Jews.—The Hebrew Synagogue in Blucher Street was erected in 1856, at a cost of £10,000.
Methodists.—The Primitive Methodists for some time after their first appearance here held, their meetings in the open air or in hired rooms, the first chapel they used being that in Bordesley Street (opened March 16, 1823, by the Wesleyans) which they entered upon in 1826. Other chapels they had at various times in Allison Street, Balloon Street, Inge Street, &c. Gooch Street Chapel was erected by them at a cost of over £2,000 (the first stone being laid August 23, 1852) and is now their principal place of worship, their services being also conducted in Chapels and Mission Rooms in Aston New Town, Garrison Lane, Long Acre, Lord Street, Morville Street, Wells Street, Whitmore Street, The Cape, Selly Oak, Perry Barr, Sparkbrook, and Stirchley Street.—The Methodist New Connexion have chapels in Heath Street, Kyrwick's Lane, Ladywood Lane, Moseley Street, and Unett Street—The first stone of a chapel for the Methodist New Congregational body was placed July 13, 1873, in Icknield Street West.—The Methodist Reformers commenced to build a chapel in Bishop Street, November 15, 1852.—The Methodist Free Church has places of worship in Bath Street, Cuckoo Road, Muntz Street, Rocky Lane, and at Washwood Heath.
New Church.—The denomination of professing Christians, who style themselves the "New Church," sometimes known as "The New Jerusalem Church," and more commonly as "Swedenborgians," as early as 1774 had a meeting room in Great Charles Street, from whence they removed to a larger one in Temple Row. Here they remained until 1791, when they took possession of Zion Chapel, Newhall Street, the ceremony of consecration taking place on the 19 of June. This event was of more than usual interest, inasmuch as this edifice was the first ever erected in the world for New Church worship. The rioters of 1791, who professed to support the National Church by demolishing the Dissenting places of worship, paid Zion Chapel a visit and threatened to burn it, but the eloquence of the minister, the Rev. J. Proud, aided by a judicious distribution of what cash he had in his pocket, prevailed over their burning desires, and they carried their torches elsewhere. On the 10th of March, 1793, however, another incendiary attempt was made to suppress the New Church, but the fire was put out before much damage was done. What fire and popular enmity could not do, however, was accomplished by a financial crisis, and the congregation had to leave their Zion, and put up with a less pretentious place of worship opposite the Wharf in Newhall Street. Here they remained till 1830, when they removed to Summer Lane, where a commodious church, large schools, and minister's house had been erected for them. In 1875 the congregation removed to their present location in Wretham Road, where a handsome church has been built, at a cost of nearly £8,000, to accommodate 500 persons, with schools in the rear for as many children. The old chapel in Summer Lane has been turned into a Clubhouse, and the schools attached to it made over to the School Board. The New Church's new church, like many other modern-built places for Dissenting worship, has tower and spire, the height being 116ft.
Presbyterians.—It took a long time for all the nice distinctive differences of dissenting belief to manifest themselves before the public got used to Unitarianism, Congregationalism, and all the other isms into which Nonconformity has divided itself. When Birmingham was as a city of refuge for the many clergymen who would not accept the Act of Uniformity, it was deemed right to issue unto them licenses for preaching, and before the first Baptist chapel, or the New Meeting, or the Old Meeting, or the old Old Meeting (erected in 1689), were built, we find (1672) that one Samuel Willis, styling himself a minister of the Presbyterian persuasion, applied for preaching licenses for the school-house, and for the houses of John Wall, and Joseph Robinson, and Samuel Taylor, and Samuel Dooley, and John Hunt, all the same being in Birmingham; and William Fincher, another "minister of the Presbyterian persuasion," asked for licenses to preach in the house of Richard Yarnald, in Birmingham, his own house, and in the houses of Thomas Gisboon, William Wheeley, John Pemberton, and Richard Careless, in Birmingham, and in the house of Mrs. Yarrington, on Bowdswell Heath. In Bradford's map (1751) Carr's Lane chapel is put as a "Presbiterian chapel," the New Meeting Street building close by being called "Presbiterian Meeting." It was of this "Presbiterian Chapel" in Carr's Lane that Hutton wrote when he said it was the road to heaven, but that its surroundings indicated a very different route. Perhaps it was due to these surroundings that the attendants at Carr's Lane came by degrees to be called Independents and the New Meeting Street folks Unitarians, for both after a time ceased to be known as Presbyterians. The Scotch Church, or, as it is sometimes styled, the Presbyterian Church of England, is not a large body in Birmingham, having but three places of worship. The first Presbytery held in this town was on July 6, 1847; the foundation-stone of the Church in Broad Street was laid July 24, 1848; the Church at Camp Hill was opened June 3, 1869; and the one in New John Street West was began July 4, 1856, and opened June 19, 1857.
Salvation Army.—The invasion of Birmingham by the soldiers of the Salvation Army was accomplished in the autumn of 1882, the General (Mr. Booth) putting in an appearance March 18, 1883. They have several rendezvous in the town, one of the principal being in Farm Street, from whence the "soldiers" frequently sally out, with drums beating and colours flying, much to their own glorification and other people's annoyance.
