St Mary's Church, Market Drayton facts for kids
St Mary's Church in Market Drayton is a special old building. It sits high up on a red sandstone rock. This rock is right above the River Tern. The church is officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building. This means it's a very important historical place.
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A Look Back in Time
The church has a long history. In 1086, a very old book called the Domesday Book mentioned a priest in Drayton. This suggests there was likely a wooden church here even before that. It was probably built by the Anglo-Saxons.
The stone church you see today was built around 1150. It's a great example of Norman style.
In 1201, a big change happened. The Pope, Pope Innocent III, said that the weekly market could no longer be held in the churchyard. People used to have it there after Sunday service. So, the market moved a short distance away. It's still in that new spot in town today.
More building work was done on the church in the 1320s. Later, during the Georgian era, some new parts were added inside. These included special seating areas called box pews and galleries. But in the 1880s, these additions were taken out.
Exploring Inside the Church
St Mary's Church has some beautiful stained glass windows. The window at the west end shows Queen Victoria. It was made by artists named Shrigley and Hunt. The window at the east end shows Jesus rising from the dead. This one was created by Charles Eamer Kempe.
You can find more Kempe windows in the church. In the south-west corner, they show Jesus healing a blind man, bringing Lazarus back to life, and healing a paralyzed person. In the north-east corner, you can see scenes of the flight into Egypt and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
The Corbet family was very important to the church. They were like the local landlords and helped support the church. You can see memorials to them in several places. There's a brass plaque with the Corbet coat of arms for Rowland Corbet, who died in 1560. Above it is a monument for Dame Alice Corbet, who passed away in 1682 and had twenty children! Her husband, Sir John Corbet, was buried here in 1662.
The church's organ was first put in in 1805. It was replaced after 1866. At one point, the organ blocked the view of the altar. But now, the pipes have been moved behind the altar, and the part where the organist plays is on the north side.
The Church from the Outside
The outside of St Mary's Church was mostly rebuilt and fixed up in the late 1800s. It's made of red sandstone blocks. The tower also has some grey sandstone. The tower has strong supports called buttresses. It also has battlements, which are the notched tops you see on castles. These were added in the 1500s. The pointy decorations on the corners, called crocketed pinnacles, are from the 1800s.
St Mary's has eight bells that ring out. The oldest bell was made in 1700. The heaviest bell weighs about 889 kilograms, and the lightest one weighs about 279 kilograms.
The only part left from the very first stone church is the Norman arch over the main west door. This arch was built into the church's structure in the early 1300s. Above this door is a large west window. It has fancy and detailed stone patterns, which were popular during that time.
A famous person named Robert Clive once went to school nearby in the 1730s. He is said to have climbed out onto one of the tower's carved gargoyles!
Buntingsdale Chapel
This special chapel has always been connected to the owners of Buntingsdale Hall. Families like the Bulkleys and the Mackworths were important here. Part of the chapel is now used as a choir changing room. It's built over old family burial vaults. You can see paintings by an artist named Parry from the late 1900s. One painting is called Man's search for God, and the other is called Seasons of Faith.
Remembering Heroes
The church has a special area called the "Chapel of the Resurrection." This side chapel was made to remember the people from the parish who died in the two big world wars of the 1900s. It has a huge brass plaque that was put up after the First World War. There are also special cushions (kneelers) that have the badges of the army groups these heroes served in.
Near the main arch, you'll find plaques for Major Charles Egerton Hugh Harding, who died in 1917, and Second Lieutenant John Alberic Everard Upton, who was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the south wall of the main part of the church, there's a plaque for Lieutenant Charles Henry Lycett Warren. He was killed in the Siege of Lucknow in 1857.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Council (A–G)
- Listed buildings in Market Drayton
