legge Street chapel was built by the Wesleyan Reformers shortly before 1855. (fn. 79) It ceased to appear in the Birmingham directories in 1875.

Lichfield Road chapel was built by the Wesleyans shortly before 1863 at a cost of £540. It was replaced by a brick chapel, opened in 1870, which provided, after alterations in 1874, (fn. 80) sittings for 650. (fn. 81) A school was added in 1892, and after further alterations in 1917 the chapel provided sittings for 800. Between 1935 and 1940 it was reconstructed, (fn. 82) and sittings were reduced to 421. In 1940 the premises comprised the chapel hall and ten other rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 83) The Sunday evening congregation was 385 in 1892 (fn. 84) and about 125 in 1935. (fn. 85) Church membership in 1932 was 131. (fn. 86) In 1892 Lichfield Road was responsible for a daughter mission at Ten Arches, q.v. (fn. 87)

Long Acre Ebenezer Chapel, seating 250, was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1854 and cost £400. (fn. 88) In 1940 it was described as a brick building seating 150, with a school hall. (fn. 89) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 90 in 1892, (fn. 90) and a church membership of 54 in 1932. (fn. 91)

Lord Street, Aston chapel was established in Wesleyan school premises built in 1843 with sittings for 100. (fn. 92) The building was extended in the early 1860s, (fn. 93) and in 1892 provided accommodation for 200. (fn. 94) The Sunday evening congregation was 41 in 1851 (fn. 95) and 50 in 1892. (fn. 96) The premises ceased to be registered for public worship in 1925, (fn. 97) and were sold shortly afterwards. (fn. 98)

Lord Street Bethel, seating 350, was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1854, and cost £800. It was designed in the 'Italian' style, and was built of red and blue brick. (fn. 99) It was sold in 1942 for conversion to factory use. (fn. 1) Church membership in 1932 was 62. (fn. 2)

Lower King Edward's Road chapel appears in the Birmingham directories from 1860 to 1876. From 1868 it was described as a Wesleyan Sunday school. The chapel was the subject of a trust from 1857 to 1875. (fn. 3)

Lozells Street chapel, a brick building seating 1,000, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1894, and cost £4,462. In 1909 a second chapel hall and a social club were added, and there were further alterations in the 1930s. (fn. 4) In 1940 the premises comprised a main hall seating 900, and twelve ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 5) The church originated as a mission founded before 1878 in rooms in Porchester Street, and taken over in that year by the George Street church. The mission was shortly afterwards transferred to the Lozells Street Board School, (fn. 6) where in 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 820. (fn. 7) Church membership in 1932 was 289. (fn. 8)

Lyndon End, Olton meeting-room is said to have been opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1858, and services are said to have continued for 80 years in hired premises. There was an average congregation of 20 in 1938, when it was decided to build a chapel. The chapel, seating 150, was opened in 1939, and was in Lyndon Road outside the Birmingham boundary. (fn. 9)

Lyttleton Road, Stechford chapel, a brick building seating 516, (fn. 10) was opened in 1932, and cost £11,181. (fn. 11) Wesleyan missionary activity in Stechford appears to have begun before 1875, when a meeting-room near the station was registered for public worship. (fn. 12) The first chapel, off Victoria Road, was opened in 1879, and cost £1,758. (fn. 13) In 1892 it provided sittings for 250. The congregation was 91 in 1892 (fn. 14) and about 100-120 in 1930. (fn. 15) Church membership in 1932 was 170. (fn. 16)

Mansfield Road chapel, a brick building seating 355, (fn. 17) was opened by the Wesleyans in 1883, and cost £1,879. (fn. 18) In 1940 it comprised a main hall seating 280, and eight ancillary rooms of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 19) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 166, (fn. 20) and church membership in 1932 126. (fn. 21)

Marroway Street chapel was registered for public worship by the Bible Christians from 1888 to 1902. (fn. 22)

Mary Street chapel, a brick mission hall with sittings for 200, was bought by the Wesleyans in 1908 for £705, for a congregation then estimated at 40. (fn. 23) Church membership in 1932 was 40. (fn. 24)

Moland Street meeting-room was registered for worship by New Connexion Methodists in 1820. (fn. 25)

Monk Road, Ward End chapel, in 1940 a brick building seating 210, (fn. 26) was completed by the Wesleyans between 1911 and 1914 at a cost, including the site, of £1,230. Damaged by bombing during the Second World War, the chapel had been rebuilt by 1954, for £14,965. (fn. 27) Church membership in 1932 was 90. (fn. 28)

Monument Road (formerly Icknield Street West) Wesleyan chapel was in use in 1859, and cost £750. It was replaced in 1866 by a new building, costing £5,052, (fn. 29) with sittings for 1,000. (fn. 30) In 1937 a third chapel, costing £11,096, was completed. (fn. 31) This was built of brick and provided sittings for 875. It included eight ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 32) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 748, (fn. 33) and church membership in 1932 107. (fn. 34)

Monument Road (formerly Icknield Street West) Methodist New Connexion chapel was registered for public worship as a school-chapel in 1861. (fn. 35) In 1876 a chapel to replace it was registered; (fn. 36) it appears to have been built before 1874. (fn. 37) In 1940 this new chapel was described as brickbuilt, with sittings for 495 and two school halls. (fn. 38) The Sunday afternoon congregation in 1892 was 320, (fn. 39) and church membership in 1932 145. (fn. 40)

Moor Street chapel, a converted theatre, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1764 in place of Steelhouse Lane, q.v., and was replaced in 1782 by the new chapel in Cherry Street. (fn. 41)

Morville Street Galilean Chapel was opened by the Primitive Methodists about 1854. (fn. 42) In 1940 it comprised a main hall seating 200, a school hall, and one other room. (fn. 43) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 100 (fn. 44) and church membership in 1932 74. (fn. 45) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1953. (fn. 46)

Moseley Road chapel, a brick building, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1872 (fn. 47) for a congregation previously worshipping at Balsall Heath Road, (fn. 48) and cost £6,379. (fn. 49) In 1940 it comprised a main hall seating 1,000 and fourteen ancillary rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 50) War damage during the Second World War made necessary extensive reconstruction, which was completed by 1952, at a cost of £34,163. (fn. 51) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 100, (fn. 52) and church membership in 1932 387. (fn. 53) Daughter churches were founded from Moseley Road at Stratford Road, Cambridge Road, Reddings Lane, Vicarage Road (Hazelwell), Trittiford Road, Wood Lane, q.v., and Shirley. The Knutsford Street and Mary Street missions were also sponsored by Moseley Road.

Moseley Street chapel appears to have been built by the Wesleyan Reformers in the early 1850s, (fn. 54) but was first registered for public worship by the Methodist New Connexion in 1861. (fn. 55) In 1892 the chapel provided 480 sittings, but the most popular Sunday service attracted a congregation of only 78, (fn. 56) and in 1897 the premises were sold to the Congregationalists. The church was united with that worshipping at Ombersley Road. (fn. 57)

Muntz Street chapel, a brick building, was opened by the United Methodist Free Churches in 1870, (fn. 58) and in 1892 provided 450 sittings. (fn. 59) In 1940 the premises comprised a main hall seating 324, a school hall, and eleven other rooms. (fn. 60) The church originated in 1861 in a secession from a Congregational church, and worshipped at first in a small room over a stable in Grange Road. (fn. 61) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 228. (fn. 62) Church membership in 1932 was 91. (fn. 63) The chapel was sold in 1944 (fn. 64) and later became successively a Full Gospel (fn. 65) and an Elim church. (fn. 66)

Nechells Park Road chapel, seating 184, was built by the Wesleyans in 1837. (fn. 67) A second chapel was opened, to replace it, in 1863. Designed by W. Jenkins of Birmingham in an Italianate style it was built of brick with stone and concrete dressings, (fn. 68) and provided sittings for 700. (fn. 69) In 1929 this building was condemned as unsafe and a new chapel seating 720 was built, at a cost of £16,758. (fn. 70) The Nechells Hall, as the new chapel was called, was designed in a simple and austere style by A. L. Snow of Birmingham, and is described as a 'self-contained steel and concrete structure encased in brick walls and with steel windows'. (fn. 71) In 1940 the premises comprised the main hall and seven other rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 72) The church originated in 1821, when cottage services were begun at Saltley. (fn. 73) The congregation was said to be 86 in 1851, (fn. 74) 312 in 1892, (fn. 75) and 300 in 1929. (fn. 76) Church membership in 1932 was 199. (fn. 77)

New Street, Aston chapel was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1868, (fn. 78) and in 1892 provided sittings for 122. There was then a Sunday evening congregation of 92. (fn. 79) In 1940 it was described as a brick building, seating 50. (fn. 80) Church membership in 1932 was 33. (fn. 81) The chapel ceased to be registered for worship in 1942.

