St Martin in the Bull Ring

Parish church
name=St. Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham


caption=St. Martin in the Bull Ring.
dedication=Saint Martin
denomination=Church of England
tradition=Low Church
parish=Birmingham, St Martin
diocese=Birmingham
province=Canterbury
rector=Revd Stuart Jones
vicar=
vicar1=
organistdom=
website= [http://www.stmartininthebullring.com/ www.stmartininthebullring.com] Anglican Portal

The church of St Martin in the Bull Ring (gbmapping|SP073866) in Birmingham, England is a parish church in the Church of England.

Background

It is the original parish church of Birmingham. It stands between the Bullring shopping centre and the markets. The church is a Grade II* listed building. The current Rector is Stewart Jones.

History

The original church

The present Victorian church, built on the site of a 13th century church which was documented in 1263. The church was enlarged in medieval times and the resulting structure consisted of a lofty nave and chancel, north and south aisles and a northwest tower with spire. In 1690, the church-wardens "dressed the church in brick." All was cased in brick with the exception of the spire.cite book|title=A concise history of Birmingham|author=R. Jabet|coauthors=J.P.Lucas|year=1808|publisher=R. Jabet]

John Cheshire rebuilt 40 feet of the spire in 1781 and was strengthened by an iron spindle running up its centre at a length of 105 feet. It was secured to the sidewalls at every ten feet by braces. In 1801, several metres from the top of the spire and were replaced after they were found to have decayed. The tops of the four pinnacles surrounding the main spire were also rebuilt. By 1808, the spire had been struck by lightning three times.

In 1853, the brick casing was removed from the tower by Philip Charles Hardwick, who added the open-air pulpit. The church also consisted of an organ, the reedwork of which had been done by John Snetzler. However, the pipes were found to be ineffective due to their proximity to the church roof and walls.

Current church

In 1873, the church was demolished and rebuilt by architect J.A. Chatwin in 1873, preserving an earlier tower and spire. During the demolition, medieval wall paintings and decorations were discovered in the chancel, including the charity of St Martin dividing his cloak with a beggar, and two painted beams were discovered behind the plaster ceiling. The exterior is built of rockfaced grimshill stone. The interior is of sandstone and an open timber roof. [cite book|author=Douglas Hickman|title=Birmingham|pages=37-39|year=1970|publisher=Studio Vista Limited]

From east to west the length of the church is 155ft., including the chancel, the arch of which rises to 60ft.; the width, including nave (25ft.) and north and south aisles, is 67ft.; at the transepts the width is 104ft.

The South Transept has a Burne-Jones window, made by William Morris in 1875. This window was taken down for safe keeping the day before a World War II bomb dropped beside the church (10th April 1941), destroying all remaining windows."St. Martin's in the Bull Ring", Church Guide, 1991, ISBN 0-85101-282-5] The West window is a 1954 copy of the Henry Hardman 1875 window destroyed by the Blitz.

As part of the Bull Ring development in 2003, the church was cleaned and repaired.

St Martin in the Bullring is also open from 10-5 every day for visitors to view the interior.

List of Clergy

* Luke Smith, 1578 - 1646
* Samuel Wills 1646 - ????
* ?
* John Riland 1663 - 1672?
* ?
* Charles Curtis
* Thomas Moseley 1829 - 1846
* Dr. John Miller 1846 - 1866
* Canon Dr. William Wilkinson ???? - 1872 - 1896
* ?
* Revd Arthur J. Robinson ca. 1899
* ?
* Canon Bryan Green ca. 1958
* Canon Peter Hall ???? - 1984 (afterwards Bishop of Woolwich)
* W. G. Wesson 1985 - ????
* Canon Adrian Newman 1996 - 2004 (afterwards Dean of Rochester)
* Revd Stuart Jones 2004 -

Bells

There were four bells in 1552, together with a clock and chime. Six bells were put up in 1682. In 1751 eight were increased to twelve.

The first broadcast of church bells ringing was of St Martin's."St. Martin's in the Bull Ring - a story of seven centuries", Rev Philip Crowe, 1975] Since 1991 the church has sixteen bells hung for ringing – a most unusual number, five, six, eight, ten or at the most twelve would be typical.

Organ

The pipe organ is by Harrison & Harrison and dates from 1906. It was rebuilt in 1955 and moved to the north transept by John Compton. The opening recital was given by George Thalben-Ball on 30 March 1955. The specification of the organ can be found at the [http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N07289 National Pipe Organ Register]

Organists

* Barnabas Gunn 1740 - 1753 (jointly with St. Philip's)
* ?
* Walter Brooks ca. 1871
* Dr. W. John Reynolds ca. 1912
* Richard Wassell ca. 1916 - 1939 - ????
* ?
* Geoffrey Fletcher ca 1950s, 1960s
* David Griffiths ? - 1986
* Richard Wardell

References

External links

* [http://www.stmartininthebullring.com Church of St Martin in the Bull Ring]
* [http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/history/stmartins.htm History of the church from Virtual Brum]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/faith/places_of_worship/christian/st_martins_church.shtml BBC "Where I Live" - article and panoramic views of interior]
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=636&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=0 Birmingham City Council page on the church]
*