After almost thirty years of waiting, St Peter’s Church in Cradley was illuminated for the first time on Saturday 18th November in the presence of around 40-strong crowd.

The church will be lit every evening for a few hours with the option for people to sponsor the colour-changing lights for a special event, including birthdays and anniversaries.

The lights have been possible thanks to grants from the National Lottery Awards for All and Dudley Borough Council’s Community Fund.

First discussed in 1990 when the tower was extensively restored, the idea was put on the back burner until the arrival of Rev Katryn Leclezio in 2011. Her dream was to see the tower illuminated at night to act as a beacon and make the church a landmark.

Katryn moved to become Vicar in the Bredon Hill Group of Parishes in 2021 but the new vicar, Mthr Victoria Barlow vowed to see the project through to its completion. Both were at the switch on ceremony and started the countdown to illumination.

Following the switch on, everyone was entertained by Suffolk based musician, David Ivory who travels the length and breadth of the country accompanying silent films on organ or piano. The first half of the concert included songs from stage and screen and also classical pieces. Following an interval for refreshments, David provided live, improvised accompaniment to Buster Keaton’s 1926 masterpiece “The General”.

Concerts are held every other month with future concerts being planned for 2024. For details of other concerts visit stpeterscradley.org/events.

To sponsor the lights for your celebration or remembrance, email for an application form. Sponsorship starts from £10.00 per night with no upper limit to donations.