New John Street West Wesleyan chapel was bought by the Wesleyans about 1865, and extended by them. (fn. 82) In 1892 it provided sittings for 400. There was then a congregation of 83. (fn. 83) The chapel appears to have been closed before 1908. (fn. 84)

New John Street West Primitive Methodist chapel was opened in 1849, and, with attached school premises, which were completed in 1851, cost £430. (fn. 85) In 1851 it provided sittings for 266. There was then an average congregation of 200. (fn. 86) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1895. (fn. 87)

New Spring Street, Brookfields chapel was built by the Methodist New Connexion in 1893, as a new place of worship for the congregation at Crabtree Road, q.v. (fn. 88) In 1940 it was described as a brick building seating 300. (fn. 89) Church membership in 1932 was 70. (fn. 90)

Newtown Row chapel, a red-brick building, (fn. 91) was opened by the Wesleyans in 1837, and in 1851 provided sittings for 978. (fn. 92) In 1940 as well as the main hall the premises included ten other rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 93) The Sunday evening congregation was 502 in 1851 (fn. 94) and 592 in 1892. (fn. 95) Church membership in 1932 was 255. (fn. 96) The chapel was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War.

Norman Street preaching-room was registered for public worship by the Wesleyans from 1872 to 1899. (fn. 97)

Ombersley Road chapel, a brick building seating 420, (fn. 98) was built by the Methodist New Connexion in 1896 (fn. 99) for the congregations of the recently closed Moseley Street (fn. 1) chapel and of a preceding smaller chapel in Ombersley Road. (fn. 2) Church membership in 1932 was 70. (fn. 3)

Oxford Street chapel was opened by the Methodist New Connexion in 1811, and was the Connexion's first Birmingham chapel. (fn. 4) It appears to have previously served as a Congregational chapel. (fn. 5) In 1851 there were 400 sittings and a Sunday evening congregation of 200. (fn. 6) From 1865 to 1868 the chapel was in the hands of the Latterday Saints. (fn. 7) It was then, in 1871, registered as a place of public worship by a body of Temperance Methodists, (fn. 8) but is entered in the directories from 1873 as a Wesleyan Reform chapel. In 1878 it was being used by the Welsh Wesleyans, who appear to have abandoned it before 1892. The last mention of this congregation in the official section of the Birmingham directory occurs in 1884. (fn. 9)

Park Road, Soho chapel, a Wesleyan chapel, appears in the Birmingham directories from 1868 to 1876.

Peel Street, Winson Green chapel was registered for public worship by the Wesleyans in 1878. (fn. 10) There was, however, a chapel on the site in 1855, and the registration of 1878 appears to refer to a new building of which the completion was notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1886. (fn. 11) In 1940 this chapel was described as a brick building seating 150, with three ancillary rooms. (fn. 12) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 117 (fn. 13) and church membership in 1932 49. (fn. 14)

Percy Road, Greet chapel, a brick building seating 200, (fn. 15) was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1894, and cost about £800. (fn. 16) The congregation had previously met at the Greet Board School, and in 1892 numbered 96. (fn. 17) Church membership in 1932 was 20. (fn. 18)

Pershore Road, King's Norton Wesleyan chapel, a brick building seating 450, (fn. 19) was opened in 1902, and cost £4,341. (fn. 20) Designed by Messrs. E. and J. Harper in the 'Tudor Gothic' style, with tower and spire, it was ornamented with York stone dressings and green Westmorland slates. (fn. 21) It appears to have replaced a 'Cotteridge' chapel, registered for public worship in 1894. (fn. 22) Church membership in 1932 was 218. (fn. 23)

Pershore Road, King's Norton Primitive Methodist chapel stood, in the 19th century, at the corner of Redditch Road and Masshouse Lane. Camp meetings were also held on the Green. In 1916 a new corrugated iron building was erected behind the post office, with sittings for 120. (fn. 24) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 37, (fn. 25) and church membership in 1932 18. (fn. 26) The chapel was sold in 1948. (fn. 27)

Pershore Road, Selly Park Wesley Hall, a wooden building seating 150, (fn. 28) was opened by the Wesleyans in 1920, and cost £2,033. (fn. 29) In 1940 three ancillary rooms were in use, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 30) The congregation had previously met in an annexe of the council school. Attendance in 1920 was estimated as 50, of whom 30 were church members. (fn. 31) In 1932 membership was 38. (fn. 32) The hall ceased to be registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 33)

Pershore Road, Stirchley chapel, a brick building, was registered for public worship by the United Methodists in 1917. (fn. 34) It comprised in 1940 a main hall seating 136 and two other rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 35) Church membership in 1932 was 80. (fn. 36) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1956.

Priestley Road, Sparkbrook chapel was registered for public worship by the Bible Christians from 1901 to 1908. (fn. 37)

Prince Albert Street, Small Heath chapel was registered for public worship by the Bible Christians in 1903. (fn. 38) It was built of brick, and in 1940 comprised a main hall seating 750, and six other rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 39) Church membership in 1932 was 41. (fn. 40)

Quinton Bethesda Chapel was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1840, and in 1851 claimed an average congregation of 65. (fn. 41) It appears to have been replaced, before 1890, by College Road chapel, q.v.

Quinton Ridgacre Chapel, a Wesleyan place of worship, was built in 1780. In 1851 it provided sittings for 100 and claimed an average Sunday evening congregation of 63. (fn. 42) It appears to have been replaced by a new chapel in Hagley Road, q.v., in 1878.

Ravenhurst Street Almshouse meeting-room, with seats for 50, was opened in 1849 as a Wesleyan mission, and in 1851 claimed a congregation of 20. (fn. 43)

Reddings Lane, Hall Green chapel, a brick building seating 400 (fn. 44) designed by Messrs. Crouch, Butler, and Savage, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1924, and cost £8,681. (fn. 45) Church membership in 1932 was 310. (fn. 46)

Rocky Lane chapel, seating 260, was opened by the Wesleyan Reformers in 1854. In 1884 it was replaced by a second brick-built chapel designed by J. Wilkinson in the Gothic style, and seating 530. (fn. 47) The seating accommodation was later expanded to 800. (fn. 48) In 1941 the building was severely damaged by bombing, but by the end of 1942 it had been partly restored and was again in use. (fn. 49) The Rocky Lane church originated in 1850 when W. Page built a preaching-room at Cattells Grove for a new congregation of the Wesleyan Free Church. This building was said to hold 150, and in 1851 an average congregation of 120 was claimed. Church membership in 1858 was 38. In 1862 Rocky Lane joined the United Methodist Free Churches, and subsequently became the Connexion's most important church in Birmingham. (fn. 50) In 1892 a Sunday afternoon congregation of 548 was claimed, (fn. 51) and by 1897 membership had reached a maximum of 228. (fn. 52) It had fallen, by 1932, to 136. (fn. 53) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1946. (fn. 54) After its closure the congregation joined that worshipping at Nechells Park Road. (fn. 55) Rocky Lane was responsible for missions at Cuckoo Lane and Gravelly Hill, q.v.

Rocky Lane Perry Hall Church was registered for public worship in 1943 (fn. 56) and cost £1,540. (fn. 57)

Rookery Road chapel was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1917. (fn. 58) It was built of brick, and in 1940 comprised a main hall seating 470, and ten other rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 59) An earlier mission chapel on the same site was registered for public worship in 1909. (fn. 60) Church membership in 1932 was 166. (fn. 61)

Ryde Park Road, Longbridge chapel, a wooden building seating 100, was bought in 1940 at a cost, exclusive of the site, of £958. The congregation had previously met at the Longbridge Co-operative Hall. (fn. 62)

St. Martin's Street chapel was built by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1825, and enlarged in 1840 to seat 898. (fn. 63) It was replaced by a brick chapel opened in 1864, that cost £8,658. (fn. 64) Designed by J. H. Chamberlain in the Gothic style (fn. 65) this building provided, in 1892, 1,287 sittings. (fn. 66) There were extensive alterations in 1917, (fn. 67) but the chapel remained, in 1940, one of the largest in Birmingham, with more than 1,200 sittings and two additional school halls. (fn. 68) The church originated in meetings held at the house of William Ford in William Street in 1817, and was soon established in a small chapel on the corner of St. Martin's Street and Tennant Street (fn. 69) which was registered in the same year. (fn. 70) A second preaching-room, in Worton's Terrace, Lower St. Martin's Street, was used from 1819 to 1825. (fn. 71) The Sunday evening congregation in 1851 was 618, (fn. 72) and in 1892 807. (fn. 73) Church membership in 1932 was 211. (fn. 74)

Sandon Road, Edgbaston chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1882, and cost £668. (fn. 75) It was replaced in 1890 by a stone and brick chapel seating 350, and costing £4,749. Extensive alterations, including the addition of transepts, were notified to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee in 1904, (fn. 76) and in 1940 the premises comprised a main hall seating 710 and seven other rooms, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 77) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 182, (fn. 78) and church membership in 1932 331. (fn. 79)

