Maryvale Institute

Maryvale Institute is a Roman Catholic theological institute, initially built as a residence for the Roman Catholic Bishop. The oldest part of the building dates to 1752 and was constructed for Bishop Thomas Hornyhold. This original section is of red brick, three storeys high, and symmetrical in design with three bays and two windows per bay. The facade is articulated by plain pilasters, features a moulded wood eaves cornice, and has an old tile roof with corniced chimney stacks. The sash windows retain their glazing bars and have flat stucco arches with key blocks on the ground and first floors. An open-well staircase and a chapel from 1752 are located on the second floor; the chapel has been subdivided, but original cornicing remains.

A brick chapel, built in 1778 following the first Catholic Relief Act, was added at a right angle to the original house. This chapel has a plain exterior adorned with round-arched windows, and is open across two storeys with an Ionic order. While murals have been lost, remnants of the original design remain, including a late 17th-century Flemish baroque altar (now detached) and a classical wooden reredos.

In 1800, John Milner added the Sanctuary, and in 1809 a long, three-storey wing, extending at a right angle to the original house. This wing includes a staircase with simple stick baluster and ramped handrail. Milner also added a tile external colonnade in 1816 to link the buildings and a two-storey lecture room, now reduced to a single-storey Doric portico. In the same year, the Sacred Heart Chapel was added to the second floor; it is a vaulted room with delicate Gothic stucco detailing and tile stained glass, likely created by Eginton, a pioneer of stained glass in Birmingham.

Maryvale is significant in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in England, having served as a Roman Catholic Mission in the 17th century, a Catholic Seminary of the Midlands from 1794 to 1834, and as the first Catholic congregation from 1846 to 1848 following Newman's conversion.