Newsletter of AOUG in the West Midlands (04)
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2010 NEW YEAR’S DINNER IN WOLVERHAMPTON.
On Saturday, 30th January, 2010 we had the New Year’s Dinner in Wolverhampton at the Grand Britannia Hotel. All interested members met up at the hotel at 11.30 am, and dinner was serve d at 12.00 noon and we finished by 2.00 pm. This hotel is one of the best hotels in Wolverhampton situated in the City Centre, close to the British Rail and the National Coaches as well as the local Bus Station and is next door to the City’s Grand Theatre. There was a good choice of food and self-service with excellent facilities. This was a fantastic way to start the New Year and get OU graduates together.
Our members from far away found the hotel without difficulty and were surprised with the choice of menu, the fabulous services and hospitalities. We left at 2.00 pm when the doors were closed, with appreciations of a best place and a splendid event.
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A GUIDED TOUR OF THE ST. PAUL’S CHURCH, JEWELLERY QUARTER, BIRMINGHAM.
A guided tour of St. Paul’s Church took place on Saturday, 13th February, 2010, starting at 11.00 am. All interested members met at the main entrance of the church and there were some refreshments made available for us before the start of the guided tour. The weather was good and hard work of the tour was made easy with these refreshments.
St. Paul’s Church was built in the St. Paul’s Square of the Jewellery Quarter. This area of Birmingham is one of the most historic and richest areas of Birmingham where, apart from the jewellery industries, there are Arts and Media industries and historic apartment blocks.
St. Paul’s Church was built following the 1774 Act Of Parliament. Samuel Wyatt of London was the consultant, Roger Eykyn of Wolverhampton was the designer of the church and Birmingham’s famous merchants and engineers who worshiped in this great church, contributed towards the building costs. When you enter the church, you can see the great east window, which depicts the conversion of St. Paul. The window was made by Eginton in 1789, having been employed by Matthew Boulton as a glass painter. The church did not originally have a spire but one was added by Francis Goodwin in 1823.
There is an historic organ built by James Bishop in 1830. It was sited in the west end of the gallery. The organ was rebuilt, modified and moved over many years and especially after the two world wars of the 20th Century when it was heavily damaged. Bad weather conditions did not help the organ, however, the present new organ is excellent and there are regular concerts in St. Paul’s Church.
We had the opportunity to visit the tower where the Bell Room in situated. We had the opportunity to learn how these bells are rung. The new ring of ten bells was installed in 2005 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the St. Martin’s Guild of Church Bell Ringers.
The present church was restored through an intensive programme between 1985 and 1994 with the financial help from the City Of Birmingham, Duchy Of Cornwall, the English Heritage, local Businesses and other Benefactors.
The Coat of Arms was erected in the west wall of the Church in 1996, representing King George III, the church being built during his reign. The Millennium window was added in 2000.
The first vicar of the church was William Toy Young who was a scholar and a musician. He was succeeded by his Curator, Rann Kennedy, who served him for 20 years. He was a classics master at the King Edward’s School. We ended our guided tour after our visit to the tower. After showing our appreciations in the usual manner, we departed home with prayers and praises.
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A GUIDED TOUR OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL, LICHFIELD.
A guided tour of Lichfield Cathedral took place on Saturday 17th April, 2010. All interested members met at the main entrance of the Cathedral by 12.15 p.m. After a welcome and introduction, our guided tour of the Cathedral started at about 12.30 p.m.
Lichfield is about 17 miles from Birmingham and lies in the heart of England. About 1300 years ago, it stood in the centre of the Kingdom of Mercia. St. Chad was made a Bishop of Mercia in 669. Hence, he moved his See from Repton to Lichfield. Lichfield was probably a holy place because it is believed that the Roman Emperor called Diocletian martyred Christians here. When St. Chad died in 672, pilgrims started to visit his shrine at Lichfield. In 700 Bishop Hedda built a new Church to house his shrine.
Lichfield Cathedral is a “mother church” of the Diocese of Lichfield. The Diocese covers Staffordshire, most of Shropshire and part of the West Midlands.
During the guided tour, we learnt that the Church, built by Bishop Hedda, was replaced by the Saxon Cathedral in the 12th Century. In the 13th Century, the Saxon Cathedral was replaced by a Gothic Cathedral and a new Lady Chapel was added to the Cathedral. In 1500, there were 12 altars.
The Cathedral was severely damaged during the Civil War and it was seized three times. We learnt that there had been restoration programmes introduced many times in the past. In 1660, Bishop Hacket restored the Cathedral during the reign of King Charles II. Then in the 18th Century, William Wyatt brought in progress to the Cathedral during his restoration work. In the 19th Century, we learn that Sir George Gilbert Scott, an architect, was commissioned to restore the Cathedral. The Age of Industrialisation was taking place in Britain and some of William Wyatt’s work was reversed by Sir George. The Cathedral was restored to its Medieval splendour and restoration work is still in progress today.
We saw some of the Cathedral’s treasures during the guided tour. The Lichfield Angel, discovered in 2003 shows that it is a Medieval sculpture dating approximately 800 AD. It is thought that this formed part of the St. Chad’s shrine, which was in the Church built by Bishop Hedda in 700 AD. The other treasures were the St. Chad’s Gospels and the Herkenrode Glass windows.
The guided tour ended in the Choir area and near the Bishop’s seat, which shows that all praises are from God and the need for regular prayers is still very important today. The guided tour revealed the fantastic history of the Cathedral, its early origins as a place of worship and a place of pilgrimage, as well as its presence today in wider world communities. After our appreciations in the usual manner, we departed to the Chapters Restaurant in the Cathedral Close for some refreshments.
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TEA & COFFEE MORNING.
We have Tea & Coffee mornings at the St. Peter’s Collegiate Church’s Tea Room in Wolverhampton. We want to make it a regular event so that members can meet and discuss about events and any activities to engage. The last meeting was on Monday 29th March, 2010 at 1000 a.m. These meetings are very useful to learn about our events.
Mohammad Motawalla - Executive Representative
Mohammad Motawalla: Tel: 01902 771328 e-mail: mamotawalla@yahoo.co.uk