Rectories

Three buildings have served as rectories from the time of the famous Queen Anne building (now demolished)  which was in the area now known as Rectory Park.

The late Roger Lea noted:

“Riland Bedford in his History of Sutton Coldfield published in 1890 confidently states that the building at 1, 3 and 5 Coleshill Street had been the Rectory in the seventeenth century, but recent research has shown that it was a former public house, which only came into the possession of the Rector in the Eighteenth century. ”  It is believed this house was bought by the then Rector for a daughter, and this was misunderstood later as implying he had lived in it.

So the three remaining dwellings are the Queen Anne house in Rectory Park (built for John Riland in 1704 and demolished in 1936), the Victorian house in Coleshill Street the other side of Trinity Hill from the church (middle picture below) which was built in 1844 and used until 1998.  Since 2008 it has been re-named Bishop’s Lodge as the home of the Bishop of Aston.

The house and gardens were extensive and increasingly unsuitable for the needs of modern clergy.  Before the Trinity Centre was built the gardens were often opened up for a parish fund-raising “garden party” every September.

The current Rectory was part of new building in 2000 just off Jerrard Drive.