St Bartholomew's Church, Penn

St Bartholomew's Church, Penn
St Bartholomew's Church, Penn, from the west
St Bartholomew's Church, Penn Location in West Midlands
Coordinates: 52°33′19″N 2°09′26″W / 52.5553°N 2.1571°W / 52.5553; -2.1571
OS grid reference	SO 895,953
Location	Penn, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Bartholomew, Penn
History
Dedication	Saint Bartholomew
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	3 February 1977
Architect(s)	W. Evans (south aisle) Paley and Austin (restoration and additions)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone and brick Tiled roofs
Administration
Parish	Penn, St Bartholomew's Church
Deanery	Trysull
Archdeaconry	Walsall
Diocese	Lichfield
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev Ben Whitmore
Laity
Reader(s)	Michael Hibbs, Charles Ashbrook, Brian Hopson
Organist(s)	Anthony T. Rose
Churchwarden(s)	Albert Bevan, Margaret Mottram
Parish administrator	Mrs Cathy Elwell

St Bartholomew's Church is in Penn, a district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Trysull, the archdeaconry of Walsall, and the diocese of Lichfield. Its benefice is united with that of St Anne, Lower Penn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The presence of the base and stem of an Anglo-Saxon churchyard cross, and the circular shape of the churchyard, show that a church was present on the site before the Norman conquest. The next church on the site was built by Sir Hugh de Bushbury in 1200 and was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It is not known when the dedication was changed to Saint Bartholomew. The earliest fabric in the present church is part of the north arcade dating from the 14th century. The west part of the arcade and the tower are from the 15th century. The tower was encased in brick in 1765. An annexe was added to the northwest of the church in 1826, and the south aisle was built by W. Evans in 1845. This aisle was too short for the congregation to see the altar, and further alterations were made in 1871–72 by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. At this time the incumbent of the church was Revd Francis Henry Paley, the younger brother of E. G. Paley. The alterations made at this time consisted of adding a bay to the east end of the south aisle, extending the nave, and rebuilding the chancel. The organ loft was added in 1901 and a vestry in 1958. The interior of the church was re-ordered in the 1970s, and in 2000 a new wing with modern facilities was added to the north of the church.