St Mary's is the mother church of Stourbridge, a place of worship that has stood on this same site since at least the tenth century. The oldest surviving part of the building is the tower, built in the late 1400s. From the sixteenth century until 1982, it was graced by a spire. The tower supports eight bells, some cast in the seventeenth century.

To learn more about the bells click here.

For most of its early history, St Mary's was the only place of worship for the people of Stourbridge, Lye and Wollescote. St Thomas's was opened for the inhabitants of Stourbridge in 1735, but it was not until the nineteenth century that most of the remaining districts had their own buildings in which to worship.

To find out more about other churches in the area click here.

NB Thanks must go to Mr Nigel Perry for his excellent booklet 'The Story of St Mary's Church and the Parish of Old Swinford' from which much of this information is obtained.

Copies of the booklet are on sale in the church

Item	Description	Price
Earlychurch	The Development of the Early Church at Old Swinford It is almost certain that a church building has been standing on the same site in the village of Old Swinford for at least a thousand years. Situated adjacent to a Saxon track which led from Amblecote... More Info>> Item # Earlychurch
Presentchurch	Description of the Present Church The nave of St Mary's dates from 1843. It was designed by Mr S Ebbells and built in decorated style by Messrs. Griffiths at a cost of £4500. The windows were paid for by Mr William Hunt, a local solicitor... More Info>> Item # Presentchurch
organ	St Mary's Organ In the chancel can be seen the fine three-manual organ built in 1901 by Messrs. Norman and Beard of Norwich, but enlarged in 1939 and electrified in 1975. This replaced an older two-manual organ built... More Info>> Item # organ
Memorial	Memorials inside the church Around the walls of the Nave are some interesting memorials, some from the old church. They commemorate benefactors and illustrate the heritage of the old parish. The darkened Baker monument by the north... More Info>> Item # Memorial
Rectors	Rectors at St Mary's Many of the past Rectors of Old Swinford have been extremely influential personalities in their own right and the Rectory has been home to some colourful characters including Charles Henry Craufurd (right... More Info>> Item # Rectors
promfam	Prominent Old Swinford Families Many families have been prominent in the life of the parish over the centuries. They include Ernest Stevens who donated,  amongst other things, the wonderful Mary Stevens Park (gates pictured here... More Info>> Item # promfam