St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church can, a modest low-rise building in brick, built between 1910-1913 and surprisingly secular in appearance, so much so that many probably pass it without even realising it's a church, looking as much like a school room in many respects. Only the wooden bellcote over the chancel asserts an ecclesiastical presence from its roadside / canalside site. That said the church is only modest in its appearance, and makes up for its lack of height in terms of length and width with a reasonable seating capacity within.
The interior is far more pleasant than the somewhat nondescript exterior might suggest, and light thanks to the large plain windows on the south side. A simple arcade separates a north aisle and adds to the sense of space, whilst the chancel beyond is whitewashed which also helps lighten this part of the interior where it would otherwise be more subdued, since this is where its best glass is located.
The east window is formed of a semi-circular headed light (flanked by smaller rectangular lights) and contains a seated Christ in Glory which is unsigned bu probably the work of the studio of Jones & Willis. The best glass however is to be found in two smaller lights either side of the chancel (one now partially obscured by an extension) which are exquisite Arts & Crafts pieces by Sidney Meteyard from the 1920s.
It was through this glass that I first encountered this church since I had to repair one of the windows after it had been severely damaged during a break in back in 2004: the lower panel was found in a mangled state within the church but another section was missing altogether. Ben Sinclair of Norgrove Studios assumed the malicious individuals who attacked the church must have thrown the missing panel into the adjoining canal, and after fishing various unrelated items out of the water the missing panel in due course was retrieved from the watery depths! I was thus able to save most of the damaged glass and while it shows some scars it was wonderful to have it back in place where it belongs, despite having spent a week or more at the bottom of the Dudley Canal!
Darby End church is normally locked outside of service times, but its glass is worth seeing if circumstances permit.
www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?p...
Tags: Darby End church Netherton West Midlands
© All Rights Reserved
East end of the simple brick built church of St Peter at Darby End.
St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church can, a modest low-rise building in brick, built between 1910-1913 and surprisingly secular in appearance, so much so that many probably pass it without even realising it's a church, looking as much like a school room in many respects. Only the wooden bellcote over the chancel asserts an ecclesiastical presence from its roadside / canalside site. That said the church is only modest in its appearance, and makes up for its lack of height in terms of length and width with a reasonable seating capacity within.
The interior is far more pleasant than the somewhat nondescript exterior might suggest, and light thanks to the large plain windows on the south side. A simple arcade separates a north aisle and adds to the sense of space, whilst the chancel beyond is whitewashed which also helps lighten this part of the interior where it would otherwise be more subdued, since this is where its best glass is located.
The east window is formed of a semi-circular headed light (flanked by smaller rectangular lights) and contains a seated Christ in Glory which is unsigned bu probably the work of the studio of Jones & Willis. The best glass however is to be found in two smaller lights either side of the chancel (one now partially obscured by an extension) which are exquisite Arts & Crafts pieces by Sidney Meteyard from the 1920s.
It was through this glass that I first encountered this church since I had to repair one of the windows after it had been severely damaged during a break in back in 2004: the lower panel was found in a mangled state within the church but another section was missing altogether. Ben Sinclair of Norgrove Studios assumed the malicious individuals who attacked the church must have thrown the missing panel into the adjoining canal, and after fishing various unrelated items out of the water the missing panel in due course was retrieved from the watery depths! I was thus able to save most of the damaged glass and while it shows some scars it was wonderful to have it back in place where it belongs, despite having spent a week or more at the bottom of the Dudley Canal!
Darby End church is normally locked outside of service times, but its glass is worth seeing if circumstances permit.
www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?p...
Uploaded originally for the 'Guess Where UK?' Group.
Tags: Guess Where UK GWUK Darby End church West Midlands
© All Rights Reserved
St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church can, a modest low-rise building in brick, built between 1910-1913 and surprisingly secular in appearance, so much so that many probably pass it without even realising it's a church, looking as much like a school room in many respects. Only the wooden bellcote over the chancel asserts an ecclesiastical presence from its roadside / canalside site. That said the church is only modest in its appearance, and makes up for its lack of height in terms of length and width with a reasonable seating capacity within.
The interior is far more pleasant than the somewhat nondescript exterior might suggest, and light thanks to the large plain windows on the south side. A simple arcade separates a north aisle and adds to the sense of space, whilst the chancel beyond is whitewashed which also helps lighten this part of the interior where it would otherwise be more subdued, since this is where its best glass is located.
The east window is formed of a semi-circular headed light (flanked by smaller rectangular lights) and contains a seated Christ in Glory which is unsigned bu probably the work of the studio of Jones & Willis. The best glass however is to be found in two smaller lights either side of the chancel (one now partially obscured by an extension) which are exquisite Arts & Crafts pieces by Sidney Meteyard from the 1920s.