Shirley Road, Acock's Green chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1868 as a school-chapel. A second building was added in 1872. In 1882 a new chapel was built alongside the old with sittings for 420, at a cost of £1,593. This was enlarged between 1927 and 1931, (fn. 80) and in 1940 comprised a main hall seating 496 and twelve other rooms, of which four were built as school halls. (fn. 81) The Sunday morning congregation in 1892 was 159, (fn. 82) and church membership in 1932 283. (fn. 83)

Slade Road, Erdington chapel, opened in 1932, was the third Wesleyan chapel to serve the district. The first, a small brick chapel in Stockland Road, was opened about 1886 by a Mr. Perfect, for undenominational services, including those of a 'prayer band' from Erdington (Station Road) Wesleyan chapel. In 1887 this building, seating 70, was bought by the Wesleyans for £200. (fn. 84) It was sold in 1906, and subsequently used by the Church of England. (fn. 85) It was replaced by a new chapel on a nearby site, fronting on Slade Road. This building, of grey brick and stone, was designed by Messrs. Crouch, Butler, and Savage in the Gothic style, to seat 250. (fn. 86) In 1931 a new chapel, seating 550, was opened to meet the needs of an expanding congregation. This was a brick building, designed by W. Moss, of the firm of Crouch, Butler, and Savage, (fn. 87) and included, in 1940, seven ancillary rooms of which four were built as school halls. (fn. 88) The church grew steadily between 1887 and 1931. In 1892 there was a Sunday evening congregation of 48, (fn. 89) in 1906 a church membership of 22 and a congregation of 90. In 1931 there were said to be 133 members and 200 hearers. (fn. 90)

Sladepool Farm Road chapel began in 1939 as a wooden school-hall established by Moseley Road Circuit to serve the 10,000 people of the growing Maypole estate, (fn. 91) and in 1940 provided sittings for 150. (fn. 92) The hall was also used by the Birmingham Education Committee as a day school, and at the beginning of 1949 a separate temporary chapel was opened. A congregation of 40 was claimed in 1948. (fn. 93)

Soho Road (formerly Factory Road) Wesleyan chapel appears in the Birmingham directories from 1868 to 1894. It is probably identifiable with the chapel at Gib Heath, Soho, mentioned from 1850 onwards. (fn. 94)

Somerset Road chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1894. It was built of brick, and was designed by Messrs. Crouch and Butler in the later Gothic style, to seat 300. In 1901 it was enlarged to seat 600, (fn. 95) and in 1940 comprised a main hall and eleven other rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 96) The church originated in meetings begun at Handsworth Theological College in 1885, and continued, in the 1890s, in Slack Lane cottages. (fn. 97) Church membership was 150 in 1901, (fn. 98) and 254 in 1932. (fn. 99)

South Street, Harborne chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1868, probably to replace the Vivian Street chapel, q.v., and was extended in 1875. Sunday school premises were added by 1888, and there were further alterations before 1896. (fn. 1) In 1940 the chapel was described as a brick building seating 480, with eleven ancillary rooms, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 2) There was a Sunday morning congregation of 201 in 1892, (fn. 3) and a church membership of 201 in 1932. (fn. 4)

Spring Hill chapel was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1909, and appears to have replaced Edward Street, (fn. 5) q.v. It was closed in 1921 or 1922, many of the congregation migrating to New Spring Street chapel, (fn. 6) q.v.

Springfield Road chapel was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1916. (fn. 7) In 1940 it was described as a brick building seating 250, with two ancillary rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 8) The church originated in 1900 when two villas in Tenby Road were converted into a mission. (fn. 9) Premises were first registered in Springfield Road in 1906. (fn. 10) Church membership in 1932 was 60. (fn. 11)

Station Road, Acock's Green chapel, seating 90, was in use as a Primitive Methodist chapel in 1892, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 24. (fn. 12)

Station Road, Erdington chapel was opened as a school-chapel by the Wesleyans in 1869. As extended in 1885 (fn. 13) it provided sittings for 400. (fn. 14) In 1902 a second chapel was opened, to replace the old one, (fn. 15) and the former building was converted for Sunday school use. The new chapel, built of brick, was designed by Messrs. E. and J. Harper in the 'early English Gothic' style. (fn. 16) It was altered in 1922 and extended in 1931, (fn. 17) and in 1940 provided sittings for 610 in the main hall. There were then eight other rooms, of which three were built as school halls. (fn. 18) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 137, (fn. 19) and church membership in 1932 244. (fn. 20)

Steelhouse Lane chapel, apparently the first Methodist meeting-house in Birmingham, was in use in 1751. Services were held in an outhouse behind a private house on the corner of Whittall Street and Steelhouse Lane (fn. 21) belonging to a Mr. Walker. (fn. 22) The congregation moved in 1764 to Moor Street, q.v.

Stirling Road, Edgbaston chapel, a brick building, was opened by the Wesleyans in 1885, and cost £1,938. (fn. 23) It provided sittings for 200. (fn. 24) Extensive alterations were notified to the Methodist Chapel Committee in 1935, (fn. 25) and in 1940 the chapel comprised, as well as the main hall, six other rooms, two of which were built as school halls. (fn. 26) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 87, (fn. 27) and church membership in 1932 64. (fn. 28)

Stonehouse Lane, California chapel was built shortly before 1880 for £445, and was extended in 1916 at a similar cost by the Wesleyans. (fn. 29) In 1940 it was described as a brick chapel seating 120, with two ancillary rooms, one built as a school hall. (fn. 30) Church membership in 1932 was 12. (fn. 31)

Stratford Road, Sparkhill chapel, a stone and brick building seating 700, was built by the Primitive Methodists in 1895, and cost £6,265. (fn. 32) In 1940 it comprised a main hall seating 500, and six other rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 33) Church membership in 1932 was 150. (fn. 34) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1947, (fn. 35) when it was replaced by a nearby church hall, itself discontinued in 1954. (fn. 36) In 1957 the chapel was being used by a firm manufacturing organs.

Strickley Street or Stirchley chapel was built by the Wesleyans in 1839. In 1851 it provided sittings for 100, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 29. (fn. 37) A Wesleyan chapel with this name was registered for public worship from 1861 to 1896, (fn. 38) and may have been the original place of worship of the church which later moved to Pershore Road (Stirchley), q.v. The Stirchley Methodists were possibly descended from a congregation, fourteen strong, which existed in King's Norton parish in 1829. (fn. 39)

Ten Arches chapel was in use as a mission of Lichfield Road in 1892, when a Sunday evening congregation of 47 was claimed. (fn. 40) It was described in 1940 as a brick building seating 350. (fn. 41) Church membership in 1932 was 47. (fn. 42) The chapel was closed before 1945. (fn. 43)

Trittiford Road, Billesley chapel, a brick building seating 360, (fn. 44) was built by the Wesleyans in 1928, and cost £7,687. The congregation had previously held services at the council school, where by 1927 an attendance of about 200 had been built up, though church membership was only '7 or 8'. (fn. 45) By 1932 membership had risen to 70. (fn. 46)

Unett Street chapel, a brick building, (fn. 47) was built by the Methodist New Connexion in 1838, (fn. 48) and enlarged in 1842. (fn. 49) In 1851 it provided sittings for 832, (fn. 50) but by 1892 accommodation had been reduced to 600. (fn. 51) The largest Sunday congregation on the census Sunday in 1851 was 300, (fn. 52) and in 1892 553. (fn. 53) Church membership in 1932 was 119. (fn. 54) The chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1946. (fn. 55)

Upper Trinity Street chapel was registered for public worship by the Wesleyan Reformers in 1859, (fn. 56) and appeared in the Birmingham directories up to 1868.

Vicarage Road, King's Heath chapel was registered for public worship by the Primitive Methodists in 1901. (fn. 57) Church membership in 1932 was 20. (fn. 58) The chapel was closed in 1937. (fn. 59)

Vicarage Road, Hazelwell chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1910, and cost £2,414. The congregation had previously met in a wooden mission hall, accommodating 100 and built on rented land. (fn. 60) The new chapel, seating 262, (fn. 61) was designed by Messrs. E. and J. Harper of Birmingham, and was built of brindled brick with stone dressings. (fn. 62) In 1940 it comprised a main hall and six other rooms, two of which were built as school halls. (fn. 63) Church membership in 1932 was 66. (fn. 64)

Villa Road, Handsworth chapel, seating 552, (fn. 65) was opened by the Methodist New Connexion in 1900. Designed by J. G. Dunn of Birmingham in a 'free treatment of 14th-century Gothic' it was built of red brick with light buff terracotta facings, and cost about £5,000. (fn. 66) In 1940 the premises comprised a main hall and six other rooms, two of which were built as school halls. (fn. 67) The church was founded by mission work from Unett Street. In 1906 there were said to be 276 members and an average Sunday afternoon attendance of 144. (fn. 68) By 1932 membership had fallen to 92. (fn. 69)

Vincent Street chapel, seating 100, was built by the Wesleyans in 1839, and in 1851 claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 49. (fn. 70) From 1870 to 1883 it appeared in the Birmingham directories as a Methodist New Connexion chapel, but from 1884 to 1887 seems to have been again used briefly by the Wesleyans before being closed.

