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Sandon Road Methodist Church, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Biniam

Biniam

New Member
'm currently conducting research on the heritage of Sandon Road Methodist Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham. I've already explored the Birmingham City Archives but couldn’t find some specific materials I’m looking for.


If anyone has access to—or knows of—oral histories, old photographs, past events, or any historical information related to the church, I’d be incredibly grateful for your help.


Please feel free to get in touch or share anything you may have.
Thank you in advance for your support!
 
Astoness said:
hi and welcome...i am a tad confused as i cant find a sandon road church in edgbaston however there is one in sandon road bearwood...? just to be clear is this the one click on link below


www.birminghammail.co.uk

Birmingham church could be bulldozed to make way for apartment block

The church has been closed since January last year due to a declining congregation
www.birminghammail.co.uk www.birminghammail.co.uk
lyn
Click to expand...
Lyn,
It's on the corner of Sandon Rd and Poplar Avenue. I think it is on the Birmingham side of the border with Bearwood, Smethwick. But that's got to be the building.
Derek
 
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Biniam said:
'm currently conducting research on the heritage of Sandon Road Methodist Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham. I've already explored the Birmingham City Archives but couldn’t find some specific materials I’m looking for.


If anyone has access to—or knows of—oral histories, old photographs, past events, or any historical information related to the church, I’d be incredibly grateful for your help.


Please feel free to get in touch or share anything you may have.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Click to expand...
Because Sandon Rd Methodist church is so close to Bearwood, you could look at Smethwick Heritage Centre https://www.smethwick.org.uk and https://smethwicklocalhistory.co.uk
 
We can stretch the date of the Church to before 1917 as there is a reference to a Rev Walter Hawkins, minister of this Church.
 
Pedrocut said:
The Sandon Road Wesleyan Church was built 1890 at the corner of Barnsley Crescent. Now marked St George Eritrean Orthodox Church.
Click to expand...
Yes, there was a Methodist church at the corner of what is now Barnsley Rd and Sandon Road this is now the Eritrean church, but it isn't the church on the corner of Sandon Road and Poplar Avenue which is set for demolition and redevelopment.

The latter was built in 1953 and was First Church of Christ Scientist, Birmingham. (Midlands Ancestry) But as late as 1999 it was licensed for marriages by the Methodist Church. [Notice in London Gazette
"No. 55586". The London Gazette. 18 August 1999]
So if this is the correct building we are looking between 1999 and 2021 when it ceased to be used for worship.
 
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Biniam said:
'm currently conducting research on the heritage of Sandon Road Methodist Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham. I've already explored the Birmingham City Archives but couldn’t find some specific materials I’m looking for.


If anyone has access to—or knows of—oral histories, old photographs, past events, or any historical information related to the church, I’d be incredibly grateful for your help.


Please feel free to get in touch or share anything you may have.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Click to expand...
Hello Biniam,
If you are looking for stories about the Methodist church situated at the corner of Sandon Rd and Poplar Ave as pictured by Astoness in her post then the best source is likely to be paper copies of the Smethwick Telephone. These are not digitised yet, but Sandwell Library, High Street, Smethwick has copies. Older copies of the Telephone are available on British Newspaper Archive. There are stories about Sandon Road Methodist church, but this is the Victorian Redbrick building on the corner of Barnsley Road.

Do please clarify which building and congregation you are interested in. Then we could do more digging.
Best wishes with your search,
Stokkie
 
Last mention 1994.
In 1996 I think it is the Second Church (Broad Street) that has an article…”Welcome to The Church (nightclub) 2 years and £2:5m since the Church of Christ scientist.
 
Stokkie said:
Hello Biniam,
If you are looking for stories about the Methodist church situated at the corner of Sandon Rd and Poplar Ave as pictured by Astoness in her post then the best source is likely to be paper copies of the Smethwick Telephone. These are not digitised yet, but Sandwell Library, High Street, Smethwick has copies. Older copies of the Telephone are available on British Newspaper Archive. There are stories about Sandon Road Methodist church, but this is the Victorian Redbrick building on the corner of Barnsley Road.

Do please clarify which building and congregation you are interested in. Then we could do more digging.
Best wishes with your search,
Stokkie
Click to expand...

Dear Stokkie,

Thank you so much for your helpful response and for pointing me in the right direction regarding the archives.

To clarify, I am indeed interested in the Victorian redbrick building on the corner of Barnsley Road, formerly known as Sandon Road Methodist Church. This is the building pictured in Astoness’s post.

As part of a heritage exhibition we are organising through the St George Eritrean Orthodox Church charity, we are trying to collect stories, records, or oral testimonies from the period between 1870 and 1950, particularly any that shed light on:

  • The public perception and community role of the church during that time.
  • Any oral histories, Sunday school memories, wedding or funeral stories, or general community interactions with the church.
  • The impact of the church on local life and any personal recollections from the surrounding area.

Any help in pointing us to sources, potential contributors, or where we might find such stories would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the link to see the building

commons.wikimedia.org

File:Former Methodist Church - Barnsley Road Sandon Road, Edgbaston (6934046042).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org commons.wikimedia.org
 
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Biniam said:
Dear Stokkie,

Thank you so much for your helpful response and for pointing me in the right direction regarding the archives.

To clarify, I am indeed interested in the Victorian redbrick building on the corner of Barnsley Road, formerly known as Sandon Road Methodist Church. This is the building pictured in Astoness’s post.

As part of a heritage exhibition we are organising through the St George Eritrean Orthodox Church charity, we are trying to collect stories, records, or oral testimonies from the period between 1870 and 1950, particularly any that shed light on:

  • The public perception and community role of the church during that time.
  • Any oral histories, Sunday school memories, wedding or funeral stories, or general community interactions with the church.
  • The impact of the church on local life and any personal recollections from the surrounding area.

Any help in pointing us to sources, potential contributors, or where we might find such stories would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the link to see the building

commons.wikimedia.org

File:Former Methodist Church - Barnsley Road Sandon Road, Edgbaston (6934046042).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org commons.wikimedia.org
Click to expand...
Thanks Biniam for clarifying which Methodist church you are interested in. Subscribing to https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk will give you access to The Smethwick Telephone which was published from 1850. A month's subscription costs £14.99 Searching for 'Sandon Road Methodist Church' will give you lots of stories.

For oral history, if you use Facebook, I'd post on some of the Bearwood forums. I'd ask other Methodist churches in the area. Warley Woods for example.

Smethwick Heritage Centre
https://www.smethwick.org.uk and https://smethwicklocalhistory.co.uk
might have some ideas. Mary Bodfish is a knowledgable local historian and could be contacted via the Heritage centre.

Thimblemill Library in Bearwood is well worth contacting as well as the main Smethwick library in High Street.

Good luck!
Stokkie
 
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