St Patrick

Awarded a grant to help fund a project to carry out repairs to the Nave and North aisle roof and to stonework and to replace rainwater goods. The roof and rainwater goods are the 1890s originals and have gone far beyond their useful life. The repairs to the roof will secure the future of this church and ensure that it continues to serve an important role in the community, especially for visitors and patients of the nearby hospital.

St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a large, Gothic style building, built in red brick. Designed by Dempster & Heaton of Birmingham, the church was built by respected local firm John Bowen & Sons who later went on to build the Victorian Law Courts, Edgbaston Assembly Rooms and the Birmingham Meat Market. The church opened in 1895.

The interior in particular is of high quality and richly furnished. At the east end of the chancel is an elaborate high altar and reredos. The altar is stone, alabaster and coloured marble with a carved panel of the ‘pelican in her peity’ at its centre. The reredos is carved stone relief panels, angels and crocket details. The sanctuary floor is paved with a mixture of modern marble and historic Minton tiles.

Due to many parishioners being shift workers from the hospital, the building is open as early and as late as possible to accommodate their needs. The church is used by a wide range of local, vibrant and diverse groups, including Vietnamese, Filipino and African communities. There is a daily Mass. Due to the church’s close proximity to the A&E hospital department, it offers a valuable place for anybody needing a place of quiet reflection, in particular those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.