The Parish of

The earliest recorded evidence of a Christian settlement at Baswich is in the Doomsday Book of 1086, where records report a "priest of Bercheswic".

The church itself is of 12th century origin, and late 12th,early 13th century masonry can be seen above the eastside of the chancel arch, extensive alterations were undertaken in the 14th century, the east and west walls of the nave, buttresses and pointed chancel arch and the lower stages of the tower belong to this period.

Holy Trinity, having been reported as in a dangerous state of decay, was largely rebuilt in 1739/40 by a Master Builder, Richard Trubshaw (of Great Haywood), and was reopened for worship on 30th April 1740 following extensive renovation achieved at a cost of £336.

In 1899 the church was closed for three months to allow work to be undertaken to the pews, flooring, choir stalls and the introduction of heating, new altar rails and a stone altar step.

The last major alteration to the church was completed in 1968 and involved the addition of the transepts, the plans met with lots of opposition from preservation societies but the argument of providing the means of contemporary worship won the day.

During excavations a number of graves and vaults had to be removed, the remains were re-interred under the clergy vestry.

Many other minor improvements to the church have occurred over recent years, the removal of pews to allow a social area, refurbishment of the sanctuary, a sound system for the hard of hearing and in 1997 the acquisition of an organ dating from the turn of the century from St. Mary’s church. Walsall.

Plan of Holy Trinity Church.

Points of Particular Interest

1. The doors. These oak doors were a gift to the church from Mrs Noel-Gosling in memory of her parents, Mr & Mrs Smith.

2. The Resurrection (or Fisher) window. Was given by William Victor Fisher in memory of his wife Gladys Minnie Fisher. The window installed in 1958 depicts the resurrection.

3. The Bostock Window. Was given by Mr H J and his wife Eleanora to commemorate their Golden Wedding in 1950. The theme of the window is The whole armour of God'

4. Three Decker Pulpit This is a reminder of a form of worship of a bygone age when the preacher was enabled to see his congregation who would otherwise have been hidden in their high box pews. Note the desk for the clerk over which there is a reading desk and then the pulpit.

5. The Norman pillar of the chancel arch. This is evidence of the remains of a parish church of the 12th century.

6. The East Window. Was given in 1935 by Mrs Maud Levett of Milford Hall, in memory of her husband, William who died in 1929. The window expresses the truth of the Christian Creed.

7. The Transepts. In 1963 the Consistory Court gave permission for these to be added to accommodate a growing congregation. This extension was dedicated by the Bishop of Stafford in 1968.

8. The Faculty Pew The one remaining faculty pew is the Levett pew which was built in 1822 (originally there were two, the other belonged to the Chetwynd family.

9. The Fowler Tomb. The bodies of Brian Fowler and his wife Jane lie in this tomb. It is dated 1587, the year of Brian Fowler's death. The shields around the tomb bear the arms of their eleven children.

10. The Balcony. The balcony is accessed via the stone steps to the bell tower.

11. The Bells. These are housed in the bell tower which is accessed from the stone steps outside the church door.

12. The "new" organ. This instrument was acquired from a redundant church in Walsall.

(The Parish of Berkswich acknowledges the use of material originally researched and published
by Des Sant and Alf Middlefell in the compilation of this page.)