Local Heritage

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Historical Landmarks

Two Streetly Churches

The district of Streetly takes its name from the Ryknield Street, a Roman road, the line of which can still be followed in Sutton Park starting at the Parson & Clerk Inn and running for about two miles towards the railway line. There is archaeological evidence of Stone Age people in the area. In medieval times the district was still largely forest and formed part of the Earl of Warwick's Chase of Sutton with a Manor House on Manor Hill in Sutton Coldfield.

By the 13th century charcoal burners had cleared much of the original forest, hence the name 'The Colefield'. The land was left as heath and marshland which was described in the late 18th century as "a barren sheep walk containing in some large tracts scarcely any other plants than heath, in other places fern, gorse, whortleberries and rushes with grass in small proportion". Much of the area which then formed part of Great Barr Common was enclosed in 1795 at the behest of local landowners, being divided and let as 9 farms, and today Streetly still retains much of its semi-rural character, though considerable residential development has taken place over the years.

Two of Streetly's most interesting buildings, which also happen to be the two oldest churches there, are Streetly Methodist Church (located on the corner of Thornhill Road and Little Hardwick Road) and All Saints' Anglican Parish Church (at the corner of Featherston Road and Foley Road East).

'Methodism' was originally a nickname applied to a Christian revival movement in 18th century Britain, based within the Church of England and led by, among others, the brothers John and Charles Wesley. John Wesley records in his journal that he crossed Barr Common on one of his journeys to Stafford, on a cold winter's night in 1746. Although Wesley declared, "I live and die a member of the Church of England", the strength and impact of the movement, especially after John Wesley's clandestine ordinations in 1784, made a separate Methodist body virtually inevitable, and as such it flourished in the 19th century and later.

 

Streetly Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1909

Methodism is first mentioned in Streetly in 1845, however, when it was noted that Methodists were meeting in a cottage in Hardwick Road. The present Streetly Methodist Church, which is part of the Sutton Park Circuit, was built as a School Chapel in 1909 by Messrs. Crouch, Butler and Savage of Birmingham, at a total cost of £2,130. It was enlarged to its present size in 1931, and a new porch was completed in 1982. A further Methodist Chapel was built in Blackwood Road in 1958 to meet the needs of the newly developed residential areas of Streetly.

 

All Saints Church, Streetly, early 20th century

Streetly Parish Church itself was built in 1908 on land given by Mr. Arthur Turner and Mr. B.T. Featherston of Maxstoke Castle. The foundation stone of the original church (now the South Aisle and the Lady Chapel), was laid on Saturday 5th December 1908, and the church was dedicated to All Saints on 27th May 1909. It was originally designed as a Mission Church to serve the eastern part of Great Barr which remained the mother church and appointed a curate until Streetly parish was formed in 1918, though All Saints was licensed for weddings in 1911. The parish is in the Deanery of Walsall at the southern extremity of the Diocese of Lichfield.

The church was enlarged in 1953 - 4 to accommodate the growing population of Streetly. The foundation stone of the 1954 extension (which now includes the Nave, Chancel and Sanctuary), was laid on Saturday 5th December 1953, exactly 45 years to the day since the first foundation of the church.

Apart from a beautiful set of traditional stained glass windows, All Saints contains a number of attractive early features, including the stone Font and brass Ewer dating from 1909, the 1937 Oak Pulpit made by Messrs. Bridgeman's of Lichfield and the figured Oak Lectern, a gift of thanks offering for the recovery from war wounds of a young Streetly officer in 1916. The Processional Cross was given to the church in 1909. Other decorative and symbolic features have been added over the years.

Both Methodist and Anglican churches are still going strong, and while rooted in a historic past, continue to keep Christianity up to date in Streetly, as evidenced by their Internet web sites, on which further information may be found.