On Saturday, 15 August 2026, St Paul’s Square did what it’s done every summer for years and somehow still felt fresh: it filled up with stalls, music, children, dogs, raffle tickets and neighbours who had no particular reason to be there except that everyone else was too.
Our organiser was on site from 7am, and by mid-morning the square had settled into what more than one visitor called a proper “village fete” atmosphere — a mix of young professionals from the Quarter’s offices and studios and the long-standing local community who’ve watched the square host this day for years. Birmingham’s marathon was due to run straight through the Jewellery Quarter the following morning, which meant road closures and a scramble for parking all weekend — but if anything it brought more people into the square early, not fewer.
What was on
The Birmingham Artisan Market anchored the day from 11am, bringing independent makers and traders in alongside the church’s own stalls. At the heart of it sat the Kangs Summer Pavilion — pottery painting, a children’s colouring and play area, and a graphology stall run by Andy Munro that had a steady queue of people curious what their handwriting says about them all afternoon.
Younger visitors gravitated to the bouncy castle and OTD’s Teddy Bear Picnic; Cuddle Paws ran a dog agility display that drew a lighthearted crowd, headlined by Apollo, a rescue dog from Greece putting in a game performance in his corner of the site. A roving caricaturist worked the square, church tours gave plenty of people their first proper look inside the building, and Progress Music Academy kept live music going through the afternoon — including some opera singers who stopped passers-by in their tracks. Trentina kept everyone fed and The Jam House ran the bar.
For anyone who’s never had cause to step inside: St Paul’s is nearly 250 years old, standing on the square since 1779, and it’s the only Grade I listed church in the Jewellery Quarter. The original box pews are still there — not built for comfort — alongside a fragile painted-and-enamelled window from the Industrial Revolution that has never once been cleaned, and the Millennium Window, which depicts angels pouring silver into the streets below. It’s a building that rewards a closer look, which is exactly what the fete gives people an excuse to do.
The raffle
The day built to the raffle draw at 4.30pm, where David Tomlinson thanked our principal partners Kangs Solicitors and OTD, along with every sponsor, volunteer and planning-team member who made the day happen. First prize — a £250 Birmingham Hippodrome voucher — went to Melanie A. Second prize was four tickets to an Ex Cathedra concert, and third was a £100 meal voucher for Cucina Rustica, among a long list of smaller prizes from a Pen Museum tour to a bottle of whisky. A separate draw for “Tedz,” a rather large teddy bear, was won by Eglie.
Once the crowds thinned, the breakdown was its own quiet operation — volunteers taking down gazebos, clearing litter, and keeping vehicle access closed off until the square was safely clear of visitors. None of it happens by accident, and none of it happens without the volunteers who stayed to the end.
Why it matters beyond the day
The fete is entirely volunteer-run, and every stall, sponsor and raffle ticket ultimately supports Raise the Roof — St Paul’s campaign to replace a roof that has stood since shortly after the Second World War and, without urgent repair, risks serious damage to the building as winter closes in. Since launching the campaign, the Jewellery Quarter community has raised £225,000 towards it — enough that we’ve been invited by Historic England to apply for a substantial grant, with a decision expected in early September. If it comes through, contractors could be on site before the end of the year. Even then, a shortfall will remain, so the fundraising doesn’t stop with one good afternoon in August.
That’s really the point of a day like this, though. A grant application is a closed-door process; a fete on the square isn’t. It’s stallholders, churchgoers, JQ residents and people who just followed the noise, all standing in the same place for a few hours with the building right there behind them — which does more for a campaign like Raise the Roof than any amount of paperwork can on its own.
Thank you to everyone who ran a stall, sponsored the day, volunteered, or simply came along and spent an afternoon with us. St Paul’s Square will be doing this again next August — and if your business would like to be part of Raise the Roof before then, we’d love to hear from you.
