Christ Church, Birmingham is a lively multicultural church community. , Previously there was a parish church called the same name in the
Church of England on
Colmore Row,
Birmingham from 1805 to 1899.
History
The church building was built by public subscription. The site was donated by William Phillips Ing.[1] The foundation stone was laid on 22 July 1805 by
George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth.[1] The Earl of Dartmouth was representing
King George III, who had intended to lay the foundation stone personally, but was prevented from doing so by illness. The King gave £1,000[1] (equivalent to £102,500 in 2023)[2] towards the construction.[3] The final cost was £26,000.[1] The original architect was Birmingham-based
William Hollins.
It was built in stone in the Classical style with Doric columns dominating the west front. The square west tower, completed in 1814, supported an octagonal belfry and an octagonal spire. The original design had included a
cupola instead of a spire.[4] The catacombs beneath the church were believed to contain the re-interred remains of
John Baskerville.[1]
^An historical and descriptive sketch of Birmingham: with some account of its environs, and forty-four view of the principal public buildings. Beilby, Knott, and Beilby, 1830
^'Religious History: Churches built since 1800', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, ed. W B Stephens (London, 1964), pp. 379–396. British History Online
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp379-396 [accessed 23 May 2020].
^"The Rev. J.G. Breay". Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. England. 26 November 1832. Retrieved 16 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.