Churches (157) : St Peter, Cradley Heath

St Peter's church in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands is an example of a dissenters' church which was bought into the established church by an act of parliament. A group of dissenters known as the Independent Congregational Society built the church in 1789, however the church was bought into the Church of England in 1799 after the congregation ran out of money.

The church was built with a provision for a clock in it's tower, which was built in 1875, though one was never fitted due to a lack of funds. In 2021 the clock from the demolished church of St Luke elsewhere in Cradley Heath was fitted into St Peter, finally giving the church it's clock! (The photos below are from before the clock was fitted.) The church was extended in 1933 to accommodate a larger choir.

Get the reversers on!

Landing at London City Airport.

Gloucestershire Places (2) : Ashchurch

The village of Ashchurch is at the North of the county close to Tewkesbury. The first record of the name (then known as Asschirche - Church near the Ash tree) date from 1287. Ashchurch was part of the parish of Tewkesbury until the 16th century when it became a parish on it's own. The church dedicated to St Nicholas dates from the 12th century with additions and changes in the following centuries.

The railway reached Ashchurch in 1840, the station is now known as Ashchurch for Tewkesbury (as the larger settlement doesn't have a station anymore!) The Ministry of Defence maintain a large vehicle storage depot near the village.

SEVENTY is 11

Time for a new addition to the typewriter collection. This Silver-Reed SEVENTY is number 11 in the collection. Its very similar to my Silver-Reed Silverette though the chassis is a different colour and it is in slightly better condition. It seems to work pretty well.

Barrow Hill Roundhouse

Yesterday i headed up to Chesterfield in Derbyshire to finally tick off a railway museum i have wanted to visit for some time. Barrow Hill Roundhouse is a surviving example of a railway roundhouse shed where a turntable serves a number of sidings for locomotives. The collection at Barrow Hill is amazing, including quite a few single surviving examples of the first generation AC electric locomotive classes which used to rule the West Coast Main Line. You can see my photos here.