Church Monuments Society

In light of recent changes in Government Covid directives, we are now able to go ahead with our visit to Holy Trinity Church in Sutton Coldfield on Saturday October 23^rd 2021 (subject of course, to no further restrictions!).

The church contains some interesting monuments, including some brasses, the matrix of some lost shrouded brasses, notable classical monuments to the Pudsey and Jesson families, and the tomb of Bishop Vesey (a man much more than just a Bishop of Exeter), his effigy attributed to a 16^th century Burton-upon-Trent workshop.

The plan for the day is as follows:

Sutton Coldfield, Holy Trinity church

I will meet train participants at Sutton Coldfield Railway Station by 11:00am. This would allow for arrival by train at Sutton (Cross-city line from Birmingham New Street, or Lichfield Trent Valley), or by car to a car park near to the station.

At 11:00am we will walk to Holy Trinity. The walk will take about 15 minutes. We can have an hour in the church before taking lunch.

At 12:15pm Holy Trinity will provide lunch. Lunch will consist of sandwiches and cake plus tea/coffee, and we will be making a donation towards the church fabric. All of this will be covered by a fee of £7.50 per head, payable with your booking (booking form below).

Afternoon

At 1:00pm, we go free-format for the afternoon, but I can make a couple of suggestions:

For car-borne visitors;

Effectively free to do what you want, but I am sure that some will want to church visit their way home. I have identified some churches in Warwickshire with good monuments. I am in the throes of communicating with them, and I will share any info that I can get with participants, as I get it.

For those on the train;

I am ready to travel to Birmingham New Street with those who will be returning home via that route (historically, journeys could be broken on the return leg, but by all means, check when you book your tickets), or anyone who needs to get an additional ticket. We should get to Birmingham New Street by 2:00pm.

At New Street, I will muster everyone on our arrival platform, and then walk the party to New Street/Corporation Street junction (which will be a useful point for navigation purposes).

From New Street/Corporation St, I am prepared to offer a guided tour of the town centre for up to an hour and a half. This will be optional to you, and you may leave the tour at any point. The following indoor locations will hopefully be open during the afternoon (all subject to Covid conditions at the time):

St Martins in the Bullring (church) https://www.bullring.org/  (monuments to the de Bermingham family here);

Cathedral of St Philip http://www.birminghamcathedral.com/ (including famous Burne-Jones windows);

The Newman Brothers “Coffin Works”  The former Newman Brothers funerary furnishings factory was championed by our own Dr Julian Litten on television, whilst it lay abandoned and at some risk of sale for redevelopment. Self-guided visits are bookable for a fee – refer to their website for details.  http://www.coffinworks.org/

Robin Draper

Booking.

Please download and fill in a booking form and send it to me. Please follow instructions on the form for payment options.