It was through this glass that I first encountered this church since I had to repair one of the windows after it had been severely damaged during a break in back in 2004: the lower panel was found in a mangled state within the church but another section was missing altogether. Ben Sinclair of Norgrove Studios assumed the malicious individuals who attacked the church must have thrown the missing panel into the adjoining canal, and after fishing various unrelated items out of the water the missing panel in due course was retrieved from the watery depths! I was thus able to save most of the damaged glass and while it shows some scars it was wonderful to have it back in place where it belongs, despite having spent a week or more at the bottom of the Dudley Canal!
Darby End church is normally locked outside of service times, but its glass is worth seeing if circumstances permit.
www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?p...
Tags: Darby End church Netherton West Midlands
© All Rights Reserved
St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church can, a modest low-rise building in brick, built between 1910-1913 and surprisingly secular in appearance, so much so that many probably pass it without even realising it's a church, looking as much like a school room in many respects. Only the wooden bellcote over the chancel asserts an ecclesiastical presence from its roadside / canalside site. That said the church is only modest in its appearance, and makes up for its lack of height in terms of length and width with a reasonable seating capacity within.
The interior is far more pleasant than the somewhat nondescript exterior might suggest, and light thanks to the large plain windows on the south side. A simple arcade separates a north aisle and adds to the sense of space, whilst the chancel beyond is whitewashed which also helps lighten this part of the interior where it would otherwise be more subdued, since this is where its best glass is located.
The east window is formed of a semi-circular headed light (flanked by smaller rectangular lights) and contains a seated Christ in Glory which is unsigned bu probably the work of the studio of Jones & Willis. The best glass however is to be found in two smaller lights either side of the chancel (one now partially obscured by an extension) which are exquisite Arts & Crafts pieces by Sidney Meteyard from the 1920s.
It was through this glass that I first encountered this church since I had to repair one of the windows after it had been severely damaged during a break in back in 2004: the lower panel was found in a mangled state within the church but another section was missing altogether. Ben Sinclair of Norgrove Studios assumed the malicious individuals who attacked the church must have thrown the missing panel into the adjoining canal, and after fishing various unrelated items out of the water the missing panel in due course was retrieved from the watery depths! I was thus able to save most of the damaged glass and while it shows some scars it was wonderful to have it back in place where it belongs, despite having spent a week or more at the bottom of the Dudley Canal!
Darby End church is normally locked outside of service times, but its glass is worth seeing if circumstances permit.
www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?p...
Tags: Darby End church Netherton West Midlands
© All Rights Reserved
St Peter's church at Darby End stands beside the Dudley Canal close to Netherton, situated in the heart of the Black Country a short distance south of Dudley. It looks about as humble as a church can, a modest low-rise building in brick, built between 1910-1913 and surprisingly secular in appearance, so much so that many probably pass it without even realising it's a church, looking as much like a school room in many respects. Only the wooden bellcote over the chancel asserts an ecclesiastical presence from its roadside / canalside site. That said the church is only modest in its appearance, and makes up for its lack of height in terms of length and width with a reasonable seating capacity within.
The interior is far more pleasant than the somewhat nondescript exterior might suggest, and light thanks to the large plain windows on the south side. A simple arcade separates a north aisle and adds to the sense of space, whilst the chancel beyond is whitewashed which also helps lighten this part of the interior where it would otherwise be more subdued, since this is where its best glass is located.
The east window is formed of a semi-circular headed light (flanked by smaller rectangular lights) and contains a seated Christ in Glory which is unsigned bu probably the work of the studio of Jones & Willis. The best glass however is to be found in two smaller lights either side of the chancel (one now partially obscured by an extension) which are exquisite Arts & Crafts pieces by Sidney Meteyard from the 1920s.
It was through this glass that I first encountered this church since I had to repair one of the windows after it had been severely damaged during a break in back in 2004: the lower panel was found in a mangled state within the church but another section was missing altogether. Ben Sinclair of Norgrove Studios assumed the malicious individuals who attacked the church must have thrown the missing panel into the adjoining canal, and after fishing various unrelated items out of the water the missing panel in due course was retrieved from the watery depths! I was thus able to save most of the damaged glass and while it shows some scars it was wonderful to have it back in place where it belongs, despite having spent a week or more at the bottom of the Dudley Canal!
Darby End church is normally locked outside of service times, but its glass is worth seeing if circumstances permit.
www.worcesteranddudleyhistoricchurches.org.uk/index.php?p...
Tags: Darby End church Netherton West Midlands
© All Rights Reserved