St Asaph's Church, Birmingham

St Asaph’s Church once stood on a triangular plot where Great Colmore Street meets South Latimer Street in Birmingham. Designed by Yeoville Thomason, it opened in 1868 after the foundation stone was laid the previous year by the Bishop of Worcester. The building featured gas coronas by Brown and Dawning, heating from the London Warming Company, and an organ by Halmshaw installed later. Its first incumbent was Revd R Page, followed by Revd R Fletcher and then Revd A J Binnie. The church served a parish carved from St Thomas’s but closed in 1949 and was demolished in 1961. The church’s brief life spanned barely a century, yet it left traces in Birmingham’s ecclesiastical history. Its architect, Thomason, also designed other city landmarks, giving the church a place in local building records. The organ by Halmshaw became a temporary fixture at first, then a permanent one, noted in the National Pipe Organ Register. Gas lighting and steam heating were modern conveniences for worshippers in the 19th century. The Bishop of Worcester consecrated the building within months of its opening, marking its formal start. Inside, the church contained galleries, a tower and spire that were never finished. The nave and chancel provided space for congregations drawn from the new parish. Gas coronas hung from the ceiling, casting light over wooden pews and the temporary organ. The London Warming Company’s system warmed the building during winter services. After closure, the parish merged with nearby St Luke’s and the site was cleared, leaving only photographs and records behind.