St Mary's Church, Aston Brook
Church in Aston, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Aston Brook is a former parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham.[1] The church was demolished in 1972.
| St Mary’s Church, Aston Brook | |
|---|---|
 St Mary’s Church, Aston Brook | |
| 52°29′47.3″N 1°53′6.4″W | |
| SP 07896 88734 | |
| Location | Aston |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary the Virgin |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | James Murray |
| Completed | 1863 |
| Demolished | 1970s |
The church was built in 1863 to designs of the architect James Murray. It was consecrated by Henry Philpott, Bishop of Worcester, on Thursday 10 December 1863.[2] The tower was added in 1882. The church was equipped with a two manual pipe organ by Norman and Beard. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[3]
In 1864, a parish was formed out of the parishes of St. Peter and St. Paul, Aston, St Silas’ Church, Lozells, and St Matthew's Church, Duddeston. The church opened a school for Girls and Infants in 1868.[4]
Aston Brook St Mary's
The church was noted for having a cricket team. They regularly played cricket, amongst others, against the Wesleyan Chapel at Villa Cross, Lozells.[5] The cricketers were keen to find an outlet for their energy in the off-season. This was organised by a young Scot named Charlie Johnstone who had played rugby at Montrose Academy. A rugby ball was obtained from Clapshaw & Cleave on Edmund Street and they negotiated a two-year tenancy in the lower ground of Aston Park, beside the soccer club, Aston Unity who later played on the higher ground.[6]
In the 1874-75 season their Methodist friends and cricket opponents arranged a football match challenging St Mary's.[7] Aston Brook played rugby so a compromise was made whereby, using a round ball, the teams played rugby in the first half and soccer in the second. In later years Johnstone reminisced "Hack him down - sit on his head, was the cry for one half the game, and You must not collar-charge him, was yelled for the other".[8] James Wilson allowed the game to be played at his building plots on Wilson Road, Birchfield.[9][7]
St Mary's opponents, Aston Villa Football Club, played in scarlet and royal blue hooped shirts, white shorts and royal blue caps and stockings.[7] Under the Sheffield Rules up to fifteen players were allowed at the time.[7] Yeomans and Perry played well for St Mary's.[7] For Villa, Scattergood kept goal; the full-backs were Walter Price, William Weis and Fred J. Knight; half-backs were Ted Lee, Charles Midgely, Harry and George Matthews; forwards: Hughes, Mason, William Sothers, Wiiliam Such, Harry Whately, George Page, and Alfred Robbins.[7] After a goalless first-half, Aston Villa's Hughes scored the only goal off the rebound when the goalkeeper spilled his first effort.[7][10] In a newspaper article, almost fifty years later, in March 1924, Hughes was insistent this was Aston Villa Football Club's first match which had occurred on the third Saturday of March 1874.[7] However a report of the event was published in Birmingham Morning News on 16 March 1875.[11]