The Catholic Church in Balsall Common

The first Catholic Church in Balsall Common, dedicated to St Philomena, was opened on 2nd December 1948. The Most Reverend Joseph Masterson, 4 th Archbishop of Birmingham, assisted by two former curates of the Dorridge parish, Fathers Timothy Cronin and Horace Relph, dedicated it in the presence of a large congregation.

There were many priests of the Archdiocese present including Canon Bernard Manion the Parish Priest and his then curate, the recently ordained Father Laurence Smith (1948-1954). Students from Oscott College formed the choir. Many parishioners of St Philomena and of St George & St Teresa, Dorridge attended the opening, with Mr Charles ‘Bunny’ Goodliffe Neale as Master of Ceremonies and the young Bernard Hammond, still a parishioner, one of several altar servers.

There followed a luncheon at the Abbey Hotel, Kenilworth, attended by the clergy and many of the parishioners. Father Laurence Smith later recalled driving Canon Manion to the Abbey. During the journey he was asked to put a few words together for a speech – the Canon was a very busy man! It was a great day of celebration for the parish – one that long afterwards he remembered with pride and joy.

Previous to 1941, when Canon Manion was appointed Parish Priest of St George & St Teresa, Dorridge the Catholic Parish of Balsall Common was part of St Austin’s Parish, Kenilworth. In those days there was no public transport and very few families had cars. The Parish Priest, Canon William Swift, must have found it almost impossible to look after his flock in Balsall Common and the area around it. He was not a young man. Likewise these parishioners found it difficult to go to mass in Kenilworth. They must have felt as if they were in limbo.

In the early 1940s Mr & Mrs George Hammond, together with their two small children, Monica and Bernard moved from Yorkshire to Balsall Common. They had no car, only a bicycle. George was away in the army and his wife found it impossible to get to mass on Sundays in Kenilworth. She went to visit Canon Manion to enquire about having a Mass Centre in Balsall Common.

Soon afterwards, in 1942, he obtained permission to use two classrooms in the local primary school in Balsall Street each Sunday and Holy Day for the celebration of mass. The local ATC also used the school for their meetings. Sometimes there was a clash with our mass and their music practices!

One classroom was used for confession – the confessional being made out of army beds - we had to make sure they were safe. Fortunately none came down on anybody! The other classroom was used for mass. The teacher’s table was the altar and the adults and children sat on the school chairs and in some cases in the school desks. The room was prepared each Saturday by various parishioners, including Mrs Beryl Williams, who lived in Balsall Street until she moved to live in Wales a couple of years ago. This continued until the new church opened in 1948.

During this time a farm in the village, with approximately 22 acres of land, came on the market. A loan of £5,000 was obtained from the Archdiocese and the land was purchased for the future development of the parish. Canon Manion’s intention was to build a church, a presbytery and finally, a school. He was very involved in the Diocesan Schools Association, later to become the Diocesan Schools Commission. Not all of his plans materialised. However, a school was eventually built in Dorridge. The children from our Parish have attended there for the last 45 years.

A local parishioner, Colonel Blennerhasset, accompanied Canon Manion in searching the country for disused army huts. This was during the period 1945/46 when the war was over. Eventually they found three huts. These were to form the basis of the church. Frank Deeley was given the task of putting them together with brickwork to form a suitable building with the footprint in the shape of a cross. Various items such as the altar rails, sanctuary lamp, Stations of the Cross, statues, candlesticks and so on, were kindly donated by parishioners of Balsall Common and Dorridge.