St Margaret's Church

Image: © Tiger Taken: 10 Aug 2012

Until the later 19th century the small settlement of Olton was a detached and remote part of the parish of Image, centred on the Image By the early 13th century its market had moved to the new town of Solihull and "Old Town" became a sleepy hamlet. The coming of the Great Western Railway led to expansion of the village and it acquired its own small parish church in 1880 (the present chancel, designed by J.G. Bland and built by Bromwich & Foster of Rugby); nave and transepts were added in 1896 to the design of Benjamin Corser, who also designed many of the interior furnishings including choir stalls, reredos and font. Pevsner considered the whole church devoid of architectural merit, but conceded that the floral capitals to the round piers of the interior were well carved. The church has neither tower nor spire and the walls are faced with local red sandstone. It now stands isolated between the old and new courses of the A41 Warwick Road. Its chief treasure is a recusant chalice of 1640.

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