Vivian Road, Harborne chapel was sold to the Roman Catholics and reopened, in 1870, as St. Mary's Church. (fn. 71) It is probably identifiable with the 'Harborne Heath' Wesleyan chapel, built in 1839, which in 1851 provided sittings for about 110, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 60. (fn. 72) The Wesleyan church appears to have moved in 1868 to a new chapel in South Street, q.v.

Warwick Road, Sparkhill chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1892, and cost £6,180. (fn. 73) A brick building with sittings for 750, it was designed by the firm of Hall and Son, (fn. 74) and in 1940 comprised a main hall and seventeen other rooms, one of which was built as a school hall. (fn. 75) It was severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War but was subsequently rebuilt for £33,643. (fn. 76) The church originated in 1872, when prayer- and class-meetings, led by Bradford Street members, began to be held at a house in Warwick Road, Greet. In 1880 a wooden mission hall, seating 100, and costing about £100, was opened in Mountford Street. In 1886 a new branch mission was opened in the newly-erected Stratford Road Board School. The two missions were united in 1889 and in 1890 the wooden hall was moved to Warwick Road, (fn. 77) where two years later the new chapel claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 435. (fn. 78) Church membership in 1932 was 282. (fn. 79)

Warwick Road, Tyseley chapel was opened by the Primitive Methodists shortly before 1915. (fn. 80) In 1940 it was described as a brick chapel, and comprised a main hall seating 380, and eighteen other rooms, two of which were built as school halls. (fn. 81) Church membership in 1932 was 62. (fn. 82)

Washwood Heath Road, Ward End chapel, a corrugated iron structure capable of accommodating 250, was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1910, and was burned down in 1923. (fn. 83) It was replaced by a new building, registered for worship in 1925, (fn. 84) which was no longer in use in 1940. (fn. 85) Church membership in 1932 was 60. (fn. 86)

Washwood Heath Road, Saltley chapel was registered for public worship by the United Methodist Free Churches in 1895. (fn. 87) In 1940 it was described as a brick building, seating 367, and included eight ancillary rooms, of which two were built as school halls. (fn. 88) It appears to have been preceded by a smaller chapel, with sittings in 1892 for 150. The Sunday morning congregation in 1892 was 72, (fn. 89) and church membership in 1932 155. (fn. 90) The chapel was damaged by bombing during the Second World War, and has been extensively rebuilt at a cost of £21,000. (fn. 91)

Wheelwright Road, Bromford chapel was registered for public worship by the Wesleyans in 1923, (fn. 92) and appears to have replaced an earlier chapel at Bromford, registered in 1906. (fn. 93) In 1940 it was described as a brick building seating 200, with an attached school hall. (fn. 94) Church membership in 1932 was 50. (fn. 95)

Whitmore Street, Hockley Hill chapel was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1876, and cost £2,200. (fn. 96) In 1892 it provided sittings for 400 and was said to have a Sunday evening congregation of 106. (fn. 97) It ceased to be registered for public worship in 1925. (fn. 98)

Witton Lodge Road, Perry Common Methodist Youth Centre was registered for public worship from 1945 to 1952. (fn. 99)

Wood Lane, Earlswood chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1923, and cost £1,343. (fn. 1) Designed by Messrs. Crouch, Butler, and Savage of Birmingham, (fn. 2) it was built of brick, and in 1940 comprised a main hall seating 120, and three other rooms, of which one was built as a school hall. (fn. 3) Church membership was 16 in 1923, (fn. 4) and 20 in 1932. (fn. 5)

World's End Lane, Quinton school-chapel, seating 200, was opened in May 1951 and cost about £6,000. It was described as 'of Orlit concrete post and beam frame construction, faced on the outside with facing bricks, lined internally with plain concrete slabs'. (fn. 6)

Wyrley Road, Witton Wesley Hall was opened by the Wesleyans in 1928, and cost £4,250. (fn. 7) Designed by J. Lawden of Birmingham, it was built of brindled brick with stone dressings. (fn. 8) In 1940 it comprised a main hall seating 300, and three other rooms, two of which were built as school halls. (fn. 9) The church had previously met in the council school, and numbered in 1927 eleven members, with 50 hearers. (fn. 10)

Yardley Green Road St. Paul's Church was opened by the Primitive Methodists in 1922, (fn. 11) and was preceded by another chapel, registered for public worship in 1894. (fn. 12) In 1940 St. Paul's was described as a brick building seating 430, with an attached school hall. (fn. 13) Church membership in 1932 was 150. (fn. 14)

Order of the Cross

Gillot Road, Edgbaston Sanctuary Rooms were registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 15)

Westbourne Road Sanctuary Rooms were registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 16)

Presbyterian Meeting Houses and Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Bristol Street Old Meeting Church was opened in 1885, and replaced the Old Meeting Street chapel, q.v. It was designed by J. A. Cossins and built of Hampshire stone with Hollington stone dressings, with chancel, nave, aisles, and transepts, at a cost of £26,000. (fn. 17) In 1892 there were sittings for 590 and a Sunday evening congregation of 340. (fn. 18) Under the guidance of Lloyd Thomas (minister 1912-32) Bristol Street severed organizational connexion with the Unitarian Free Churches in 1928, (fn. 19) and the chapel became the meeting-place of a 'Society of Free Catholics' founded by Thomas. From 1931 to 1941 the minister, G. O. Griffiths, was a Baptist. The chapel was destroyed by bombing in 1940, but services continued to be held in the attached school until 1949. (fn. 20)

Broad Street Church of the Messiah was completed in 1862, and replaced the New Meeting Chapel in Moor Street, q.v. Seating 950, the church was designed by J. J. Bateman in the 'early Decorated' style, with gabled aisles, a tower with crocketted pinnacles, and a lofty, banded spire. (fn. 21) It was built on arches over the canal. (fn. 22) The Sunday morning congregation in 1892, including 238 school children, was 432. (fn. 23)

Edward Street Church of the Saviour was opened by George Dawson, former pastor of Mount Zion Baptist chapel, Graham Street, in 1847. (fn. 24) Under Dawson and his successors, G. St. Clair (minister 1876-86), N. Hennessey (minister 1886- 90), and J. C. Street (minister 1891-5), it was conducted as an independent Unitarian chapel. (fn. 25) In 1851, at the height of Dawson's popularity, there were sittings for 1,400, and an estimated average congregation of 1,300, (fn. 26) but the main Sunday congregation had fallen, by 1892, to 483. (fn. 27) The chapel was closed at the end of 1895, (fn. 28) and was occupied by the Primitive Methodists until 1909. (fn. 29) It was later used as a variety theatre and then became the Lyric Cinema, closed in 1960. (fn. 30) The building, which is of brick with a semi-circular end, was designed by Bateman & Drury. (fn. 31) Its impressive stucco front has a central rusticated arch which formerly contained Corinthian columns; the central feature is surmounted by a pediment and flanked by classical doorways.

Fazeley Street chapel, designed by J. Ingall to seat 350, was opened in 1877 for the use of the (Unitarian) Free Christian Society, and cost £1,300. The Free Christian Society, founded in 1861, began educational and mission work in New Canal Street and Meriden Street, prior to the opening of a school in Fazeley Street in 1865. The average congregation in the 1870s was between 150 and 200, but it had declined to fewer than 50 in 1883, and was about a dozen in 1888, when it was decided to close the chapel. (fn. 32) The premises were then acquired by the Church of the Messiah (Broad Street) domestic mission, (fn. 33) and in 1892 a Sunday evening congregation of 308 was claimed. (fn. 34) The last year in which a list of subscribers to the Fazeley Street mission was published was 1946, but the congregation is said to have been 'almost extinct' before this date. (fn. 35) The chapel was sold in 1948. (fn. 36)

Gibson Road, Handsworth chapel was opened in 1915, (fn. 37) and replaced Newhall Hill, q.v.

