St. Mary’s, Hunter’s Lane, was opened July 28, 1847.

St. Mary’s Retreat, Harborne, was founded by the Passionist Fathers, and opened Feb. 6, 1877.

St. Michael’s, Moor Street, was formerly the Unitarian New Meeting, being purchased, remodelled, and consecrated in 1861.

St. Patrick’s, Dudley Road, was erected in 1862.

St. Peter’s, Broad Street, built in 1786, and enlarged in 1798, was the first Catholic place of worship erected here after the sack and demolition of the church and convent in Masshouse Lane.  With a lively recollection of the treatment dealt out to their brethren in 1688, the founders of St. Peter’s trusted as little as possible to the tender mercies of their fellow-townsmen, but protected themselves by so arranging their church that nothing but blank walls should face the streets, and with the exception of a doorway the walls remained unpierced for nearly seventy years.  The church has lately been much enlarged, and the long-standing rebuke no more exists.

In addition to the above, there are the Convents of “The Sisters of the Holy Child,” in Hagley Road; “Sisters of Notre Dame,” in the Crescent; “Little Sisters of the Poor,” at Harborne; “Our Lady of Mercy,” at Handsworth; and others connected with St. Anne’s and St. Chad’s, besides churches at Erdington, &c.

Police.—­Though the Court Leet provided for the appointment of constables, no regular body of police or watchmen appear to have existed even a hundred years ago.  In February, 1786, the magistrates employed men to nightly patrol the streets, but it could not have been a permanent arrangement, as we read that the patrol was “resumed” in October, 1793, and later on, in March, 1801, the magistrates “solicited” the inhabitants’ consent to a re-appointment of the night-watch.  After a time the Commissioners of the Streets kept regular watchmen in their employ—­the “Charleys” occasionally read of as finding sport for the “young bloods” of the time—­but when serious work was required the Justices appear to have depended on their powers of swearing-in special constables.  The introduction of a police force proper dates from the riotous time of 1839 [See “Chartism"], for immediately after those troublous days Lord John Russell introduced a Bill to the House of Commons granting special powers for enforcing a rate to maintain a police force here, under the command of a Commissioner to be appointed by the Government.  The force thus sought to be raised, though paid for by the people of Birmingham, were to be available for the whole of the counties of Warwick, Worcester and Stafford.