Architect: Douglas Hurd Associates
Client: St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church Birmingham
Material: Jura Beige & Blue Limestone, Crema Grey Light Jerusalem Stone

St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Birmingham, is a listed building built as a Unitarian Meeting House, which was remodelled and consecrated as a Catholic church in 1862. The Church is used by the Polish community in Birmingham and Daniel Hurd Associates were engaged to refurbish the interior. They commissioned stoneCIRCLE, which has worked with them on other ecclesiastical projects, to manufacture various stone items for the church.


The main stone used was Jura Beige Limestone with Jura Blue as an accent stone through out. The aisle floor and altar area were tiled in the same stone and a Celtic cross inlaid, using Jura Beige & Blue and Crema Grey Light Jerusalem Stone which had been cut on stoneCIRCLE’s water jet machine. Crema Grey Light was also used for the skirting to provide contrast on the back wall.


A limestone arch was constructed. This needed a wooden former to support the stones until the key stone was installed: an extremely taxing task as it weighed 7.5 tonnes in total with each block weighing 230kg.


The altar, font, tabernacle, an altar shelf and lectern, all in Jura beige with Jura Blue limestone detailing, completed the project. The font and tabernacle also feature lettering engraved into the stone and picked out in gold.