Hurst Street chapel, with sittings for 400 (fn. 38) and attached schoolrooms, was built in 1844 for the Birmingham Domestic Mission, at a cost of £1,000. The mission had previously used Thorp Street chapel, q.v. Hurst Street was largely rebuilt in 1870, for £2,000. (fn. 39) The Sunday evening congregation was 120 in 1851, (fn. 40) and 175 in 1892. (fn. 41) The chapel was closed in 1921 when the congregation united with that of Waverley Road, q.v. (fn. 42)

Kingswood, King's Norton chapel was built c. 1712 (fn. 43) for the use of a congregation which had previously met at a house in Dark Lane. (fn. 44) It was burnt down in the 'church and king' riots of 1791, rebuilt in 1793, and restored in 1874. (fn. 45) In 1851 sittings were available for 270-300. (fn. 46) The congregation was said to be 200 in 1772 (fn. 47) and 130 in 1851. (fn. 48)

Lawrence Street chapel, seating 550, (fn. 49) was used by the New Meeting domestic mission from 1848 to 1888. (fn. 50) Described as 'a neat brick building' (fn. 51) the chapel was built by disciples of Joanna Southcott (fn. 52) in the 1820s, (fn. 53) from whom it passed to the Owenite Socialists, (fn. 54) who reopened it as tenants in 1839. The Socialists bought the chapel in 1841 and enlarged it, adding schoolrooms with the intention of establishing a practical mechanics' institute in conjunction with the 'social institution'. (fn. 55) Before passing into Socialist hands, Lawrence Street served in 1839 as the assembly hall for the Chartist National Convention. (fn. 56) When the Unitarians acquired the chapel it had been used for some time as a dance hall. By 1851 there was an estimated Sunday evening congregation of 250. (fn. 57) In 1889 the chapel was closed, the congregation moving to Fazeley Street, q.v.

Little Cannon Street meeting-house was built in 1809 by the congregation of Paradise Street chapel, formerly Congregational, (fn. 58) and was closed in 1814. (fn. 59) Its minister, Robert Little, moved in 1817 to a Unitarian congregation in Gainsborough (Lincs.) and afterwards to America, where he established a Unitarian congregation in Washington which was attended by President Adams. (fn. 60)

Livery Street Union Meeting, a former circus and riding school, (fn. 61) was registered for religious worship by the lessee, William Russell, in 1791. (fn. 62) It was used by the congregations of the Old and New Meetings after the destruction of their chapels in the July riots, and attracted congregations of 1,000 to 1,200. (fn. 63) On the rebuilding of the Old Meeting in 1795 part of the congregation left, (fn. 64) but the chapel continued as a Unitarian place of worship until the reopening of the New Meeting in 1802, when it was occupied by a body of Congregationalists seceding from Carrs Lane. (fn. 65)

Moor Street Lower Meeting congregation was in existence by 1690. Their first meeting-house apparently stood in a tan-yard in Deritend. (fn. 66) It was a plain building with a three-gabled front (fn. 67) which suffered some damage in the riots of 1715. (fn. 68) In 1727 a fresh site in Moor Street was bought on which the New Meeting-house was opened in 1732. (fn. 69) This was used until it was gutted by fire in the 'church and king' riots of 1791. The building was said to be 'in a style of elegance' and to have 'few equals'. (fn. 70) A third chapel was opened in 1802, with the attendance of a congregation of 1,600. (fn. 71) It was built of brick with a stone front. (fn. 72) In 1851 there were sittings for 564 and an estimated average Sunday morning congregation of 320. (fn. 73) In 1861 the chapel was sold to the Roman Catholics, and the congregation moved to a new building in Broad Street, q.v. (fn. 74) As St. Michael's Roman Catholic church (fn. 75) the Moor Street building of 1802 survives as the least altered of Birmingham's early dissenting chapels. Its painted stone front of five bays has roundheaded windows to the upper story. The three central bays are emphasized by a treatment of paired Ionic pilasters surmounted by a pediment. Below are segmental-headed openings approached by a flight of ten steps and giving access to a recessed porch. Internally there is an original wooden gallery on three sides supported on Tuscan columns. During the 18th century there was a close connexion with the Unitarian church at Coseley, ministers preaching in alternate chapels each Sunday. (fn. 76) In 1848 Lawrence Street chapel, q.v., was acquired for the domestic mission and Newhall Hill, q.v., opened in 1840, may also be regarded as a daughter chapel of the New Meeting.

Newhall Hill chapel was built in 1840 (fn. 77) to seat 700. (fn. 78) The original cost was £4,100 (fn. 79) of which sum £1,000 was contributed by Thomas Gibson. (fn. 80) The chapel was extensively rebuilt in 1896, at a cost of £1,500. (fn. 81) The congregation was founded in 1834 by a secession of members of the Teachers' Society of the New Meeting, who met at first in a Unitarian chapel in Cambridge Street. (fn. 82) Sunday morning attendance was 200 in 1851, (fn. 83) and 267 in 1892. (fn. 84) In 1911 the chapel was closed through lack of support. A part of the congregation moved to a room in Villa Road, (fn. 85) which was registered for public worship until it was replaced by Gibson Road chapel, q.v., in 1915. (fn. 86) Newhall Hill was subsequently used as a munitions factory in the First World War, (fn. 87) and was reopened as a church by the Christian Scientists in 1922. (fn. 88) It was closed in 1953 and in 1961 the building, a brick structure with pointed windows and an altered stucco front, was occupied by the Birmingham City Transport Central Club.

Old Meeting House Street (formerly Phillip Street) Old Meeting was registered as a dissenters' meeting-house in 1689. (fn. 89) It was severely damaged in the riots of 1715 and burned down in those of 1791. (fn. 90) A new brick (fn. 91) chapel was built and opened in 1795. It provided, in 1851, sittings for 870. The Sunday morning congregation was estimated at that time to be 292. (fn. 92) In connexion with the clearances for the building of New Street station, the Old Meeting was sold to the L.N.W.R. in 1881 for £30,000, (fn. 93) most of which was appropriated to the building of a new chapel for the congregation, in Bristol Street, q.v. The first meeting-house was a rectangular building roofed under four small gables; the front had twin pedimented doorways with four windows above them. (fn. 94) The new and larger chapel, opened in 1795, had a front of five bays with round-headed windows, a central pediment, and a recessed porch entered from three arched openings. Internally there were three galleries supported on Doric columns, box pews, and a central two-decker pulpit. (fn. 95) The graveyard served both Old and New Meetings; it was enlarged in 1779, 1869, and 1870. (fn. 96) From 1700 to 1769 the ministers of the Old Meeting supplied Oldbury (Worcs.) meeting. (fn. 97)

Thorp Street chapel, a wooden building, was open in 1839, (fn. 98) and was used from 1840 to 1844 by the Birmingham Unitarian Domestic Mission. (fn. 99) It appears subsequently to have been opened by the Latter-day Saints. (fn. 1)

Villa Street, Hockley chapel was registered for public worship from 1857 to 1863, (fn. 2) and may be identifiable with a Catholic Apostolic chapel opened in 1851 and subsequently used by the Latter-day Saints. (fn. 3) Regular services were being conducted by the Birmingham District Unitarian Association in 1860. (fn. 4)

Waverley Road, Small Heath chapel, designed by J. A. Grew of Birmingham and S. H. Eachus of Wolverhampton, (fn. 5) was completed in 1898 for £3,200. (fn. 6) The congregation originated as a mission of the Midland Christian Union, meeting in 1893 at Little Green Lane Board School, and from the following year in Somerville Road. (fn. 7)

Yardley Wood Road Moseley Church Hall, a building of wood and asbestos, seating 150, was completed in 1928 (fn. 8) at a cost of £1,000. The congregation originated in a mission meeting c. 1899 at Moseley Road Institute, and from c. 1908 in Dennis Road Council School. (fn. 9) In 1955 the Moseley church was described as a mission of Waverley Road. (fn. 10)

Presbyterians

(Presbyterian Church in England, United Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church of England) Bray's Road Sheldon Free Church, a wooden building, was registered for public worship in 1940. (fn. 11) It was bought by the Methodists in 1952. (fn. 12)

Broad Street chapel was opened in 1834 for a congregation previously worshipping in Newhall Street, q.v. A new building, designed by J. R. Botham of Birmingham, was completed in 1849. (fn. 13) In 1851 there were sittings for 700 and an average congregation of 380. (fn. 14) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 150. (fn. 15) By 1923 attendances had so declined that there were said to be congregations of no more than 12 in the chapel; (fn. 16) in 1924 it began to be used by the Christian Scientists who subsequently bought the building. (fn. 17) The church, under the ministry of John Lewis, moved in 1926 to Oozells Street North, q.v., (fn. 18) and became known as the Guildhouse Church. Broad Street chapel, dating from 1849, is a Classical building in the Greek Revival tradition, carried out in blue brick with stone dressings. The entrance front had a central doorway (now altered into a window) leading into a domed vestibule flanked by staircases. Above is a Classical steeple surmounted by a cupola. The chapel itself is rectangular with a large gallery.

