St Mary's Church, Aston Brook

St Mary's Church, Aston Brook is a former parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham.[1] The church was demolished in the 1970s.

St Mary’s Church, Aston Brook
Map
52°29′47.3″N 1°53′6.4″W / 52.496472°N 1.885111°W / 52.496472; -1.885111
LocationAston
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
History
DedicationSt Mary the Virgin
Architecture
Architect(s)James Murray
Completed1863
Demolished1970s

The church was built in 1863 to designs of the architect James Murray. It was consecrated by Henry Philpott, Bishop of Worcester, on Thursday 10 December 1863.[2] The tower was added in 1882. The church was equipped with a two manual pipe organ by Norman and Beard. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[3]

In 1864, a parish was formed out of the parishes of St. Peter and St. Paul, Aston, St Silas’ Church, Lozells, and St Matthew's Church, Duddeston. The church opened a school for Girls and Infants in 1868.[4]

Aston Brook St Mary's

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The church is noted for having a rugby club which played a match against a team from Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth. For the team from Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel, this was their first match as Aston Villa Football Club. As a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under rugby football rules and the second half under association football rules.[5]

References

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  1. ^ The Buildings of England. Warwickshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140710310 p.149
  2. ^ "St Mary's Church, Aston Brook". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham. 11 December 1863.
  3. ^ "NPOR [D02625]". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Opening of St Mary's New School, Aston Brook". Birmingham Journal. Birmingham. 18 April 1868.
  5. ^ Ward, Adam; Griffin, Jeremy (30 September 2002). The essential history of Aston Villa. Headline book publishing (2002). ISBN 0-7553-1140-X.