Over 10,000 people live in the community of
Castle Vale, to the north east of Birmingham, in the English Midlands. The estate was built on the site of
Castle Bromwich military airfield.
Birmingham City Council gave the go ahead for construction from 1964 onwards and it
originally accommodated people from the Aston and Nechells districts of the
city. St Cuthbert’s Church started life in a temporary wooden hut; the present church was not built until 1973.
The church building has a modern interior which gives a light, airy
space. It is used
not only as a place of prayer and worship
but also as a base for other activities and organisations that bring Castle Vale
residents
together.
The church halls are available for hire, please contact
the Hall Bookings Secretary
for information.
The
historian William Dargue
writes
that
"a monastic chapel was built in the vicinity in the 12th century, for brothers of Leicester Abbey. It was to be another 800 years however before the present parish church was built. World War I
saw the requisition of Castle Bromwich Aerodrome by the War Office for use by the Royal Flying Corps. After the war there was continued military use. A church, named as St Mary’s was built for the
military personnel living on the site. Dedicated in 1923 it was destroyed by fire only three years later. It was rebuilt shortly afterwards but later became redundant and was closed".
Royal Auxillary Air Force, Squadron No 605
The Squadron was originally formed in October 1926 at RAF Castle Bromwich. Forty years later Castle Vale was developed on the site of the RAF base. S. Cuthbert's
became home to the Squadron’s Colour, War Memorial and Roll of Honour.
www.605squadron.co.uk
During Father Cope's tenure in the parish,
he has led annual retreats to
the
Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham.
These photographs are from the pilgrimmage in 2017:
"The Shrine was founded by the Lady Richeldis in 1061, destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538, restored in 1922 by Father Hope Patten, the Anglican Vicar of Walsingham -
the Shrine has had an eventful history across nearly a thousand years. This medieval place of pilgrimmage, which rivalled Canterbury as a destination, was visited by thousands of pilgrims from all
aross Britain and Europe. It became known as 'England's Nazareth' because of the nature of the vision that the Lady Richeldis experienced" ...
... "The Shrine was established in 1061 when, according to the text of the Pynson
Ballad (c 1485), Richeldis de Faverches prayed that she might undertake some special work in honour of Our Lady.
In answer to her prayer, the Virgin Mary led her in spirit to Nazareth, showed her
the house where the Annunciation occurred, and asked her to build a replica in Walsingham to serve as a perpetual memorial of the
Annunciation".
{...
by reference of the
Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
website}
The Parish Safeguarding Policy
A policy statement on safeguarding children and adults in the Church was adopted by the Parish Church Council (PCC) on March 17th 2017.
The PCC recognised the need to safeguard children, young people and adults in the care of both churches. It also recognised the need to guard against the possibility of any form of abuse of children,
young people and adults by persons who may be acting in the name of our parish.
S. Cuthbert's Place, Castle Vale, Birmingham B35 7PL
Telephone: +44(0)121 747 4041