Camp Hill chapel was opened in 1869. Designed y T. Naden of Birmingham (fn. 19) it is an aisled building of brick with a stone front in the Gothic style. In 1892 it provided sittings for 600, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 232. (fn. 20) It ceased to be registered for public worship by the Presbyterians in 1947, (fn. 21) when it was being used by the Christian Scientists; (fn. 22) it was later sold to the Seventh Day Adventists. (fn. 23)

Chantry Road, Moseley chapel was built in 1896, and rebuilt in 1940. There were 365 communicants in 1955. (fn. 24)

Dudley Road, Harborne Cape School, a day school, was built in 1846. In 1851 it was used for worship on one week-day, with an estimated attendance of 27. (fn. 25) It ceased to be registered for marriages in 1868. (fn. 26)

Green Meadow Road, Weoley Hill chapel, a building of brick and stone seating 300, was dedicated in 1933, and cost £600. An unusual feature was a gable-end in the Danish style. (fn. 27) The congregation, founded in 1922, numbered 142 communicants in 1955. (fn. 28)

Heathfield Road St. George's Church was opened in 1896 at a cost, including the site, of £5,000. Designed by J. P. Osborne of Birmingham in a mixture of Gothic styles, also described as a 'modification of Renaissance', the church was built to a cruciform plan and was faced with Leicester brick and Monks Park stone dressings. It provided sittings for 400. The congregation had previously worshipped at New John Street West, (fn. 29) q.v. There were 110 communicants in 1955. (fn. 30)

Holly Lane, Erdington chapel was completed in 1934 at a cost of £4,000. Designed by H. W. W. Lovegrove, it is a low red-brick building with round-headed windows, providing sittings for 250. Holly Lane was the third place of worship of the Erdington congregation, founded in 1910 by members of Long Acre chapel, q.v. (fn. 31) There were 184 communicants in 1955. (fn. 32)

Long Acre, Nechells chapel was opened in 1889 for a congregation founded two years previously, largely through the efforts of W. F. Holt. (fn. 33) In 1892 it provided sittings for 1,000 and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 850. (fn. 34) There were 74 communicants in 1955. (fn. 35) In 1910 a daughter congregation was founded which eventually occupied Holly Lane, q.v.

New John Street West chapel appears in a Birmingham directory for 1858, (fn. 36) and was probably built at or soon after the founding of the congregation in 1853; (fn. 37) the site was bought in 1856. (fn. 38) In 1892 it provided sittings for 450. (fn. 39) The congregation had, by then, largely moved to Handsworth, (fn. 40) and the main Sunday service attracted an attendance of only 78. (fn. 41) In 1896 the chapel was sold and was later consecrated as the Anglican Church of St. Edward, (fn. 42) the congregation moving to a new place of worship in Heathfield Road, q.v.

Newhall Street (properly Graham Street) Mount Zion Chapel was opened in 1824 and was used by the Presbyterians for about two years before their migration to a smaller chapel in Newhall Street. (fn. 43)

Newhall Street chapel was built about 1825, and provided 300 sittings in 1851. (fn. 44) It was used by the Presbyterians until 1834, (fn. 45) and subsequently by the Catholic Apostolic Church, (fn. 46) the Presbyterian congregation moving to Broad Street, q.v.

Oozells Street North Guildhouse Church was opened in 1926 to replace Broad Street, (fn. 47) q.v. There were 50 communicants in 1955. (fn. 48)

Salvation Army

Alum Rock Road hall was opened in 1935 at a cost of £2,170. (fn. 49)

Alwold Road, Weoley Castle hall was registered for public worship in 1951. (fn. 50)

Arden Road St. Francis's Hall was opened in 1928. (fn. 51)

Ash Tree Road, Stirchley barracks were registered for public worship from 1903 to 1925. (fn. 52)

Bard Street, Yardley hall was registered for public worship from 1904 to 1909. (fn. 53)

Barford Street hall was registered for public worship by the 'Slum Corps' in 1901, and ceased to be registered in 1952. (fn. 54)

Bertha Road, Greet barracks, seating 80, were in use in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening attendance of 68. (fn. 55) The services were held in a loft above stables. (fn. 56) Registration for public worship ceased in 1903, (fn. 57) the congregation moving eventually to premises in Stratford Road, Sparkhill, q.v., (fn. 58) apparently via Bard Street, Yardley.

Blakesley Road, South Yardley hall was opened in 1938. (fn. 59)

Bordesley Street chapel was bought from Carrs Lane Congregational Town Mission about 1880. (fn. 60) It provided sittings for 350. The Sunday evening service in 1892 attracted an attendance of 132. (fn. 61)

Coleman Street hall was registered for public worship in 1927. (fn. 62)

Corporation Street citadel, seating over 1,000, was in use in 1892, when a Sunday evening congregation of 1,113 was claimed. (fn. 63)

George Street, Balsall Heath hall, seating 150, was in use in 1892, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 45. (fn. 64)

Granville Street barracks were registered for public worship from 1895 to 1903. (fn. 65)

Great Francis Street hall was registered for public worship from 1901 to 1915. (fn. 66)

Great Hampton Row hall was registered for public worship from 1938 to 1952, in place of Pope Street, q.v. (fn. 67)

Green Lanes, Small Heath hall, seating 250, was in use in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation exactly filling the hall. (fn. 68)

Happy Valley, Yardley Wood hall was registered for public worship in 1933. (fn. 69)

Heaton Street, Hockley hall was registered for public worship from 1881 to 1895. (fn. 70)

High Street, Erdington hall was registered for public worship from 1910 to 1914. (fn. 71)

High Street, Harborne hall was registered for public worship in 1915, in place of South Street, q.v. (fn. 72)

High Street, Saltley hall was registered for public worship from 1915 to 1930, in place of Great Francis Street, q.v. (fn. 73)

James Watt Street Sunday school rooms were registered for public worship in 1931. (fn. 74)

Jenkins Street hall was registered for public worship in 1902. (fn. 75)

Legge Street chapel, until 1872 a Congregational chapel, (fn. 76) was in use in 1892, when it provided sittings for 800, and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 386. (fn. 77) It was still in use in 1902. (fn. 78)

Marroway Street hall was registered for public worship in 1902. (fn. 79)

Newton Street young people's hall was registered for public worship from 1920 to 1923. (fn. 80)

Nursery Road Lozells Hall, seating 218, was in use in 1892, and attracted a Sunday evening congregation exactly filling the hall. (fn. 81)

Pershore Road, Stirchley hall was registered for public worship in 1915. (fn. 82)

Pope Street hall was registered for public worship from 1924 to 1938. (fn. 83)

Priestley Road barracks, formerly a Latter-day Saints' chapel, (fn. 84) were registered for public worship in 1909. (fn. 85)

Ronald Road, Saltley barracks were registered for public worship from 1898 to 1903. (fn. 86)

Shipway Road, Hay Mills barracks were registered for public worship from 1898 to 1903. (fn. 87)

South Street, Harborne hall was registered for public worship from 1902 to 1915. (fn. 88)

Station Road, Erdington hall was registered for public worship in 1916. (fn. 89)

Stratford Road, Sparkhill citadel was registered for public worship in 1909, in place of Bard Street, q.v. (fn. 90)

Theodore Street St. Edward's Mission Hall was registered for public worship in 1929. (fn. 91)

Victoria Road hall was registered for public worship in 1904. (fn. 92)

Witton Lodge Road hall was registered for public worship in 1951. (fn. 93)

Seventh Day Adventists

Broad Street hall, six rooms in Broad Street, was registered for public worship from 1944 to 1952. (fn. 94)

Camp Hill Church was bought by the Seventh Day Adventists at the beginning of 1955, for £7,500, and was opened in April. (fn. 95) It had previously served successively as a place of worship for Presbyterians (fn. 96) and Christian Scientists. (fn. 97) In 1957 there were sittings for 500. The church was built of brick with a stone front. Membership in 1957 was 238. (fn. 98)

Mansel Road Advent Hall, a meeting-room, was registered for worship from 1941 to 1954, (fn. 99) and was a meeting-place of the South Birmingham Church, founded in 1901. The congregation joined that of Camp Hill, q.v. (fn. 1)

New Street meeting-room of the Society of Artists was registered for public worship in 1942, (fn. 2) and was 'used for a short period'. (fn. 3)

Nineveh Road, Handsworth church was registered for public worship in 1942. (fn. 4)

Sutton New Road, Erdington Advent Hall was registered for public worship in 1952. (fn. 5)

Spiritualists

Bristol Road Selly Oak Psychic Centre was registered for public worship in 1946. (fn. 6)

Camden Street Board School was in use for meetings in 1892 when a Sunday evening attendance of 85 was claimed. (fn. 7)

Corporation Street church was in existence in 1903, when two rooms in County Chambers were registered for public worship. (fn. 8) In 1918 the registration was transferred to no. 258, (fn. 9) and in 1925 to no. 248 Corporation Street, (fn. 10) which in 1954 was the meeting-place of the 'Birmingham Spiritualist Church'. (fn. 11)

