Acocks Green Church Webcam, Birmingham

The Acocks Green Church Webcam streams from inside Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Catholic Church on Warwick Road in Acocks Green, in the southeast of Birmingham. From a raised position at the back of the nave, the camera looks over the front pews to the sanctuary, where a large wooden crucifix hangs on a pale blue wall between statues of Our Lady and St John, with a tall stained-glass window on either side. The parish streams its daily Mass and other liturgies through this feed, and between services the camera rests on the quiet sanctuary with its candles, flowers and altar. It lets you join a service from afar, or pause for a few minutes of prayer.

About Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Church

Catholic life in Acocks Green began in 1905, when the area was still rural Worcestershire and the first Mass was said in a house on 13 August that year. In 1907 the congregation moved into a chapel above the new Holy Souls School, and in 1913 the parish bought the site of the present church, then a house called The Hollies. By 1917 the architect G. B. Cox of Harrison and Cox had drawn up plans for a church meant from the start to honor the dead of the Great War.

Archbishop McIntyre laid the foundation stone on 18 April 1923, and the sanctuary and eastern nave opened on 26 March 1925. Cox returned to finish the western bays and a bell turret in 1939 and 1940, and the church was consecrated on 24 October 1945. It is built of purple and pale brick with terracotta dressings under a green Westmorland slate roof. The wide nave has no aisles, and the apse carries a rib-vaulted timber ceiling with carved bosses. The Catholic heritage survey Taking Stock calls it a fine and substantial interwar Gothic design.

On the camera, the crucifix and its two attendant figures sit at the center of the picture above a gilded tabernacle on a pillar. Flower stands and tall candlesticks line the red-carpeted altar steps. A white lectern marked with a cross stands to the left, below a statue of the Sacred Heart, and on the right a carved wooden group of the Baptism of Christ hangs beside a wooden chair. The sanctuary took its present form in 1969, when the current altar went in and the pulpit was removed.

Weather and Climate in Acocks Green

Acocks Green shares Birmingham’s mild, changeable climate. January is the coldest month, with average highs around 7 C (45 F) and lows near 2 C (36 F), while July brings highs of about 22 C (72 F) and lows of 12 C (54 F). About 665 millimeters (26 inches) of rain falls in a year, more of it in winter than in summer. Spring and autumn sit between the two, mild and often showery.

Inside the church, the weather shows mostly in the light. On a bright day the two stained-glass windows above the sanctuary glow with color, while on grey winter afternoons they fade early and the picture leans on the church’s own lighting. The Church’s calendar adds seasons of its own, and the altar usually follows them: green through Ordinary Time, purple in Advent and Lent, white for Christmas and Easter, and red for Pentecost.

Things to Do Near Acocks Green

Warwick Road runs northwest from the church toward Tyseley Locomotive Works, about 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) away in a straight line. It is the engineering base of the railtour operator Vintage Trains, on part of the old Great Western Railway depot, and maintains the locomotives behind the Shakespeare Express between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon, first run in 1999. Guided tours of the depot are offered from time to time. About 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) west-southwest, Sarehole Mill in Hall Green is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole, run as a museum by Birmingham Museums Trust. J. R. R. Tolkien lived within sight of it as a small boy from 1896, and the mill is believed to have inspired parts of his writing.

St Chad’s Cathedral, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, stands beside Birmingham Snow Hill station in the city center, roughly 7 kilometers (4 miles) away. Designed by Augustus Pugin and consecrated on 21 June 1841, it was among the first Catholic churches built in England after the Reformation, and relics of St Chad rest above its altar.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Church located?

On Warwick Road in Acocks Green, in the southeast of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the city center. It is a parish of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

What can you see on the Acocks Green Church Webcam?

The sanctuary, seen from the back of the church: the crucifix with Our Lady and St John, two stained-glass windows, the altar and tabernacle, and the front pews. During Mass the priest and servers appear at the altar; between services the sanctuary is usually still.

What is the weather like in Acocks Green?

Mild and changeable, with January highs around 7 C (45 F), July highs of about 22 C (72 F) and roughly 665 millimeters (26 inches) of rain a year.

What time is Mass at Sacred Heart and Holy Souls, Acocks Green?

The parish lists weekday Mass usually at 10 a.m., the Saturday Vigil Mass at 5 p.m., and Sunday Masses at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon, UK time. Holy Days of Obligation have Masses at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and a Holy Hour runs on Saturdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Times can change, so check the weekly newsletter on the parish website first.

Is the Acocks Green Church Webcam live 24 hours a day?

Yes, the parish streams from the church around the clock, and daily Mass and other liturgies go out on the same feed. Outside service times it shows the empty sanctuary. Some Masses are also scheduled as separate broadcasts on the parish’s YouTube channel, so if nothing is happening at a Mass time, look there.

When was Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Church built?

In two stages to designs by G. B. Cox, between 1923 and 1940. It opened on 26 March 1925 and was consecrated on 24 October 1945.

Why is Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Church a war memorial?

From the first plans in 1917 it was intended as a memorial church for those killed in the First World War. A tablet in the porch names the parish’s dead of 1914 to 1918, further plaques record the dead of both world wars, a stone from Rheims Cathedral was laid in the building, and an angel statue bears the words 1914 PAX 1918.

Source: Sacred Heart and Holy Souls Church, Acocks Green