“A new and increasing district is growing up round the Railway Junction. It lies partly in The Lickey Parish and Birmingham Diocese, partly in Alvechurch Parish and Worcester Diocese. Belonging wholly to neither parish, it has no feeling of parochial unity to encourage it to meet its own needs. It is administered by two sets of clergy, no one of whom can devote the whole, or even the first share, of his energies to it. It has only a small Mission Room, badly situated and now at times really overcrowded.”

That was the conclusion of a commission in 1907 which recommended building a new church in Barnt Green. Until the late 19th century, Barnt Green was a remote rural community on the edge of the Lickey Hills, containing little more than a few farms and cottages. But the arrival of the railway and the construction of houses on the Plymouth Estate changed all that, and led to rapid expansion around the turn of the last century.

The committee’s recommendations caused controversy. They described Barnt Green in terms that are hardly recognisable today: “The railway divides the neighbourhood into two parts. Practically all the monied inhabitants lie on one side of the line. Of those who live on the south side, most of the working-men are servants of the well-to-do people on the north side.

“Thus the poorer inhabitants are brought to the place by the wealthier, and yet live in a different district which their employers do not frequent. The inhabitants of the cottages cannot readily amalgamate with either parish; Alvechurch being a country place with which the people at Barnt Green have little in common, coming as many of them do from a distance, and having the ways rather of town dwellers than of country people; while they are poor and The Lickey is inhabited by well-to-do or even wealthy people.”

No wonder that some residents were offended!

One indignant correspondent to The Bromsgrove Messenger pointed out that of 103 dwellings in Barnt Green at the time, only 11 were occupied by servant men, compared with “18 independent people, 36 business gentlemen, two farmers, 11 houses of business, 12 widows and spinsters (letting apartments), and the remainder respectable men employed by the Midlands Railway Company and working tradesmen.”

Eventually ruffled feathers were smoothed, and it was agreed to set up a committee to raise the money for a new church building. An appeal to the community followed, and a plot on the newly developed Sandhills Road was purchased for £200. A design was commissioned from Birmingham architect AS Dixon in the Romanesque style. The contract for construction went to Messrs Whittall and Sons of Birmingham at a cost of £875, and the Earl of Plymouth laid the foundation stone on 27 November 1909.

St Andrew’s was dedicated by Bishop Mylne, Rector of Alvechurch (representing the Bishop of Worcester), on 28 May 1910, with Dr Charles Gore, first Bishop of Birmingham, preaching the sermon.

The original church seated only about 120 people and was soon bursting at the seams. One early member wrote: “The small church was always crowded and the congregation very enthusiastic. It was so crowded that at Evensong it was necessary to be in the church not later than 6.10pm to get a seat.”

So further plans were drawn up, and in 1913 the building was extended to its present size. Plans for a tower and a grander entrance were not carried out, as it was eventually agreed that money would be better used to provide the village with a church primary school. This left the church with a “temporary” façade which remained until a new entrance was built when the church was refurbished in 2001.

The parish of Barnt Green became independent of Lickey in 1922, under the leadership of Rev Hugh Jones, who was Curate and then Vicar of St Andrew’s from 1914 to 1947, seeing the community through two world wars and enormous social change.

In spite of several personal tragedies he never lost his enthusiasm. In his retirement speech on 29 November 1947, after criticising divisions between denominations, he said: “The question that matters is not whether you have Mass or Communion, but whether we are to have a Christian or a heathen civilisation. And that depends entirely on the amount of Christianity in little places like this. Get rid of nominal Christianity. You will never set anyone on fire if you are not on fire yourself.”

The parish of St Andrew’s Barnt Green was eventually amalgamated with neighbouring St Michael’s Cofton Hackett in 1984, making a united parish served by two very different church buildings. To these was added the Parish Centre behind St Andrew’s in 1989, replacing the old church halls (part of which was the original wooden Mission Church). It is now heavily used by church and community groups, including Junior Church, youth group, Sandhills Nursery, day centre for the elderly, choral society, judo, Monday Fellowship, drama club, and many more.

So in 2010, St Andrew’s is marking its centenary. A whole range of celebrations is under way, including a series of concerts, a centenary dinner, a day of prayer, a family fun day, a flower festival, and a service of thanksgiving at which Bishop Gore’s successor, the current Bishop of Birmingham will preach.

And it really is a case of “100 not out”.  St Andrew’s has been a focus for the village and the wider parish in times of joy and sorrow, and continues to be a place where faith is nurtured. As well as being a centre for worship week by week, the church, its clergy, and its members have contributed much to the local community over the last 100 years.

The poor residents of the cottages on the wrong side of the tracks haven’t done too badly, have they?

For further information on centenary events, visit the church website at www.standrewscofe.org.uk or call the parish office on 0121 447 7097.

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