Dating back to the 13th century, the church was constructed by Aston Church as part of the Diocese of Lichfield. It is dedicated to King Alfred's granddaughter, Edburgha of Winchester.[2] Edburgha (d. 960) was a nun who spent her whole life in St Mary's Abbey, Winchester. She was canonised in 972, when some of her remains were transferred to Pershore Abbey, Worcestershire, for its refounding as the Abbey of St Mary and St Edburgha. Yardley formed part of the original endowment of the Abbey, as mentioned in King Edgar's Charter for Pershore of 972.[3][4]
The nave, north aisle, and Becket Chapel date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The church tower and spire date from 1461, though the central section of the spire dates from 1898 as a result of restoration work carried out in that year. It is believed that the church spire may have been built by the same master mason who built the church spires at Sheldon and Kings Norton.[5] Inscriptions on the stonework at Sheldon give his name as Henry Ulm, it also records that the tower was built in 1461 fitting the time frame for the church spire at St Edburgha's Church.[5] The church is 149 feet (45 m) tall. St. Edburgha's remained the only church in Yardley until Marston Chapel was consecrated in 1704.[6]
The roof of the church above the nave was replaced between April and December 1926. Services were first held in the churchyard, however, gnats made this difficult so they were then moved to the parish hall.
Featuresedit
An unusual feature is the doorway on the north aisle which has the Tudor rose and pomegranate carved above the archway in celebration of the marriage of Henry VIII's older brother, Prince Arthur, and Catherine of Aragon.[2]
Another feature are scraped incisions in the base of the tower. The cause of these is unknown but it is believed that they may be sharpening marks.[2]
The clock on the side of the church tower has been replaced many times due to weathering. It was originally made of wood but it fell into a state of decay often. It also blocked a whole window on the side of the tower. Now the clock is made of metal with the window visible behind it.
On the interior wall of the church is an incised alabaster slab of Thomas and Marion Est (d. 1462).[5] It is heavily worn.[5]
Bellsedit
Within the church tower are eight bells, installed in 1950 following the recasting of the six original bells and the addition of two trebles. They are hung from a frame manufactured by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough.
Yardley owned two bells before 1638, as noted in the 1552 inventory. It is believed that the metal from these bells was used in the manufacture of the three 1638 bells. These were the oldest bells in the tower prior to the 1950 recasting work. The next oldest bell was produced by John Martin of Worcester in 1653. A fifth bell was added by 1691 by William Bagly and it remained as such for 200 years.
In 1892, the bells were rehung by Henry Bisseker. The sixth bell was added in 1902 and had been produced by James Barwell of Birmingham,[7][8] who also produced new bearings for the bells. At the same time, the oak frame within the spire was repaired.
In 1949, it was discovered that the church tower had become infested with death watch beetles resulting in problems with ringing the bells. On 1 May 1949, the bells stopped ringing to allow work to begin on repairing the frame and recast the bells. The new ring of bells was dedicated by Michael Parker, the Archdeacon of Aston on 9 September 1950.
Organedit
The church previously contained an organ by the Aolian Company which was renovated by Kingsgate Davidson in 1955 and later by Leighton Organs. It comprised 3 manuals and pedals with 34 speaking stops.[9] The current organ was installed in 1997 by Organ Tuning Services of Stratford-upon-Avon. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[10]
^ abcImages of England: Yardley (Introduction), Michael Byrne, 2002, Tempus Publishing (ISBN0-7524-0339-7)
^Stokes, Peter A. (21 July 2015). "King Edgar's Charter for Pershore (AD 972)". King's College London Research Portal. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
^Page, William; Willis-Bund, J, W., eds. (1913). "Parishes: Yardley" in A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 3. London: Victoria County History. pp. 238–245, para 111. Retrieved 6 March 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
St Edburgha's Church Bell Ringers: The Bells and Tower
Virtual Brum: Acocks Green History Society: Norman to medieval times, and St. Edburgha's church
Yardley including St. Edburgha's Church, F. P. Corden
Yardley Old Church (Saint Edburgha) Birmingham-year book, St. Edburgha, Church : Yardley, 1951, Ramsgate, Graham Cumming Ltd
The heraldry of St. Edburgha's Church, Yardley, B. A. Juby, A. Bernard, 1988, Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry
October 27, 2023
edburgha, church, yardley, edburgha, church, also, known, yardley, church, parish, church, yardley, area, birmingham, england, grade, listed, building, part, yardley, conservation, area, 4745, 8026, 4745, 8026denominationchurch, englandchurchmanshipbroad, chur. St Edburgha s Church also known as Old Yardley Church is a parish church in the Yardley area of Birmingham England It is a Grade I listed building 1 and a part of the Old Yardley conservation area St Edburgha s Church YardleySt Edburgha s Church Yardley52 28 28 N 1 48 09 W 52 4745 N 1 8026 W 52 4745 1 8026DenominationChurch of EnglandChurchmanshipBroad ChurchWebsitewww stedburghas comHistoryDedicationEdburga of WinchesterAdministrationProvinceCanterburyDioceseBirminghamParishYardley Birmingham Contents 1 History 2 Features 2 1 Bells 2 2 Organ 3 See also 3 1 Other mediaeval churches in Birmingham 4 ReferencesHistory editDating back to the 