Monday 10 July 2017

Churches (4) : St James', Hill, Mere Green

St James' Church, Hill is in Mere Green north of Sutton Coldfield. The unusual name refers to the village called Hill once part of the Manor of Sutton Coldfield and this church was built as a daughter church of Sutton's Holy Trinity Church for this community in the early 1830s. The church had a simple nave and a small chancel. In the early 20th century, with the population of the area growing, the church was extensively rebuilt with a new larger chancel, vestries and an organ loft.

However the nave and tower were not rebuilt despite original plans to completely replace all of the original church. Today the church reflects this half-completed project with two very different looking halves, the original simpler stone dressed cement tower and nave and the rest being much more ornate ashlar.