Worlds End

The bunny has put on a mask to be up with covid rules.

The cupola stands in the grounds of the church being built on Caldwell Grove, by the junction of the Solihull Bypass with Lode Lane, and will in due course be added to it. The building under construction is the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St Mary & Archangel Michael. It can be seen in the background at the left hand side of the picture. Behind it is a hall named after St Mark and Pope Kyrillos VI. Kyrillos was Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria in Egypt from 1959 until his death in 1971. He was canonised in 2013 by a holy synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic Pope claims to be the legitimate successor of St Mark and his seat in Alexandria is known as the Holy See of St Mark. See Wikipedia here Link and here Link . The building of a Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Solihull reflects the migration of Coptic Christians from Egypt, where they are under considerable threat of violence from Islamist extremists, to Britain and other developed countries. The cathedral website can be accessed here Link . It shows the cupola and its base, which stands nearby, already in place on what is presumably a computer-generated image of the building.

Although it is an ancient Warwickshire market town and remains independently administered, Solihull is in effect a Birmingham suburb. This leafy street to the north of the town centre, with its large detached houses, is characteristic of the area. The road is named after Silhill Hall which stood nearby and was the oldest building in the borough until it was illegally demolished by its owner in 1966.

Looking towards the junction with Ashleigh Road in this leafy suburban part of the West Midlands conurbation.

This busy parade on the main Warwick Road appears to be generally thriving. It seemed that only one unit was vacant when I visited.

This busy parade on the main Warwick Road appears to be generally thriving. It seemed that only one unit was vacant when I visited.

This busy parade on the main Warwick Road appears to be generally thriving. It seemed that only one unit was vacant when I visited.

This busy parade on the main Warwick Road appears to be generally thriving. It seemed that only one unit was vacant when I visited.

The recently completed cathedral stands on Caldwell Grove, by the junction of the Solihull Bypass with Lode Lane. A United Reformed Church, St Ninian's, occupied this site, as can be seen in this Geograph from 2007 SP1580 : St Ninian's United Reformed Church - Solihull. Four years later the church had become Coptic Orthodox SP1580 : Coptic Orthodox Church. It has now been completely rebuilt as a cathedral in a recognisably Egyptian style, although the outdoor cross of St Ninian's has been retained. Early online representations showed it with a cupola, a small dome, on one of its western towers, the other uncapped Archive Link , and the cupola itself could be seen in the car park awaiting installation SP1580 : A cupola waits. There seems to have been a later change of plan, and both towers are now topped with short spires on what appear to be hexagonal bases. The Coptic Orthodox Church recognises the Pope of Alexandria in Egypt as its patriarch. Several million Coptic Christians live in Egypt, with significant communities elsewhere in Africa, notably in Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is a large diaspora of Coptic Christians in the west. The first Coptic church in modern Europe was St Mark's in Kensington, West London, consecrated in 1979 TQ2579 : St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church. See the chapter on the Copts in Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerald Russell (Simon & Schuster, 2015). As the title suggests, Copts are under considerable threat of persecution in their Egyptian homeland, and have suffered numerous lethal attacks by Islamist extremists.

Bridge #81 carries Lode Lane over the Grand Union Canal on the north side of Solihull. A metal plaque, visible to the right of this photo, tells us that the bridge was reconstructed in 1957. Parapets in a modernist style were added at this time, with a pattern of squares cast in relief in the concrete. The bridge can be seen here SP1481 : Bridge #81 Lode Lane, Grand Union Canal.

The path runs from Lode Lane to Tanhouse Farm Road and Elmdon Park. It skirts the fenced-off northern side of the Jaguar Land Rover site, one entrance to which can be seen to the right of the fence post. Fenced-off suburban gardens hem the path in on the other side, too. The OS Six Inch 1888-1913 map shows a path running from Lode Lane to the school in Elmdon Park near Elmdon Hall Link . The first section of the modern path follows this one, but it then turns to the left and follows long-lost field boundaries.