Church of St Peter, Birmingham, West Midlands

Summary

Church constructed 1961-1964 to the designs of Norman T Rider, with stained glass by Tristan Ruhlmann.

Description

Church constructed 1961-1964 to the designs of Norman T Rider, with stained glass by Tristan Ruhlmann.

MATERIALS: constructed of reinforced concrete with brick ambulatory and dalle de verre glasswork. The domed roof of the church and the north-east vestry is topped with copper.

PLAN: the church takes the form of an octagonal drum with a tall west tower. The ambulatory of the church is a single-storey lean to structure which follows the outline of the drum with the attached lady chapel situated to the south. A vestry and office are attached at the north-east end of the church.

EXTERIOR: the west tower of the church is tall and is topped with a circular concrete roof supported by four columns and surmounted by a copper cross. The square shaft of the tower has concave elevations with concrete criss-cross belfry windows. Three tall slim lights are situated on the first floor of the tower, on the north and south elevations, with a further two lights above. Beneath is the contrasting convex entrance with flat concrete arch with stepped detail and original timber doors below. Behind the tower is the church’s large concrete octagonal drum with projecting lean-to brick structures. The concrete dome of the church is a single span measuring approximately 28m east to west and 23m north to south. Six of the building’s eight concrete elevations (three to the north and three to the south) contain a pair of dalle de verre windows by Tristan Ruhlmann, installed in 1964. The twelve clerestory windows depict ancient prayer mats which would have traditionally hung in open windows of early Christian churches. The wavy edges of the mats depict movement in the wind. The east elevation of the church contains the large east window which illustrates a scene from the gospel of St John; the colourful dalle de verre glasswork extends across five tall lights with ferramenta.

The ambulatory of the church takes the form of a single-storey lean-to structure constructed in stretcher-bond brick with blue brick plinth. The ambulatory has a series of small, irregular window openings with concrete surrounds. Attached at the south end of the building, is the flat-roofed lady chapel with the 1970 dalle de verre window on the east elevation depicting the nativity scene. The chapel is also in brick and has a concrete plat band with the south elevation containing three slim window openings.

At the north-east end of the church is an attached flat-roof block containing a vestry and office. The block has a covered entrance with ramped walkway and modern uPVC windows on the north and south elevations.

INTERIOR: the principal entrance opens to a narthex with timber ceiling and concrete walls. To either side of the narthex is a small warden’s room and a separate store, with ladder access to the tower above with further storage space. Glazed double doors lead from the narthex to a large open nave with seating (not fixed) radiating from the sanctuary at the east end. The walls of the nave and chancel are bush-hammered concrete with the ambulatory walls plastered. The floor of the church is parquet with a small central slab incised with an alpha and an omega character. Around the perimeter of the nave are a number of slender reinforced concrete piers which have an irregular section. The sanctuary is dominated by the large 1964 dalle de verre east window and has a simple arched credence shelf to the right. The mahogany altar table stands at the centre with matching altar rails and metal balustrade at the bottom of three tiled steps. A pulpit, in a matching mahogany veneer to the altar table and railings, is situated both to the north and south of the altar. A triangular concrete font with rounded corners is situated at the west end of the church with the organ pipes and mahogany casing in place over the narthex.

At the south end of the church, behind a wall of glazing, is the lady chapel. The altar has a simple timber rail and altar table with Ruhlmann’s 1970 dalle de verre window behind. An additional credence shelf with small concrete lintel is situated on the south wall.

Accessed via the north-east end of the nave is the vestry and office with matching parquet flooring to the main church.

History

The building of the Church of St Peter started in the spring of 1961 with the construction experiencing a number of delays; it was eventually completed in 1964. The church replaced an earlier, wooden mission church on the site which served the parish from 1923. The earlier church was destroyed by fire in 1959 and designs for the new church were completed by the autumn of 1960 by local architect Norman T Rider. Reverend Joseph Adlam, who was officially inducted as vicar in 1962, was closely involved in the design process.

Rider and Adlam were interested in the work of French dalle de verre artist Tristan Ruhlmann and arranged a meeting with him during a visit to the continent to see his work. The dalle de verre technique of setting thick ‘stones’ of glass into concrete or epoxy resin was developed in France in the 1930s and was first brought to Britain by Pierre Fourmaintraux in the 1950s. While there are a few examples of Roman Catholic churches commissioning French dalle de verre practitioners, the Anglican commission of Ruhlmann at the Church of St Peter appears to be very unusual. Tristan Ruhlmann was the son of the notable glassmaker, Marcel Ruhlmann who worked primarily in Alsace and across the border in Germany. Tristan Ruhlmann continued to work in Alsace throughout his career and his works are found in several churches within the region. Ruhlmann developed the dalle de verre technique by ensuring that the glass was heated and then immediately arranged, ensuring a greater precision and finesse to his work. Designs by Ruhlmann for the Church of St Peter were subsequently approved with potentially heavy import taxes for the windows waived after the involvement of the local Member of Parliament, Aubrey Jones. The commissioned windows included an east window depicting a scene from the gospel of St John, described at the time as the ‘finest window in the Midlands’, and twelve clerestory ‘carpet’ windows. The windows were installed in 1964, shortly before the completion of the church. The church was consecrated on 24th October 1964, with over 500 people present at the consecration. The window in the adjoining lady chapel was added in 1970 with the chapel consecrated that year. The later window is also by Ruhlmann as one of his last works.

The church’s original organ dated to 1885 and was first sited in another church in Spring Hill before being donated to the Church of St Peter. The organ was rebuilt in the late-C20 after a period of hot weather rendered the earlier instrument unplayable.

Reasons for Listing

The Church of St Peter in Hall Green, constructed 1961-1964 to the designs of Norman T Rider with stained glass by Tristan Ruhlmann, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural Interest:
* the church is imaginative in its design and successfully executed with the strikingly tall west tower acting as a beacon to the local community;
* the church contains the only known work in the country by renowned dalle-de-verre artist, Tristan Ruhlmann an important figure in developing the technique with the glass itself of clear quality;
* all of the church’s principal fittings survive including the concrete font, mahogany pulpit and altar tables.

Historic Interest:
* as a good example of a post-war Anglican church with notable commissions from a French dalle de verre practitioner.

External Links

Historic England Listing

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