Crabtree Road mission room was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists in 1954. (fn. 12)

Earlsbury Gardens church was registered for public worship by the Forward National Spiritualist Church in 1949. (fn. 13) The members had previously met in Villa Road (1929-34) (fn. 14) and Soho Hill (1934- 1949). (fn. 15)

Gravelly Hill church was registered for public worship by the National Spiritualists from 1941 to 1952. (fn. 16)

Great Colmore Street church was registered for public worship from 1933 to 1952. (fn. 17)

High Street, Harborne mission room was in use by Christian Spiritualists in 1954. (fn. 18)

Highbury Road, King's Heath meeting-rooms were registered for public worship in 1938. (fn. 19)

John Street, Lozells St. Dunstan's Christian Spiritualists' Hall was registered for public worship in 1953. (fn. 20) A spiritualist church is known to have existed on the site from 1909 to 1940. (fn. 21)

Ladywood Road church was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists from 1931 to 1952. (fn. 22)

Moor Street St. John's Church was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists from 1934 to 1952. (fn. 23)

Oozells Street Board School was in use for meetings in 1892, and claimed a Sunday evening attendance of 102. (fn. 24)

Pershore Street St. John's Church, in rooms, was registered for public worship in 1925. (fn. 25)

Slade Road St. Mark's mission, conducted by the Christian Spiritualists, was in existence in 1954 (fn. 26) and was registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 27)

Summer Road, Erdington church, in rooms, was registered for public worship by the Progressive Spiritualists from 1928 to 1954. (fn. 28)

Summer Row Central Spiritualist Church, at no. 22, was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists in 1946. (fn. 29) Rooms at no. 51 were registered in 1928. (fn. 30)

Tower Road St. James's Church, in rooms, was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists from 1934 to 1952. (fn. 31)

Washwood Heath Road, Ward End church was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists in 1938. (fn. 32) In 1950 new premises in Church Walk were registered. (fn. 33)

Witton Road hall was registered for public worship in 1941, (fn. 34) and re-registered by the National Spiritualists in 1944. (fn. 35)

Woodstock Road St.

Paul's Church was registered for public worship by the Christian Spiritualists in 1945. (fn. 36)

York Road King's Heath Spiritualist Church

was registered for public worship by the National Spiritualists in 1942. (fn. 37)

York Road Hall Green Spiritualist Church was registered for public worship in 1953. The members had previously used a meeting-room in Stratford Road, registered in 1943. (fn. 38)

Swedenborgians (New Jerusalem Church)

Alcester Road, Moseley chapel was dedicated in 1909 (fn. 39) for the use of a congregation which had previously met in Tindal Street, q.v. Church membership in 1909 was 39, and there was an average Sunday evening congregation of 77. (fn. 40)

Icknield Street East Hockley New Church was open in 1868. (fn. 41) In 1875 the premises were in use as a chapel of All Saints' Church. (fn. 42)

Ladywood Road chapel was in use in 1892, when there was a Sunday evening congregation of 24. (fn. 43)

New Church Street chapel was in use in 1830. (fn. 44) In 1858 the site was occupied by the New Jerusalem British School. (fn. 45) It seems probable that New Church Street was used as temporary accommodation pending the opening of Summer Lane, q.v.

Newhall Street chapel (I) was built in 1791, and has been claimed as the first chapel ever built for the New Church. It was sold before 1794 to pay the debts of the owner, a Mr. Hands, (fn. 46) and was subsequently reopened as a Baptist chapel. (fn. 47) The congregation had previously met first in a room in Great Charles Street, opened in 1789, and then in Needless Alley. On the closing of their chapel they moved to another building in the same street, q.v. (fn. 48)

Newhall Street chapel (II) was opened in 1794 and remained in use until 1830. (fn. 49)

Paradise Street chapel, vacant after the removal of a Unitarian congregation in 1809, (fn. 50) was occupied in that year by a seceding congregation of Swedenborgians, later reunited with the mother church in Newhall Street. (fn. 51)

Summer Lane New Jerusalem Church, seating 400, was built in 1830. (fn. 52) In 1849 there were said to be nearly 200 church members, (fn. 53) and, two years later, an average congregation of 150. (fn. 54) The Summer Lane chapel was closed in 1876 (fn. 55) on the opening of Wretham Road, q.v. It was subsequently used by the Christadelphians. (fn. 56)

Tindal Street meeting was formed in 1884 when eighteen members were enrolled in a society meeting at the board school. The congregation originated in a mission established in a schoolroom in Priestley Road, Sparkbrook, before 1880. (fn. 57) In 1892 there was a Sunday evening attendance of 28. (fn. 58) In 1909 the congregation opened a new chapel in Alcester Road, q.v.

Wretham Road, Soho Hill chapel was opened in 1876, to replace Summer Lane. (fn. 59) It was built in the 'geometric decorated Gothic' style, with a stone front, (fn. 60) and provided, in 1892, sittings for 531. (fn. 61) The average Sunday evening attendance in 1880 was 420, (fn. 62) and, in 1892, 525. (fn. 63)

Unitarians

See Presbyterian Meeting-houses and Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.

Welsh Presbyterians (Welsh Calvinistic Methodists)

Granville Street (formerly Wood Street) Rehoboth chapel, a 'small building at the foot of Bath Row', was erected in 1849. (fn. 64) Although there were sittings for only 32 in 1851 there was said to be an estimated average congregation of 90. (fn. 65) The Sunday evening congregation in 1892 was 97. (fn. 66) The chapel was replaced, about 1898, by a new building in Suffolk Street, q.v.

Hockley Hill chapel, a red-brick building designed in the 'early English' style, (fn. 67) with sittings for 250, (fn. 68) was built in 1868. (fn. 69) There was a Sunday evening congregation of 102 in 1892. (fn. 70)

Peck Lane chapel, next to the Lady Huntingdon's Connexion chapel, was in use in 1842. The congregation, evicted by railway extensions, built a new chapel in Wood Street (Granville Street) in 1849. (fn. 71)

Suffolk Street chapel, registered for public worship in 1898, was built to replace Granville Street, q.v. (fn. 72)

Inter-Denominational and Undenominational Missions (fn. 73)

The City Mission was founded about 1838 (fn. 74) with the object of sending Bible readers into the homes of the poor, and about 1856 it employed thirteen agents in this and other missionary work. The early work of the mission included the organizing of a temperance society, a Band of Hope, ragged schools, and cottage and open-air meetings. (fn. 75) Services in the tramp wards of the workhouses and in hospitals were also undertaken. The missioners pioneered the work of preaching to the deaf and dumb (fn. 76) which was later taken over by the Birmingham and Midland Adult Deaf and Dumb Association. (fn. 77) Shortly after 1856, on the initiative of the Revd. Micaiah Hill, the mission turned its attention to the Birmingham cabmen, building a number of cabmen's 'shelters', with cooking and rest facilities. (fn. 78) As many as ten of these were in existence at a time; they were handed over to the corporation in 1904. From about 1910 the mission was inter-denominational in the sense that its workers maintained their connexion with their separate churches.

An important branch of activity was preventive and rescue work among prostitutes. In 1850 another mission body acquired a house in Noel Road, Edgbaston, which was used from 1858 as a rescue home in connexion with this work, and became the property of the City Mission in 1862. (fn. 79) The home accommodated sixteen girls, (fn. 80) who were put to work in a laundry. As a result of shortage of funds the home was sold to a laundry in 1924. A second refuge, in Tindal Street, which was open in 1886, was sold in 1900, for a similar reason. In 1929 the mission was wound up and its endowments and assets transferred to the Birmingham Medical Mission, Floodgate Street, q.v. (fn. 81)

The Medical Mission first began work in Birmingham in 1875, when a dispensary was opened in Park Street, and moved, in the following year, into premises in Barn Street, off Fazeley Street. New premises, specially built for the mission, were opened in Floodgate Street in 1879, (fn. 82) and in 1892 a mission hall in use was said to seat 300; 243 persons attended a Sunday evening service. There was also, in 1892, a branch mission in Granville Street, with accommodation for 100. (fn. 83) In 1899 the branch mission was in Ellis Street; another was conducted in connexion with the Presbyterian church in Long Acre, q.v., of which the missioner, Dr. W. T. Crabbe, was a member. (fn. 84) The Floodgate Street mission was said, in 1937, to have been founded for the 'provision of medical attendance for the sick poor, combined with the reading of the Gospel and other measures calculated to improve the spiritual, physical and social condition of the poor of the district surrounding the property of the mission'. Consultations were held on three mornings a week, after a short service.

