Wolverhampton's Locally Listed Buildings

St. Chad's Church and Church Hall
now known as St Chad's and St Marks

Owen Road

Listing:  Main church opened 1908.  Red brick with terracotta detailing.  Adjacent church hall dated 1898.  Built to serve expanding population in surrounding area. See also vicarage, Manlove Street. Locally Listed, approved November 2001.

Literature:  [Chris O'Brien], St Chad's Church: A Brief History 1908 - 2008, published by the church.

Comment:  The church hall is to the right of the church in the photo above; and the vicarage is behind it, along the road to the left of the church. 

Chris O'Brien's work reveals a somewhat complex architectural and religious history.  The details of this, and much else (including a fascinating account of the church's district at the end of the 19th century), can be found in his excellent history. The following is a sort summary.

In 1894 Prebendary Jeffcock of St. Peter's appealed for funds to establish a new church, schools and parsonage to serve the are between Great Brickkiln Street and Lea Road, which was then being rapidly built up. He intended these new buildings to be a memorial of the 900th anniversary of St. Peter's.  A mission room was built first in 1888-89 and it became the church hall after the church itself was built.  The church was dedicated on the 28th November, 1908.  The architect was the Diocesan architect, Frederick T. Beck and the builder was H. Lovatt.  Both of these names are of well known Wolverhampton people. 

The church was extensively re-ordered in 1979-80, including the division of the body of the church into two floors.  The church became home to several items from Wolverhampton's closed churches: "the large crucifix on the west wall and the statues of St. Mary and St John were originally part of the Rood Screen at Christ Church, Wolverhampton.  They were moved to St. John's, Wednesbury, but came to St. Chad's in 1980.  The figures are in plaster, by August Gerber of Cologne and were presented to Christ Church in 1904 by Laurence Hodson of Compton Hall.  Another acquisition was the painting now behind the font".

The windows were originally of plain glass but stained glass windows were given over a period of time.  They include a window, "The Sower", which was the last designed by Florence Camm of T. W. Camm & Co., of Smethwick, which had been founded by her father in 1882, and which she ran after his death in 1912.  The firm had a national and international clientele; and examples of Florence Camm's work are displayed at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. There are other Camm windows in the church. 

Further "in 2008, using the funds released by the sale of St. Mark's former home in the Bannister Hall, it became possible to install in St. Chad and St. Mark the stained glass windows once at the East end of St. Mark's which had been in the Eye Infirmary since the main Church building was sold."  They now form a back lit panel at the west of the Church.

The amalgamation with St. Mark's took place in 2001, so that the church is now known as St. Chad's and St. Mark's, though no formal re-dedication has taken place.