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Conybere Street, BIRMINGHAM, B12 0YL

A city centre church, and the modern replacement for the former Baptist church in Hope Street, a few hundred yards west of here. This was the parish of the Reverend Peter Thomas Stanford, an African American born nameless and into slavery, who lived an impoverished life in his early years, before escaping a life of slavery by being 'adopted' by Native Americans. In due course, he escaped this too, and briefly became a member of a New York street gang, but decided that a Christian life was a better one. He trained in the ministry in the 1870s, supported by fellow Christians in New York, before moving first to Canada, and then in the early 1880s to England. However, none of London, Leeds, Barnsley, Keighley or Bradford were particularly welcoming, and he eventually moved on to Sparkbrook, which appeared to suit him better; it must have done, as he duly married a West Bromwich girl. In the late 1880s, he was invited to become pastor at the Hope Street Baptist Church, a position which he was pleased to accept, and took on despite a certain amount of resistance. His deep Christian faith seems to have played a large part in overcoming the many difficulties he faced in his life. The modern church here on Conybere Street now displays a blue plaque, describing him as "Campaigner for Racial Justice, Author, Historian and Birmingham's first black minister".

Bridge over the River Rea at Gooch Street with metalwork inscription.

The Rea has just passed under Gooch Street with the bridge decorated with metalwork inscriptions on either side telling of the founding of Birmingham by the Anglian King Beorma.

Here the River Rea passes under Gooch Street and the bridge has am metalwork inscription on either side of the road.

The River Rea flows for 14 miles before becoming a tributary of the River Tame. Despite its importance in the development of Birmingham, it is largely ignored by the population and is mainly culverted in the central area of the city.

Tributary of the River Tame, seen here from the Gooch Street bridge.

The bridge that carries Gooch Street over the River Rea has been adorned with this monument to Birmingham's foundation - an unexpected find in an otherwise grim inner-city district.

It is interesting to speculate as to what the people of Beorma might have thought of the modern homes provided for the people of Birmingham.