On Old Oscott Hill, tucked among the streets of Kingstanding, stands Maryvale — a Grade II* listed house and chapel that has been a home of Catholic life and learning for more than three hundred years. It is one of the most significant Catholic sites in England, and the first Catholic home of a saint.
A hidden Catholic mission
Maryvale’s story begins in the seventeenth century, when Catholics in England could only worship in secret. Andrew Bromwich, born into a Catholic family here around 1652, trained as a priest in Lisbon. When he died in 1702 he left Oscott House to support a Catholic priest, and by 1732 the house held a richly furnished chapel. In 1752 a new house was built there for the Catholic bishop, Hornyhold. It is the oldest part of the building that stands today.
Public worship at last
After the Catholic Relief Act of 1778, Father Palmer built a new, larger chapel behind the house — the beginning of public Catholic worship at Oscott. That chapel still stands, with its gallery on Ionic columns and a carved, gilded altar of eighteenth-century character.
Oscott College and the Sacred Heart
In 1794 Oscott became a school and a seminary, training priests for the Midlands. Bishop John Milner named it St Mary’s College in 1808 and enlarged it. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. The listing records a sanctuary added in 1800, a long three-storey wing in 1809 and the colonnade along the front in 1816. In 1816, according to Historic England’s listing (other accounts give 1814 or 1820), he added a tiny chapel on the second floor dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Its round stained-glass window is said to have been brought from Rome, though the listing thinks the glass probably the work of Eginton. It is described as the first public shrine to the Sacred Heart in England.
In 1838 the college moved to its grand new buildings at New Oscott, and the old house became a preparatory school.
Newman’s Maryvale
John Henry Newman was one of the most celebrated Englishmen of the nineteenth century — an Oxford clergyman, preacher and writer, and a leader of the Oxford Movement in the Church of England. His decision to become a Catholic, in October 1845, caused a sensation.
Bishop Nicholas Wiseman offered Newman and his companions the old house at Oscott. Newman moved in early in 1846 and renamed it Maryvale — Mary’s vale. It was his first home as a Catholic. Fellow converts lived here with him, among them Frederick William Faber.
Newman wrote of the blessing of having “Christ’s presence in the chapel within his own walls”. The room he used, with its window looking down into that chapel, is still kept for students and guests today. He and his community stayed until 1848; he went on to found the Birmingham Oratory and lived in Birmingham for the rest of his life.
From cardinal to saint and Doctor of the Church
Pope Leo XIII made Newman a cardinal in 1879, and he died in Birmingham in 1890. On 19 September 2010 Pope Benedict XVI beatified him at an open-air Mass in Birmingham. On 13 October 2019 Pope Francis declared him a saint — St John Henry Newman. And on 1 November 2025 Pope Leo XIV declared him a Doctor of the Church, a title given to only a few saints for the importance of their teaching, and co-patron of Catholic education.
That is why Maryvale matters so much. The first Catholic home of a saint and Doctor of the Church — the house he named himself — still stands, and it is here in Kingstanding.
An orphanage for almost 130 years
From 1851 the Sisters of Mercy ran an orphanage at Maryvale, caring for children here until it closed in 1980. When the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption opened further up the hill in 1957, the sisters renovated the old chapel.
The Maryvale Institute today
Today the house is the Maryvale Institute, which teaches Catholic theology, philosophy, catechesis and ministry, much of it by distance learning, to help “lay people, clergy and religious reach a deeper understanding of the faith”. Newman’s conviction that education is “the true enlargement of the mind” still shapes it.
The old college is remembered in the street names around it — Old Oscott Hill, Old Oscott Lane, Oscott School Lane and Maryvale Rise. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found. And Oscott’s worship is older still: deeds record a chapel at Oscott by 1336, standing beside the road from Lichfield to Perry. Its site has never been found.
Pictures

St John Henry Newman as a cardinal — engraving after the 1881 portrait by John Everett MillaisThomas Oldham Barlow after John Everett Millais · Public domain 
Maryvale House from the groundsAndy Mabbett, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0 
The courtyard and the Maryvale Institute signRichard Law, 2018 · CC BY-SA 2.0 
Our Lady of the Assumption, the parish church further up Old Oscott Hill, opened in 1957Adrian Bailey, 2005 · CC BY-SA 2.0
From the Heritage Archive
Maryvale House, Old Oscott, 20189 August 2018
Our Lady of the Assumption (Maryvale church), 200517 June 2005
The estate from the north-west, 19388 September 1938
The Circle and the Odeon from the north-west, 19388 September 1938
Before the estate: OS 25-inch map, revised 1913Revised 1913, published 1914
Queslett to Old Oscott and the Circle: OS 1:2500, 1962Revised 1961, published 1962
Sources. Taking Stock: Catholic Churches of England and Wales — “Old Oscott Hill, Maryvale Institute” (taking-stock.org.uk), drawing on B. Mulvey, St Mary in the Valley: A History of Maryvale House; Maryvale Institute, “About” (maryvale.ac.uk); Encyclopaedia Britannica and Vatican News on Newman’s life, canonisation (2019) and declaration as a Doctor of the Church (2025); OpenStreetMap street names. Photographs by Andy Mabbett (CC BY-SA 4.0), Richard Law and Adrian Bailey (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons, with car number plates obscured; portrait engraving by Thomas Oldham Barlow after John Everett Millais (public domain).
- Maryvale Institute (list entry), Grade II* — Historic England (text via britishlistedbuildings.co.uk; dates from the NHLE data service), listed 25 Apr 1952; amended 2 Jan 1995. Ref. NHLE 1076213 (legacy 217475). House of 1752 for the RC bishop; 1778 brick chapel; Milner’s additions of 1800, 1809 and 1816 (Sacred Heart Chapel, glass “probably by Eginton”); seminary 1794–1834; Newman 1846–48. Gives “Oscott House” as an alternative name.
- Old Oscott Hill, Maryvale Institute — Taking Stock: Catholic Churches of England and Wales (Architectural History Practice). Drawing on B. Mulvey, St Mary in the Valley. Gives 1753 for the house and 1814 for the Sacred Heart chapel.
- St Mary in the Valley: A History of Maryvale House — B. Mulvey. Not seen; cited by the list entry and Taking Stock.
- Oscott (St Mary’s College) — Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), 1911. Secondary; gives 1820 for the Sacred Heart chapel and Newman to 1849.
- About the Maryvale Institute — Maryvale Institute. The Institute today.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica and Vatican News on St John Henry Newman — 2019; 2025. Canonisation (2019) and Doctor of the Church (2025).
- Letters of J. V. Harting to Canon Estcourt on “the Roman Field at Maryvale” — Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives, 1873–1877. Ref. B05225; B05226; B05992. Catalogue entries only. The Old Oscott mission’s field, sold 1877.
- Exchange of land at Maryvale between Gough-Calthorpe and the RC trustees — Library of Birmingham, 1909. Ref. MS 3145/36/15–18. Catalogue entries only.
- Ordnance Survey maps — Ordnance Survey, 1831–32; 1880s; 1901. “Oscott College” (1831–32); “Orphanage” (1880s); “Maryvale R.C. Orphanage” (1901).






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