St Barnabas Church: £3.8m renovation begins

The renovation of St Barnabas church is due for completion in June 2012

Work has started on the £3.8m restoration of St Barnabas Church in Erdington.

St Barnabas, one of Birmingham's oldest churches, was nearly destroyed in an arson attack in 2007.

At the time, the Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev David Urquhart described the fire as "devastating".

The renovation of the 150-year-old church, which is a Grade II listed building, is due to be completed in June 2012.

Historic shell

It has taken more than three years for the renovation work to begin.

Vicar Freda Evans said: "After the fire there was 43 tonnes of rubble to remove and it took six months. We were left with a shell."

Although much of the church was destroyed, the original walls and the window frames were left standing.

"The bell tower is having a full restoration and they're starting with that," said Freda, who described it as a massive project.

"It's taken so long for the work to start because of the scale of the building. After the rubble had been cleared, there was the cost analysis and that also took about another six months.

"Then there was the detailed plan - putting that detailed plan together and making it right."

Prominent architects

St Barnabas is a Grade II listed building, which extended the planning application process.

The original architects, Richman and Chatwin, were among the most prominent in Birmingham during the 19th Century.

Although the architects in charge of the restoration project wanted to be sympathetic to the historic building, they also wished to fuse it with a modern structure.

Artist's impression of the restored St Barnabas Church

Vicar Freda Evans said: "Inevitably we wanted to do some new things and some people didn't agree with that, so it took rather longer than it might have done to get the planning permission.

"The roof is going to be of steel, so there's not going to be any lead for people to steal! But it will be a very dramatic roof.

"It won't have a flat skyline, it will have a little wave to it. It's got a theological message to it and will come way down the side of the building."

Freda said she wanted people to take the building to heart.

She concluded: "It's a striking location in the middle of the high street. I hope it will be a focus for the community, as well as a sacred space for countless future generations, as so many people have a connection with its past."

There will be an open day at St Barnabas on Saturday, 19 February, from 10am to 2pm, giving people a chance to see the work being carried out.

The renovation project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2012.