St Mary's, the parish church
Moseley,
now a middle suburb of Birmingham, into which it was incorporated
in 1911, was originally a hamlet in the parish of Kings Norton, Worcestershire.
This was a large parish and because of the distance involved, well
over four miles as the crow flies, a chapel was established at Moseley,
probably at the end of the 14th century. In 1405 permission was given
for parishioners of Bromsgrove who lived near Kings Norton to attend
mass at St Mary's, Moseley.
In October
1642, during the Civil War, Lord Willoughby de Parham inflicted a
defeat on Prince Rupert in a battle near Moseley, and Captain Richard
Greaves, of the Moseley family, commanded Parliamentarian troops during
the sack of Birmingham by the King's forces in April 1643.
It was
not until 1853 that Moseley became a separate ecclesiastical parish.
From this time there were further changes to parish boundaries, new
parishes being formed around Moseley as urban development spread outwards
along the line of the Birmingham to Alcester road, through Moseley
to King's Heath which had been served by the Birmingham to Gloucester
railway since 1840.
Moseley
station was opened in 1867, followed by the tramway in 1884, making
it a fashionable area for the manufacturers, merchants and professional
men of Birmingham who built many fine houses in the parish. Unfortunately
the area has declined somewhat over the years, although many Victorian
buildings have survived redevelopment. The current trend towards conservation
will ensure the future of the more interesting ones and, indeed, many
in 'the Village', as the shopping area near the church is still known
to locals, have already had a facelift.
The present
church comprises a chancel, nave, north aisle, transept and tower
with eight bells, believed to date from 1514. The rest of the building,
mainly by J.A. and P.B. Chatwin, dates from the latter part of the
19th century when major reconstruction took place.
