Deritend: St Basil the great
Overview
Grid reference: SP 81 865
A temporary church was opened in 1886 when the parish was taken from the vast mediaeval parish of Aston, but this was replaced by the present building in 1910. The building was designed by Arthur Stansfield Dixon.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of five bays with north and south aisles, chancel of two bays with north and south transeptal projections housing an organ chamber on the north and vestries on the south. South west bell-cote.
Description of Archaeology and History
A temporary church was opened in 1886 when the parish was taken from the vast mediaeval parish of Aston, but this was replaced by the present building in 1910. The building was designed by Arthur Stansfield Dixon. Dixon, whose father had been a prominent member of Birmingham's political and civic circles and Member of Parliament, was a friend of Morris and Webb and in addition was an accomplished silversmith and copper worker. He was pominent in the Guild of Handicrafts Limited which worked on parallel lines to Bidlake's Handicrafts Guild, and designed its building in Great Charles Street in about 1895. Dixon designed, in addition to St. Basil Deritend, the church of St. Andrew, Barnt Green, the Chapel of the Grey Ladies Coventry, and the Bishop's Chapel at Bishopscroft, Harborne, 1923. In 1922-28 Seoul Cathedral Korea was built to his designs at the instigation of Bishop Trollope who had known him in Birmingham.
Exterior Description
Deritend is clearly derived from the style of Romanesque found at Rome and Ravenna, and both the plan and construction of the building reflect this influence. Only the west end is properly seen since the sides are flanked by very narrow alleys and the eastern apse is closely hemmed in by other buildings. The west facade shows the low-pitched nave gable and curling Roman tiles so strongly reminiscent of Italy, while the provision of a western apse for the baptistery is clearly derived from Ravennate examples. The west facade of the building has no windows save two paired lights high in the nave gable and small lights almost hidden in the angles where the baptistery abuts the nave walls. Subtle articulation of the surfaces, however, together with geometrical decoration executed in coloured bricks does much to overcome this. The apse, for example, is mostly built in Flemish bond but near the top has a band of bricks laid at forty- five degrees and intersected with tiles to give a frieze of diamond-shaped motifs. Each side of the apse are doorways under little pantiled shelters but within arches which are recessed into th wall and rise much higher, the upper parts filled with the same all-over pattern, divided into two parts by a band of alternately blue and red headers. At each side the nave is divided from the aisles by pilaster-like buttresses, that on the south repeated further south so that a base for the bell-cote is thus formed. The turret is rectangular and pierced with two round-headed arches, one above the other. The upper once housed a bell but is now left only with the headstock. The low-pitched gablet which finishes the composition reflects the design of the nave gable, and is decorated with the same cornice of projecting bricks. The only stone used in the building is for the central shaft of the paired windows.
The rest of the exterior, not normally seen, is quite simple, with paired lights to each bay of the aisles and triplets of arches, the outer pair blind and the one taller and glazed, to the clerestory. The pattern is only broken for one bay in the chancel where a former organ chamber projects on the north and a two-storeyed vestry block on th south. In the eastern bay of each aisle is a doorway leading to the alleys flanking the building. The eastern apse is blind save for small lights right in the corners as in the western baptistery, and the buildings to the east also have round-headed windows although some have been recently altered to square heads.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
Four west windows, reprosenting the Four Archangels, by Geoffrey Webb, before 1930.
Interior
Interior Description
The walls are plastered and painted white and the five bay arcades are carried on round monolithic piers with cushion capitals and pronounced entasis. The simple semi-circular arches are quite undecorated by a chamfer, but the cushion capitals were originally painted by Humphrey Dixon. Only one remains. The open timber roofs, with a tie-beam to each bay of the nave and two to each bay of the chancel, has kingposts with flanking struts, and is decorated with simple stencilled patterns against the background of the natural colour of the wood, This is also true of the aisle roofs and rood-screen. The apse at the east end is lined with grey marble panels divided by vertical strips of chevrons and the apse has a remarkably fine mosaic in the Ravennate style on a glowing golden background.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
1910
The altar is of oak, a panelled box with simple inlaid motifs in ebony based on diamond shapes on the front. The top is inset with a mensa of red marble with five consecration crosses.
Pulpit
1945
The pulpit, of oak, is an open half octagon.
Font (object)
The font is an octagonal block of grey marble banded with white, very simple and rather effective.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SP 81 865
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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