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The Church in Tardebigge

There are records of a Saxon church in 974 A.D., the name Tardebigge means ‘tower on the hill’. The tower of a Norman church which replaced it in the 11th century collapsed in 1775 and the present building, except the chancel, was completed in 1777. The Cookes memorial survives from the Norman church.

There is a memorial window and a few monuments of high quality. The east window depicts the Ascension. A noble feature is the slender spire, a challenge to steeplejacks recently repairing the inside. It is a beautiful church building and we hope that you too will care about its preservation for future generations.

St Mary's, Lower Bentley

Tucked away in the quiet countryside the little church, built 1874, is cared for and used mainly by those living in this area of our parish.

There are two dedicated stained glass windows and a memorial window placed by tenants and friends of the Squire of Bentley (Maude Mary Cheape) in 1924. The church has recently been furnished with new kneelers featuring flowers of the
countryside worked by church members and friends.

The canal is level from Birmingham to Tardebigge New Wharf situated below the church, then it descends by 58 locks to the River Severn. The series of 30 locks from the New Wharf to Stoke Prior (known as the Tardebigge Flight) is the largest concentration of narrow locks in the country.


Of the five tunnels on the canal, two lie within the parish, Shortwood Tunnel (613 yards long) and Tardebigge Tunnel (580 yards long Between the two tunnels lies Tardebigge Old Wharf, now the location of a boat-hire business.

Available at the church are two booklets:
‘A Short History of St Bartholomew’s Church Tardebigge’ by David Harris, price £1.00, and ‘Tardebigge and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal’ by George Bate, price £1.50.