The Church of St Alban the Martyr
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The present Church of St Alban the Martyr is actually the third of that name in the parish. Opened in 1881, it replaced an earlier church opened in 1871 on the corner of Dymoke Street and Leopold Street. The earlier church was then renamed St Columba's and continued in use as a Mission Chapel until 1910 and as a school until 1915, when it was replaced with a new school building. The earlier church had itself replaced a simple mission chapel of St Alban opened in 1865 on Leopold Street.
You can find out about the first Mission Church opened in 1865 here: St Alban's Mission Church.
You can find out about the Second Church opened in 1871 here: The Second Church.
The population of the District had continued to increase, and the second church did not match all of the Church Commissioners' requirements that had to be met before the District could be made into an independent Parish.
William Butterfield the First Choice of Architect
At this time the Building Committee was expecting to erect a church designed by William Butterfield, the well-known Gothic Revival architect of All Saints, Margaret Street in London and Keble College in Oxford. Butterfield had been first asked to provide designs to improve, then enlarge, and finally replace the existing church on the corner of Dymoke Street and Stanhope Street. The minutes of a meeting on the 16th of September 1875 include: “It was resolved that Mr Pollock be authorised to confer with Mr Butterfield as to the future alterations of St Alban's Church” and at a meeting on the 29th of December: “Resolved that Mr Middlemore be instructed to write to Mr Butterfield asking for Plans of proposed Alterations to S. Alban's Church.”
Both resolutions refer to alterations to the 1871 Church on the corner of Leopold Street and Dymoke Street – it seems that a completely new church on a new site was not yet envisaged, despite the notification that had been given to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of the possibility that a new church would be built for the parish instead of upgrading the existing one to meet their requirements.
The Building Committee first looked to William Butterfield, the architect of the ornate Victorian Gothic All Saints Margaret Street and of Keble College, Oxford, to prepare suitable plans for the alteration or replacement of the existing church. The first result was a plan from Butterfield for rebuilding the chancel as a first step, not enlarging the nave as was needed.
In 1874 the Church Building Committee resolved to stop carrying out alterations to the existing Church to meet the requirements of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and instead either to enlarge the existing church or to build a completely new church for the District.
Butterfield advised building the new church either on the site of the old or elsewhere, again starting with an ornate chancel. The Committee wrote to him explaining more fully their position and asking for plans to build the nave and aisles first on the old site at an estimated cost of £5,000.
It is not clear how the Committee expected services to take place while the church was rebuilt on the Leopold Street/Dymoke Street site.
In 1875 Tom Pollock’s health broke down he left Birmingham for nearly two years, wintering in southern France and Italy. In 1876 James Pollock, also in ill health, retired to the Isle of Man for three months. The mission was left in the charge of two assistants. Before he left he urged the erection of a large plain Iron Church, or a large plain brick Church like that in Leopold Street. He threatened to resign if it were not provided in six months. But the Committee insisted they would instead build a “proper” Church.
A New Site for the New Church
By May 1877 the Committee had accepted that a new site was needed. A half acre of ground at the corner of Stanhope Street (then called Ryland Street) & Conybere Street was available at the price of one thousand pounds.
In July the Committee resolved to empower Trustees to negotiate with the vendors for the purchase of the Land, “in accordance with Mr Butterfield's Plan marked B”. (What a pity it is that we do not have any of the plans or drawings prepared by Butterfield!)
In May 1878 the Committee Resolved to write to Mr Butterfield asking him to give rough estimates for building Chancel & Nave & Aisles without decorations. Those estimates were very much higher than expected.
In June the Committee rejected an amended plan “as the requirements of the Parish would not be adequately fulfilled” and resolved that Mr Butterfield's plans so far as the Chancel, Furnace Room & Clergy Vestry amounting in all to about £3,300 be accepted and that a temporary Iron nave to hold eight hundred people be erected, to be at once proceeded with in view of its being opened at the end of the year.
The idea of coupling a temporary iron building to his work did not please Butterfield.
A New Architect John Loughborough Pearson
In September 1878, The Chairman of the Building Committee read a letter from Butterfield resigning his position as Architect.
The committee asked him to reconsider, but he wrote confirming his resignation, ending “I cannot go into a fresh scheme, of the unsoundness of which, I am satisfied, after my experience of the three schemes with which I have already been engaged. I have therefore thought it best to retire. I may say in addition that I cannot connect myself with such a permanent deformity as this plan with an iron nave and aisles will be, if carried out.”
In November James Pollock reported that he had seen Mr Pearson, whose opinion was that a church similar to S. Peter's Vauxhall, London might be built for £10,000. He had prepared the plans for St Peter’s Vauxhall in 1860. It has less stonework than St Alban’s, with a brick west end.
In December Pearson was appointed Architect. In April 1879 his plans were approved and he was instructed to proceed with the working drawings.
Major Donations and Mission-Creep
Pearson had indicated that, unlike Butterfield, he was willing to build the church in stages as funds were available. However, after digging the foundations began in 1879 arguments continued in the Committee about whether to build the nave or the chancel end first.
Eventually Thomas Middlemore, a member of the Building Committee, announced a scheme to build the whole of the church at once and to use stone in place of brick with the addition of stone from the pillars upwards as well as the roof. He would give £1,000 in 1880 and the same in 1881; Mr Mole promised £500 in 1880 and the same in 1881. Although this would not come near to covering the full cost, the Committee could not refuse this offer. On the 13th of January the Committee “resolved unanimously that instruction be given for the Building of the whole of the Church (excepting the tower) and substituting stone for brick in the Roof, Nave & Chancel as suggested by the Architect.”
The ceremonial foundation stone was laid on the 31st of January 1880. The Church opened for public worship on the 3rd of May 1881 but it was not consecrated until the 4th of December 1899.
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