In 1938 a part of the old premises was sold and a new branch opened in Kitts Green Road, on the Lea Hall estate. About this date the 'parish' of the mission was extended to permit work in any part of Birmingham, and after the Second World War it was decided to concentrate effort in the new Lea Hall and Glebe Farm estates. The remaining premises in Floodgate Street were consequently sold in 1945. (fn. 85)

The Railway Gospel Mission, an interdenominational mission for evangelistic work among railwaymen, had two Birmingham meeting-places in 1883, in Bolton Road, and Mill Lane, Saltley. (fn. 86) In 1892 a branch described as the Vauxhall mission occupied 'Duddeston Hall', where there was a Sunday evening congregation of 124; (fn. 87) Duddeston Hall may be identifiable with Duddeston Gospel Hall, Great Francis Street, registered for public worship in 1916. (fn. 88) Harvey's Memorial Hall, in Bolton Road, was registered in 1898. (fn. 89) In 1904 a new mission hall in St. Andrew's Road was opened for 'evangelistic and temperance work among railwaymen'. (fn. 90) Built at a cost of £1,300, it was designed by H. H. Reynolds, and included a caretaker's cottage, tea room and classroom. (fn. 91) In 1929 a new branch of the mission was started at Tyseley, (fn. 92) in connexion with which Acock's Green Embankment mission in Spring Road was registered in 1934. (fn. 93) The St. Andrew's Road Hall passed into the hands of the Dr. Crabbe Memorial mission in 1948, (fn. 94) and in 1957 the only Birmingham branch of the mission was Spring Road. (fn. 95)

The Seamen's and Boatmen's Friend Society, an undenominational body seeking to 'promote the social, moral and religious welfare of seamen, canal boatmen and their families', (fn. 96) first registered a building in Birmingham for public worship in 1865. (fn. 97) Similar work among the Birmingham canal workers was started by the Congregationalists in 1841, (fn. 98) five years before the founding of the national society. In 1852, in addition to the Congregational mission there was a 'boatmen's chapel' in Water Street; (fn. 99) the address in 1858 was Tindal Bridge. (fn. 1) In or shortly before 1865 a brick and stone Boatmen's Bethel was built for the society on Worcester Wharf, by a Miss Ryland, of Barford Hill, Warwick, at a cost of more than £2,000. (fn. 2) In 1892 this provided sittings for 250 and claimed a Sunday evening congregation of 56. (fn. 3) The facilities offered by the building in 1900 included a coffee room, a reading room, a sewing class, and a Band of Hope. Open-air services were held in the summer, and a paid missionary conducted canal-side services throughout a wide district. (fn. 4) A school connected with the hall is described elsewhere. (fn. 5) In 1913 the registered title of the building was changed to the Bridge Street Boatmen's Hall. (fn. 6) It was no longer open in 1957.

Other Churches and Missions

Addison Road, King's Heath Union Church was registered for public worship in 1892. (fn. 7)

Albert Road,

Handsworth Calvary Evangelical Church was registered for public worship in 1957. (fn. 8)

Alcester Street Elizabeth Green Mission was constituted by deed of trust in 1936 as a mission room for any religious or charitable purpose. (fn. 9)

Alfred Road, Handsworth Christian Mission Rooms were registered for public worship from 1928 to 1954. (fn. 10)

Alton Road, Selly Oak undenominational church was registered for public worship from 1912 to 1945. (fn. 11)

Alum Rock Road, Saltley mission hall, a timber hut, was established by deed of trust in 1925 for use as 'a place of worship, school for adults, children, or Band of Hope, or other religious or educational meetings'. It was sold in 1956. (fn. 12)

Berners Street, Lozells Bethel Pentecostal Tabernacle, on the first floor, was registered for public worship in 1934. (fn. 13)

Bloomsbury Street Bloomsbury Institution was established in 1860 by David Smith, a Wesleyan, and formerly a prominent member of the Nechells Green and Belmont Row churches. It was devoted largely to educational, social, and charitable work. Welsh services were held in 1869. In 1875 R. W. Dale, minister of Carrs Lane chapel, inaugurated a newlyopened church building. (fn. 14)

Booth Street Zion Holiness Mission was registered for public worship in 1956. (fn. 15)

Bristol Road Northfield Holiness Mission, on the ground floor, was registered for public worship in 1939. (fn. 16)

Broad Street Bible Hall was registered for public worship in 1904, (fn. 17) and re-registered by the Birmingham and Midland Adult Deaf and Dumb Association in 1909. (fn. 18)

Cape Street gospel hall was acquired by the Midland Evangelization Trust in 1916. It was sold in 1939. (fn. 19)

Corporation Street meeting-room, at no. 266, was registered for public worship from 1928 to 1938 by a body of 'Bible Students' who subsequently moved to Steelhouse Lane, (fn. 20) q.v.

Corporation Street County Chambers Esoteric Classrooms were registered for public worship in 1915. (fn. 21)

Crabtree Road The Terrace mission room was registered for public worship in 1927. (fn. 22)

Crawford Street, Saltley Crown Sunday School and Bible Class was registered for public worship in 1939. (fn. 23)

Farm Street Hockley Hall was registered for public worship from 1899 to 1952. (fn. 24)

Finch Road, Handsworth The Gables Hall was registered for public worship in 1936. (fn. 25)

Great Brook Street Birmingham Open-air Mission meeting-rooms were registered for public worship from 1934 to 1954. (fn. 26) The mission had previously, from 1931, met in rooms in Coleshill Street. (fn. 27)

Great Francis Street Duddeston Gospel Hall, formerly a Salvation Army barracks, was registered for public worship from 1916 to 1925. (fn. 28)

Heath Green Road Cromwell Hall was registered for public worship in 1897. (fn. 29) In 1909 T. H. Aston bequeathed the lease of the hall and schoolroom in trust for 'teaching protestant and evangelical tenets and opposing Roman Catholicism and infidelity'. The hall had been used previously by the Birmingham Christian Evidence and Protestant Laymen's Association, founded in 1870. The mission was known from 1933 as the Cromwell Hall Evangelistic Mission. Activities in 1947 included a Sunday school, Sunday evening services for adults, a mothers' meeting, prayer-meeting, and youth clubs. (fn. 30)

High Street, Saltley meeting-room was registered for public worship from 1930 to 1952 by the Christian Volunteer Force. (fn. 31)

Highbury Road, King's Norton Evangelical Free Church was registered for public worship in 1943. (fn. 32) It was formerly, from 1929 to 1943, known as King's Heath Mission Church, and was registered by the 'Free Church'. (fn. 33)

Institute Road mission hall was registered for public worship in 1913. (fn. 34)

Islington Row meeting-room, on the corner of Wheeley's Lane, was registered for public worship in 1934. (fn. 35)

Kettlehouse Road, Kingstanding Victory Gospel Hall was registered for public worship in 1940. (fn. 36)

Mansel Road Church of the Nazarene, in three rooms, was registered for public worship in 1954. (fn. 37)

Mary Street, Balsall Heath Homeland Assembly Hall was registered for public worship in 1946 by the Homeland Missionary Society. (fn. 38)

New Street, Aston Manor Evangelical Church was registered for public worship in 1943. (fn. 39)

Park Place, Warwick Street working-men's mission, a building occupied by Richard Seaton, was registered for public worship from 1868 to 1897. (fn. 40)

Park Road, Moseley All Nations Evangelical Church was registered for public worship in 1958. (fn. 41)

Parkfield Road Pentecostal Church was registered for public worship in 1933. (fn. 42)

Pershore Road Stirchley Gospel Mission Hall was registered for public worship from 1937 to 1952. (fn. 43)

Saltley Road Gospel Message Mission, a ground floor room, was registered for worship in 1934. (fn. 44)

South Road, Erdington Zion Mission Hall was registered for public worship from 1906 to 1939. (fn. 45) It was then re-registered as an Elim church. (fn. 46)

Station Road, Stechford meeting-hall was registered for public worship from 1936 to 1952. (fn. 47)

Steelhouse Lane, Glovers Building Bible Students' meeting-room was registered for public worship in 1938. (fn. 48)

Upper Priory meeting-room was registered for public worship from 1932 to 1946. (fn. 49)

Ward End Road, Ward End Bethel Gospel Temple was opened in 1932 (fn. 50) and was registered for public worship by the Union of Gospel Churches. (fn. 51)

Wattville Road, Handsworth undenominational chapel was in existence in 1892, when two subsidiary missions were conducted, in Booth Street, and in Mornington Street. (fn. 52)

World's End Lane, Quinton Evangelical Free Church was registered for public worship in 1944. (fn. 53)

Wrottesley Street Protestant Chapel, in connexion with the 'Protestant evangelical mission and electoral union' of London, was purchased and opened by the anti-catholic preacher, William Murphy, in September 1867, (fn. 54) a few months after his preaching had occasioned the Birmingham 'Murphy' riots. (fn. 55)

Wycombe Road Hall Green meeting-room, on the corner of Stratford Road, was registered for public worship in 1942. (fn. 56)

Footnotes