Our Lady of the Wayside Parish Church

Introduction

The parish of Shirley was founded in 1934, and in June of that year the Church of Our Lady of the Wayside opened as a mass centre in a former house known as 'Heathfield' on Stratford Road, served by the Church of St Augustine in Solihull.

History

In 1962 a parish priest was appointed who immediately instigated the building of a larger church on the site of 'Heathfield'. The new church was designed by Brian Rush, then at the start of his career and in partnership with Remo Granelli; by the time the church opened Rush was practising on his own. The church's Modernist design was inspired by the liturgical revival brought about by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), allowing the congregation to be grouped around three sides of the high altar. Stained and coloured glass was designed by Tom Fairs (1925-2007), who worked on the nave windows of Coventry Cathedral with Geoffrey Clarke.

The church was designed to seat about 600 people with space provided for a further 200 at balcony level. Contractors were J and P Kelly Ltd. The church's construction began in 1965 directly after the Second Vatican Council ended.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is constructed from handmade, silver-grey, facing brick, internally and externally, with reconstituted stone copings and window dressings. The roof is made up of a series of bow-shaped steel trusses covered with bituminous felt over reinforced wood wool slabs. The baptistery spire is of reinforced glass fibre on a timber frame. The church's plan is expressed as a series of linked blocks comprising a narthex, a weekday chapel, a baptistery, a main chapel, lady chapel and sacristy.

The main chapel has a dual, mono-pitched roof with a ribbon clerestory window running the full width of the elevation. The main chapel is formed of a broad single space with a convex ceiling spanning between concave front and rear walls, with the sanctuary emphasised by natural light from a concealed, curved roof light. The wide nave has a fan-shaped seating plan of wooden bench pews arranged on three sides of the altar. A rectangular-shaped sanctuary of polished stone with a curved dais extends from the rear wall in the form of a thrust stage.

At the rear is a wide gallery with wooden railings, a deep wooden handrail and steel brackets, supported on steel columns and accessed by open-riser staircases. A wooden sculpture titled 'Peace in Our Time' by Angelo Bordonari depicts the murdered dove of peace. Encircling the baptistery is a wall of strip windows with abstract-patterned stained and coloured glass depicting, in three scenes, the Passovers of the Old and New Testaments and Resurrection. In the main chapel, a broad High Altar of Portland stone with a granite plinth by Walter Ritchie has a raised inscription reading 'I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH'.

Set into the wall above the altar is a cantilevered plinth on which stands a life-size, gilded bronze figure of the Risen Christ bearing the five wounds of the Passion, by Elisabeth Frink. The architect was a local man by the name of Brian Rush, and Our Lady of the Wayside was to be one of his earliest projects. The font is made out of Portland stone, situated on what looks like a small island surrounded by flowing water, with carved images from God's creation both human and animal.

Parish life

The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and in the Birmingham East & North Deanery. The church is open every day for private prayer from dawn to dusk.

The permanent deacon serves as a foundation governor and RE advisor at the parish school. The permanent deacon leads talks and discussion groups during Advent. The permanent deacon is married with three children and has worked in education across the full age range. The permanent deacon works as an assistant chaplain in a school and teaches part-time at Saint Mary’s College Oscott, the seminary for the archdiocese of Birmingham.