Unitarians.—The building known for generations as the Old Meeting, is believed to have been the first Dissenting place of worship erected in Birmingham; and, as its first register dates from 1689, the chapel most likely was built in the previous year. It was doubtless but a small building, as in about ten years (1699) a "Lower Meeting House" was founded in Meeting House Yard, nearly opposite Rea Street. The premises occupied here were gutted in the riots of 1715, and the owner promised the mob that it should no more be used as a chapel, but when calmer he repented and services were held until the New Meeting House in Moor Street was opened. The rioters in 1715 partly destroyed the old Meeting and those of 1791 did so completely, as well as the New Meeting, which (began in 1730) was opened in 1732. For a time the congregations united and met at the Amphitheatre in Livery Street, the members of Old Meeting taking possession of their re-erected chapel, October 4, 1795. New Meeting being re-opened April 22, 1802. The last-named building remained in the possession of the Unitarians until 1861, when it was sold to the Roman Catholics. The last services in Old Meeting took place March 19, 1882, the chapel and graveyard, comprising an area of 2,760 square yards, being sold to the L. & N. W. R. Co., for the purpose of enlarging the Central Station. The price paid by the Railway Company was £32,250, of which £2,000 was for the minister and £250 towards the expense of removing to private vaults the remains of a few persons whose friends wished that course. A portion of Witton Cemetery was laid out for the reception of the remainder, where graves and vaults have been made in relative positions to those in the old graveyard, the tombstones being similarly placed. A new church has been erected in Bristol Street for the congregation, with Sunday Schools, &c., £7,000 being the sum given for the site.—In 1839, Hurst Street Chapel was built for the Unitarian Domestic Mission. May 1, same year, the first stone was laid of the Newhall Hill Chapel, which was opened July 10, 1840.—The Church of the Messiah, Broad Street, was commenced Aug. 12, 1860, and opened Jan. 1, 1862. This church, which cost £10,000 and will seat nearly 1,000 is built over a canal, one of the strangest sites ever chosen for a place of worship. In connection with this church, there is a chapel in Lawrence Street.
Welsh Chapels.—The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists meet in the little chapel, bottom of Hockley Hill, and also in Granville Street, near Bath Row.—The Welsh Congregationalists (Independents) assemble at Wheeler Street Chapel, opened May 1, 1839.
Wesleyans.—The first Wesleyan Chapel in Birmingham was opened by John Wesley, March 21, 1764, the building having been previously a theatre. Cherry Street Chapel, opened July 7, 1782, was rebuilt in 1823.— Bradford Street Chapel was opened in 1786, Belmont Row in 1789, and Bath Street in 1839.—In 1825, a chapel was built in Martin Street, which was converted into a school on the opening (Nov. 10, 1864) of the present edifice, which cost £6,200.—Newtown Row Chapel was built in 1837 and Great Hampton Street and Unett Street Chapels in 1838, the latter being enlarged in 1844.—Branston Street Chapel was opened April 18, and Moseley Road, May 1, 1853.—The Bristol Road Chapel was opened January 18, 1854, and that in King Edward's Road, January 18, 1859.—The first stones were laid for the chapels in Villa Street April 21, 1864, Handsworth Oct. 21, 1872, Selley Oak Oct. 2, 1876, Peel Street, August 30, 1877, Cuckoo Road, June 10, 1878, Nechells Park Road Oct. 25, 1880, Mansfield Road Feb. 19, 1883. Besides the above there are chapels in Coventry Road, Inge Street, Knutsford Street, Lichfield Road, Lord Street, New John Street, Monument Road, and Warwick Road, as well as mission rooms in several parts of the town and suburbs. Acock's Green, Erdington. Harborne, King's Heath, Northfield, Quinton, &c. have also Wesleyan Chapels.—The Wesleyan Reformers meet in Floodgate Street, and in Upper Trinity Street.
Miscellaneous.—Lady Huntingdon's followers opened a chapel in King Street in 1785, and another in Peck Lane in 1842 (both sites being cleared in 1851), and a third in Gooch Street, Oct. 26th, 1851.—The believers in Joannah Southcote also had chosen spots wherein to pray for their leader, while the imposture lasted.—The celebrated Edward Irving opened Mount Zion Chapel, March 24th, 1824. "God's Free Church," in Hope Street, was "established" June 4th. 1854.—Zoar Chapel was the name given to a meeting-room in Cambridge Street, where a few undenominational Christians met between 1830 and 1840. It was afterwards used as a schoolroom in connection with Winfield's factory.—Wrottesley Street Chapel was originally built as a Jewish Synagogue, at a cost of about 2,000. After they left it was used for a variety of purposes, until acquired by William Murphy, the Anti-Catholic lecturer. It was sold by his executors, Aug. 2nd, 1877, and realised £645, less than the cost of the bricks and mortar, though the lease had 73 years to run.
Places of Worship.—Roman Catholics.—From the days of Queen Mary, down to the last years of James II.'s reign, there does not appear to have been any regular meeting-place for the Catholic Inhabitants of Birmingham. In 1687, a church (dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen and St. Francis) was built somewhere near the site of the present St. Bartholomew's but it was destroyed in the following year, and the very foundation-stones torn up and appropriated by Protestant plunderers. [See "[Masshouse Lane].">[