Birmingham Oratory

The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Birmingham's Edgbaston district is a Grade II*-listed neobaroque basilica designed by Edward Doran Webb and built between 1903 and 1909. Its deeper significance lies in its founding figure: John Henry Newman established the first English Oratorian house on this site in 1848, living and working here until his death in 1890. Following his beatification in 2010 and canonisation by Pope Francis in 2019, Newman's remains — interred here since 2008 — have made the Oratory a growing Catholic pilgrimage destination in England. Visitors can also tour Newman's original study and private chapel in the adjoining Oratory House, offering an intimate look at the daily world of one of the 19th century's most influential theologians.