Anglican Church Of Ss Peter And Paul

Paul (Formerly listed as: WITTON LANE B6 WITTON PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL) (Formerly listed as: WITTON LANE WITTON PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL) II* An Anglican parish church, originating before 1086, though nothing visible survives from this date.

The west tower dates from the C15, with its spire renewed in 1776-7 by John Cheshire

The aisle windows and those to the south (Erdington) chapel have simple Y-tracery, with drip moulds and some head stops, in part to accommodate stained glass from the earlier church.

The nave and chancel are continuous, the transition between the two marked by large pinnacles with gargoyles at their bases.

Nave, chancel and chapel have gargoyles and moulded detailing.

The high C15 tower arch has four continuous chamfers.

Immediately in front of it is the font, with elaborate cover

The seven-bay nave arcades are formed from pointed arches carried on alternating round and octagonal piers, with shallow capitals with foliate carving.

The hammer-beam roof has a wealth of carved timber angels, and punched decoration to the trusses.

The elaborate two-bay chancel arcades have ogival arches, with rich embellishments including crocketing, cusping, angel figures and pinnacles.

The apse has five fine stained glass windows by Hardman and Co, dating from 1885, depicting the Adoration of the Lamb.

Below, the sanctuary is clad in marble, with rich carved and pierced decoration, incorporating canopied sedilia.

These, and the other furnishings, were all designed by Chatwin, including the pulpit, which is situated at the eastern end of the nave

The Erdington chapel has a timber barrel-vaulted roof, mosaic floor and houses monuments to the Erdington family.

In addition to the Hardman windows at the east end, there is further stained glass of the mid- and late C19 to the north and south aisles, Erdington chapel, and tower.

MONUMENTS: The church has an important collection of effigies and mural monuments, dating in a wide range from the medieval period to the C19.

There are further mural monuments sited in the north and south aisles, the Erdington Chapel, and under the tower.

The monuments include the following, though the list is not exhaustive.

An alabaster knight of circa 1360

a sandstone lady of circa 1490 lying together on a tomb chest

said to be a C16 amalgamation of the two original tomb chests, possibly commemorating Ralph Arden and Elizabeth, wife of Robert Arden, and probably moved here from Maxstoke, his home.

he is in armour, she in a long skirt and mantle, set on a chest tomb with carved shields and angels

probably erected circa 1460.

Another similar effigy, probably to Sir William Harcourt , on a chest tomb with carved angels.

born in Deritend, Birmingham in 1500, Rogers was instrumental in the translation

revision of the Matthews Bible, which became the standard translation in 1537

he was burned at the stake in 1555 as part of Mary Tudor's persecution of Protestants.

A mural monument with the kneeling figures of Edward Holte and his wife, Dorothy, set in a recess with Corinthian columns.

A fine monument of the early C18, with weeping putti, to Sir Thomas Holte who built nearby Aston Hall.

A highly architectural monument to Sir John Bridgman by James Gibbs, 1726.

Mural monument in the Baroque style, to Sir Charles Holte Mural monument to Robert Holden and wife Laetitia by Michael Rysbrack, 1753, with angel heads.

John Feeney , benefactor of the church, an Arts and Crafts plaque with classical surround and figures, by George Frampton, 1901.

Thomas de Erdington founded a chantry in the church in 1449, and the family are commemorated in the Erdington Chapel in the current church.

From the mid-C16 until 1818, the advowson descended with the manor of Aston, falling to the prominent Holte family who built nearby Aston Hall in the early C17 and remained lords of the manor for some 200 years.

Members of the Holte family have monuments in the present church.

The earliest surviving part of the current church is a small amount of C14 stonework set in the north aisle wall, though this is not legible as part of the earlier church building.

The west tower was built during the C15, and its spire renewed by John Cheshire in 1776-7.

Drawings indicate that during the early C19, the church had a chancel with an east window of circa 1300 of three lights and intersecting tracery, and with three south windows.

Feeney was buried at the church, and is commemorated with a memorial by George Frampton, RA.

The building incorporated embellishments from the earlier church on the site, including some C19 stained glass, and fragments of the medieval phases, including a C14 piscina, resited in the south aisle.

The south chapel was created as the Erdington Chapel, to house monuments to that family.

A wide range of monuments from the earlier church was incorporated into the new building, ranged along the north and south aisles, north and south sides of the chancel, and in the Erdington Chapel.

A glass and metal-framed meeting room was inserted into the north aisle during the later C20.

SOURCES: Colvin, H, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects , 249-50 Foster, A, Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham , 279-81 Griffin, P and Griffin, P, Aston Parish Church: A History and Guide Pevsner, N and Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire , 146-8 History of the County of Warwick (Victoria County History), Volume 7: City of Birmingham , 374-6 REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Anglican Church of SS Peter and Paul, Aston, is designated at Grade II*, for the following principal reasons: * The west tower is an impressive, substantial survival from the C15, with an elegant spire added in 1776-7 by John Cheshire * The remainder of the church, built to designs by J A Chatwin in 1879-1908, is a high-quality composition in a Gothic style, large in scale and rich in detail * The interior has a sumptuous east end with a wealth of carved decoration, and an excellent suite of furnishings designed by Chatwin, complemented by good stained glass windows in opulent colours by Hardman and Co * Its important relationship to Aston Hall and its owners, the Holte family, for whom this was their family church, and numbers of whom are commemorated here * The church houses a large number of funerary monuments dating from the medieval period to the C19, all of good quality, and unusual in their spread and the extent of their survival