- Erdington Abbey
Erdington Abbey Church (gbmapping|SP112922) on Sutton Road,
Erdington ,Birmingham ,England , is the more usual name of thegrade II listed church of Saints Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of aRoman Catholic parish in theArchdiocese of Birmingham served by theRedemptorist s. The abbey itself was the adjacent building, now Highclare School.Erdington Abbey church
In 1847 Father Heneage built a chapel in
Erdington High Street, on the croft opposite the end of Station Lane.Before this priests from
Oscott College had said mass in a house on the High Street, but Catholics in Erdington are mainly indebted to the Rev. Daniel H. Haigh, founder of the Church of SS Thomas & Edmund of Canterbury. He laid thefoundation stone of the new church on 26 May 1848. The church was opened and consecrated by Bishop Ullathorne on11 June 1850 . The church is an example of theGothic revival .The church was designed by
Augustus Pugin well-known for designing notable Roman Catholic buildings in Birmingham, such asSaint Chad's Cathedral andOscott College The church was built by Charles Hansom, who built the steeple of the church convert|117|ft|m|abbr=on high, which is also the length of the building.Abbey
In 1876 Father Haigh handed over his church, parish and estate of four acres to the Benedictine monks from Beuron in
Germany , exiled for theirfaith from their own country during the "Kulturkampf ", the anti-Catholic and anti-clerical movement headed by Bismarck.The abbey was built on this land next to the church. Its building is also grade II listed.
Roman Catholic Redemptorists
The Benedictine monks were later displaced a second time, as a result of problems experienced by the predominantly German
Beuronese Congregation during theGreat War (1914-18). The parish came under the control of theRedemptorist order of priests in 1922, and is currently served by Fr. Gabriel Maguire C.Ss.R - Rector and Parish Priest and Fr. Francis Dickinson C.Ss.R.External links
* [http://abbey.erdington.org Original Erdington Abbey Parish Website]
* [http://www.erdingtonabbey.co.uk/ Official Erdington Abbey]
* [http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/ebc/2001hodgetts.pdf Erdington Abbey, 1850-1876-2001 by Michael Hodgetts]
*IoE|217662|- church - Grade II
*IoE|217663|- old abbey, now Highclare School - Grade II
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