St Stephen the Martyr's Church, Newtown Row explained

St Stephen the Martyr’s Church, Newtown Row
Coordinates:	52.4952°N -1.8954°W
Location:	Birmingham
Country:	England
Denomination:	Church of England
Dedication:	St Stephen
Consecrated Date:	24 July 1844
Architect:	Richard Cromwell Carpenter
Style:	Early English Gothic
Groundbreaking:	27 September 1842
Completed Date:	1844
Construction Cost:	£3,200
Closed Date:	1950
Capacity:	1,150 people

St Stephen the Martyr's Church, Newtown Row is a former Church of England parish church in Birmingham.

History

The church was funded by the governors of King Edward's School, Birmingham and built by the Birmingham Church Building Society to designs by the architect Richard Cromwell Carpenter. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Worcester on 24 July 1844.^[1]

In 1869 part of the parish was taken to form a new parish for St Nicolas' Church, Hockley.

In 1890 the vicar made liturgical changes to the service, replacing “Psalms and Hymns” with “Hymns Ancient and Modern”, put the choir in surplices, and set the church Ad orientem.^[2] which caused a rift amongst some dissident members of the congregation. Some members left and formed an Evangelical Mission in Ormond Street.

A major restoration was undertaken in 1896, and the church was rebuilt in 1910 by William Bidlake.

In 1896, the parish purchased New John Street West Presbyterian church as a mission room, which two years later was consecrated as St Edward's Church, Hockley.

The church was closed in 1950 and demolished. The parish was united with that of St Mary's Church, Aston Brook. Some of the paneling was reused in Christ Church, Ward End and the altar taken to St Boniface, Quinton.^[3]

Vicars

• John Garbett 1844 - 1848
• Stenton Eardley 1848^[4] - 1854
• Patrick Reynolds 1854 - 1890
• G.H. Cameron 1890^[5] - 1900 (formerly senior curate of St George's Church, Edgbaston)
• J.T. Jones 1900^[6] - 1907 (afterwards vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Birchfield)
• Tom Stephenson Dennison 1907^[7] - ????
• Harry Dickinson 1917^[8] (killed in action during the First World War)^[9]
• F.W. Chambers 1918 - 1920 (formerly vicar of St Alban's Mission Church, Cowley St John, Oxford)
• Edward Lewis Blood 1920 - 1948^[10] (formerly vicar of St Margaret's Church, Ladywood)

Organ

On 12 September 1847, the third anniversary of the consecration of the church, a new organ by Banfield was opened.^[11]

Organists

• William Akers Edwards 1846 - 1851^[12]
• William C. Stockley 1851-1856^[13] (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Whittall Street, Birmingham)

Notes and References

1. News: . Birmingham New Churches . Aris’s Birmingham Gazette . Birmingham . 22 July 1844 . 7 March 2015 .
2. News: . Parochial Differences in St Stephen’s Newtown Row . Aris’s Birmingham Daily Post . Birmingham . 5 January 1891 . 7 March 2015 .
3. Web site: St Boniface . nationalchurchestrust.org . 27 April 2022.
4. News: . The Rev. Stenton Eardley . Aris’s Birmingham Gazette . England . 15 May 1848 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
5. News: . St Stephen’s Church, Birmingham . Birmingham Daily Post . England . 20 May 1890 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
6. News: . Ecclesiastical Intelligence . Birmingham Daily Post . England . 9 June 1900 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
7. News: . New Vicar of St Stephen’s . Birmingham Daily Gazette . England . 26 September 1907 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
8. News: . New Vicar of St Stephen’s Newtown Row . Birmingham Daily Post . England . 19 February 1917 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
9. News: . Chaplain Killed in Action . Birmingham Daily Gazette . England . 6 November 1917 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
10. News: . Obituary The Rev. E.L. Blood . Birmingham Daily Post . England . 8 January 1971 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
11. News: . The sum of £29. 0s 2.5d was collected on Sunday last . Birmingham Journal . England . 18 September 1847 . 16 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
12. News: . The Wardens of St Stephen’s Church . Aris’s Birmingham Gazette . England . 17 February 1851 . 10 January 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
13. Book: Handford . Margaret . 1992 . Sounds Unlikely. Six Hundred Years of Music in Birmingham . Birmingham and Midland Institute . 174 . 0951442473.