Page:Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham.djvu/238

226 church of iron and wood, erected at a cost of £620, to accommodate 320 persons, all seats being free, was dedicated Dec.' 18, 1877.

Aston Church.—It is impossible to fix the date of erection of the first church for the parish of Aston, but that it must have been at a very early period is shown by the entry in the Domesday Book relative to the manor. The parish itself formerly included Bordesley and Deritend, Nechells and Saltley, Erdington and Witton, Castle Bromwich, Ward End, and Water Orton, an area so extensive that the ecclesiastical income was very considerable. In Henry III.'s reign the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield received twenty marks yearly out of the fruits of the rectory, the annual value of which was sufficient to furnish £26 13s 4d. over and above the twenty marks. Records are in existence showing that the church (which was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul) was considerably enlarged about 300 years after the Conquest, and a renovation was carried out nearly a century back, but the alterations made during the last few years (1878-84) have been so extensive that practically it may be said the edifice has been rebuilt. The seating capacity of the old church was limited to about 500, but three times that number of persons will, in future, find accommodation, the cost oh the extensions and alterations having been nearly £10,000. The ancient monuments, windows, and tablets have all been carefully replaced in positions corresponding to those they filled formerly, with many additions in the shape of coloured glass, heraldic emblazonments, and chaste carvings in wood and stone. The old church, for generations past, has been the centre-point of interest with local antiquarians, as it was, in the days far gone, the chosen last resting-place of so many connected with our ancient history-the Holtes, the Erdingtons, the Devereux, the Ardens, the Harcourts, the Bracebridges, Clodshalls, Bagots, &c. Heie still may be seen the stone and alabaster effigies of lords and ladies who lived in the time of the Wars of the Roses, two showing by their dress that while one was Lancasterian, the other followed the fortunes of York. The tablets of the Holte family, temp. Elizabeth and Charles, and the Devereux monument of the Jacobean era, are well preserved, while all around the shields and arms of the ancient families, with their many quarterings, form the best heraldic collection anywhere near Birmingham. The parish registers date from the 16th century, and the churchwardens accounts are preserved from the year 1652. Among the facts recorded in the former we may note the burial of the dozen or so Royalist soldiers who lost their lives while defending Aston Hall from the attacks made on it by the Birmingham men in December, 1643; while in both there are quaint entries innumerable, and full of curious interest to the student and historian. The Rev. W. Eliot, M.A., the present vicar, was instituted in 1876 (commencing duty Feb. 25, 1877), the living (£1,600 value) being in the presentation of trustees. In connection with the Church there are Mission Rooms in Tower Road and in Alfred Street, with Sunday Schools, Bible classes, Dorcas, and other societies. The first portion of the late additions to the Church was consecrated July 5, 1880; the new chancel on Sept. 8, 1883.

Bishop Rider's, a square-towered brick edifice in Gem Street, was built in 1837-38, the laying of the foundation stone (August 23, 1837) being characterised by the almost unheard-of conduct of the low denizens of the neighbourhood, who pelted the Bishop of Lichfield with mud on the occasion. The consecration took place Dec. 18, 1838 and the building cost £4,600. The living, valued at £300, is in the hands of trustees, the present vicar being the Rev. J. P. Gardiner. The vicarage,