St Philip's Story

A potted history of St Philip's, Penn Fields

St Philip's Church was built in 1859 on a piece of land known as the 'cloddy mere', just off Coalway Lane (now Road).  It was intended to serve the growing settlements of Bradmore and Penn Fields.  The new parish, carved out of the old parish of Penn, also included several farms, a cluster of cottages at Merry Hill, and some large wealthy residences along Penn Road.  The first vicar was the well-known evangelical William Dalton, previously vicar of St Paul's, Wolverhampton.  Soon after the church was built, the road from Coalway Road was continued past the church to join Trysull Road by the home and workshop of the gunlock maker Thomas Rigby, who was later to open the Gunmaker's Arms.  Thomas Rigby's son was the first child to be baptised at St Philip's.  The church provided a new school in Church Road which was opened in 1864 in memory of the vicar's wife Sarah, who had recently died.

The vicarage was built in 1882 for the second vicar, Revd. Vernon.  This is the large old house behind the church.  The current vicarage was converted from the 'church room' originally built in 1898.  In 1902-3, the church responded to further growth in the parish by establishing mission halls at Merry Hill (later becoming St Joseph's) and Mount Road, Penn (St Aidan's).  In 1911 the St Philip's Institute was built in Victoria Road, Bradmore, and became the hub of many social and sporting activities in the community.

The graveyard was opened in 1901.  It suffered from its reputation as a cloddy mere and coffins were sometimes reported to float!  Nevertheless, some notable local people were buried there, and there are some interesting graves.  It is now closed to new burials, and looked after by the City Council.

The parish grew rapidly in the 1930's with new suburban development in Finchfield and Penn, but the church seemed to struggle to be relevant to the local community, especially during the war years.  After the war, Revd. Hugh Jordan and then Revd. Caldwell Peers, assisted by some energetic curates, revitalised the parish.  The choir, the Sunday School and youth groups flourished during the 1950's, and the church celebrated its centenary in 1959 with confidence.

In common with many churches in the last 50 years, St Philip's has experienced periods of falling attendances, and has been challenged by the problems of maintaining a large old building.  In 1997, an ambitious re-ordering of the interior of the church was carried out, creating a worship area upstairs, with a church hall and meeting rooms downstairs.  Now, in 2010, the church building is in use throughout the week by a variety of church and community groups, and church membership is growing.

We thank God for all he has done, and continues to do, in the parish of Penn Fields

For further information please contact the Penn Fields Parish office:

Tel: 01902-341943

E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it