St Jude's Church, Birmingham was a parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham.The Buildings of England. Warwickshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. Penguin Books. p.112

History The parish was formed in August 1846 from parts of the parishes of St Martin in the Bull Ring and St Philip's. Building of the church started in Hill Street in 1850 when Henry Pepys, Bishop of Worcester laid the foundation stone on 14 August. He subsequently consecrated the church on 26 July 1851. The building was of brick in the Early English style designed by Orford and Nash, consisting of a chancel, nave and aisles.

In 1861, the church opened St Jude's Schools, also on Hill Street.

A restoration project was undertaken in 1879.

In 1905, the Society of the Precious Blood was started when Mother Millicent Mary SPB (formerly Millicent Taylor)Calendar of Commemoration, Diocese of Oxford took her vows in the church.See Guide to the Religious Communities of the Anglican Communion, authorised by the Advisory Council on Religious Communities, published by A R Mowbray, London, 1951, pages 53-54.

Depopulation of the city centre resulted in declining attendance. The church eventually closed and was subsequently demolished in 1971. The site on Hill Street is now occupied by the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, built in 1975.

Incumbents

George Davenport 1846-1856 George Pettitt 1856-1873 T.G. Watton 1873-1893 (formerly vicar of St Anne's Church, Duddeston) William Marchmant Lewis 1893-1896 Arnold Pinchard 1896-1920 Edward Denis Tyndall MC 1920-1941 J. Dixon 1941-1950 W.E. Brooke 1950-1960 Bernard T. Croft 1960-1971

Organ The church was equipped with a pipe organ by Edward James Bossward dating from 1867. It was opened on 19 May 1867 and had 13 stops. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Upon closure, the organ was transferred to Clayesmore School in Dorset, and then moved to St Michael and All Angels Church, Exeter in 2013.

Organists John Heywood 1863-1864 Harold Gray 1922-1927 Lawrence Briggs 1931-1966 (grandfather of the organist and composer David Briggs).David Briggs - Biography. Accessed on 24 November 2021. Alan Walker 1966-1971

References