13th century the church was constructed by Aston Church as part of the Diocese of Lichfield It is dedicated to King Alfred s granddaughter Edburgha of Winchester 2 Edburgha d 960 was a nun who spent her whole life in St Mary s Abbey Winchester She was canonised in 972 when some of her remains were transferred to Pershore Abbey Worcestershire for its refounding as the Abbey of St Mary and St Edburgha Yardley formed part of the original endowment of the Abbey as mentioned in King Edgar s Charter for Pershore of 972 3 4 The nave north aisle and Becket Chapel date from the 14th and 15th centuries The church tower and spire date from 1461 though the central section of the spire dates from 1898 as a result of restoration work carried out in that year It is believed that the church spire may have been built by the same master mason who built the church spires at Sheldon and Kings Norton 5 Inscriptions on the stonework at Sheldon give his name as Henry Ulm it also records that the tower was built in 1461 fitting the time frame for the church spire at St Edburgha s Church 5 The church is 149 feet 45 m tall St Edburgha s remained the only church in Yardley until Marston Chapel was consecrated in 1704 6 The roof of the church above the nave was replaced between April and December 1926 Services were first held in the churchyard however gnats made this difficult so they were then moved to the parish hall Features editAn unusual feature is the doorway on the north aisle which has the Tudor rose and pomegranate carved above the archway in celebration of the marriage of Henry VIII s older brother Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon 2 Another feature are scraped incisions in the base of the tower The cause of these is unknown but it is believed that they may be sharpening marks 2 The clock on the side of the church tower has been replaced many times due to weathering It was originally made of wood but it fell into a state of decay often It also blocked a whole window on the side of the tower Now the clock is made of metal with the window visible behind it On the interior wall of the church is an incised alabaster slab of Thomas and Marion Est d 1462 5 It is heavily worn 5 Bells edit Within the church tower are eight bells installed in 1950 following the recasting of the six original bells and the addition of two trebles They are hung from a frame manufactured by John Taylor amp Co of Loughborough Yardley owned two bells before 1638 as noted in the 1552 inventory It is believed that the metal from these bells was used in the manufacture of the three 1638 bells These were the oldest bells in the tower prior to the 1950 recasting work The next oldest bell was produced by John Martin of Worcester in 1653 A fifth bell was added by 1691 by William Bagly and it remained as such for 200 years In 1892 the bells were rehung by Henry Bisseker The sixth bell was added in 1902 and had been produced by James Barwell of Birmingham 7 8 who also produced new bearings for the bells At the same time the oak frame within the spire was repaired In 1949 it was discovered that the church tower had become infested with death watch beetles resulting in problems with ringing the bells On 1 May 1949 the bells stopped ringing to allow work to begin on repairing the frame and recast the bells The new ring of bells was dedicated by Michael Parker the Archdeacon of Aston on 9 September 1950 Organ edit The church previously contained an organ by the Aolian Company which was renovated by Kingsgate Davidson in 1955 and later by Leighton Organs It comprised 3 manuals and pedals with 34 speaking stops 9 The current organ was installed in 1997 by Organ Tuning Services of Stratford upon Avon A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register 10 See also editListed buildings in BirminghamOther mediaeval churches in Birmingham edit St Nicolas Church Kings Norton St Laurence s Church Northfield St Giles Church SheldonReferences edit Historic England Church of St Edburgha Grade I 1343385 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 27 January 2009 a b c Images of England Yardley Introduction Michael Byrne 2002 Tempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 0339 7 Stokes Peter A 21 July 2015 King Edgar s Charter for Pershore AD 972 King s College London Research Portal Retrieved 7 March 2019 Page William Willis Bund J W eds 1913 Parishes Yardley in A History of the County of Worcester Volume 3 London Victoria County History pp 238 245 para 111 Retrieved 6 March 2019 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names editors list link a b c d Victor Skipp The History of Greater Birmingham down to 1830 1987 V H T Skipp ISBN 0 9506998 0 2 Virtual Brum Ecclesiastical history Archived 2007 09 28 at the Wayback Machine Mr James Barwell Obituary Notice Birmingham Weekly Mercury Hosted at Jewellery Quarter Heritage 2 April 1892 Retrieved 7 March 2018 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint others link Barwell advertisement from 1897 NPOR D03011 National Pipe Organ Register British Institute of Organ Studies retrieved 18 January 2021 NPOR E01252 National Pipe Organ Register British Institute of Organ Studies retrieved 18 January 2021 St Edburgha s Church Bell Ringers The Bells and Tower Virtual Brum Acocks Green History Society Norman to medieval times and St Edburgha s church Yardley including St Edburgha s Church F P Corden Yardley Old Church Saint Edburgha Birmingham year book St Edburgha Church Yardley 1951 Ramsgate Graham Cumming Ltd The heraldry of St Edburgha s Church Yardley B A Juby A Bernard 1988 Birmingham amp Midland Society for Genealogy amp Heraldry Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Edburgha 27s Church Yardley amp oldid 1082077387, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
