St Mary's Church, Edstaston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Edstaston |
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St Mary's Church, Edstaston in 2024
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| OS grid reference | SJ 518 320 |
| Location | Edstaston, Shropshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary, Edstaston |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 28 October 1960 |
| Architect(s) | G. H. Birch (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, tiled roof |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Edstaston |
| Deanery | Wem and Whitchurch |
| Archdeaconry | Salop |
| Diocese | Lichfield |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Mary's Church is a special old church located in Edstaston, a village in Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican church, meaning it is part of the Church of England. This church is considered very important. It is listed as a Grade I building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it is a building of exceptional interest. Experts describe it as "one of the most complete Romanesque buildings in Shropshire." Romanesque is an old style of building from the 11th and 12th centuries.
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church started as a small chapel in the late 12th century. A chapel of ease was a church built for people who lived far from the main parish church. Over time, it grew and became a full parish church.
Around the year 1300, the east wall of the church was largely rebuilt. The south porch, which is like a covered entrance, was added in 1710. In 1723, the west end of the church was made shorter and rebuilt. The wooden beams in the main part of the church, called the nave, also date from 1723.
Later, from 1882 to 1883, the church was restored by an architect named G. H. Birch. This means it was repaired and updated. The small tower for the bells, called a bellcote, and the room used by the clergy, called the vestry, were added in the 19th century.
Architecture: What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
St Mary's Church is built from red and yellow sandstone. It has a roof made of tiles. The church has a simple layout with a nave (the main part) and a chancel (the area around the altar) joined together. It also has a south porch, a vestry on the northeast side, and a bellcote on the west end.
Many parts of the church still show its original Norman architecture style. This includes three special doorways. The south doorway is the most detailed. It has four layers of columns and leaf-shaped tops, called capitals. It is decorated with zig-zag patterns and shapes that look like castle walls.
The north doorway is simpler, with just one column. It has decorations of crocus flowers, leaf patterns, and geometric shapes. Both the doors in these doorways are from the late 12th century. They even have their original metalwork. The priest's doorway in the chancel has one column. It is decorated with a "dog-tooth" pattern and other geometric shapes. You can also see two Norman windows in the north wall of the church.
Around the church, near the roof, there is a Norman corbel table. This is a row of stone supports with three-leaf arches. Also, around the church, there's a stone band called a string course at the level of the window sills. Later additions include a large east window with five sections. There is also a three-section window on the south side of the chancel. Other large, three-section Perpendicular Gothic windows were added later. These cut through some of the older Norman features.
Inside the Church
Inside the north wall of the nave, there is a large Norman recess. This is a hollowed-out space in the wall. In the east wall of the chancel, you can find a 14th-century aumbry (a cupboard for sacred vessels) and a piscina (a basin for washing communion vessels).
The round font, used for baptisms, is from the 12th century. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is simple and in the Jacobean style. Most of the other furniture and fittings inside the church are from the 19th century.
Above the west window, you can see the coat of arms of King George III, dated 1806. On the walls of the nave and chancel, there are faint traces of old paintings. Some of these are from the medieval period, and others are from later times.
One of the windows in the south wall of the nave has small pieces of stained glass from the 15th century. The rest of the stained glass in that window is from the 19th century. There is a special plaque for Lieutenant Franklin Knight Kirby. He was a soldier in the 93rd Highlanders and died from typhus during the Crimean War. Another stone plaque remembers Major Frederick Raymond Clegg-Hill, who was killed in World War II.
The church also has a pipe organ with two keyboards. It was built by J. J. Binns and was repaired in 1975. The south porch has a record of Thomas Hill of Soulton as a churchwarden.
Churchyard Memorials
In the churchyard, which is the area around the church, there are two memorials. Both are listed as Grade II buildings, meaning they are important historic structures.
The Payne Memorial is located south of the church. It is a sandstone table tomb from around 1750. Its flat top rests on six fluted columns. These columns stand on a rectangular base. It has a brass plate with symbols like a skull-and-crossbones, a sickle, and a pick.
The Mullner Memorial is north of the church. It is a sandstone pedestal tomb from about 1817. It has a molded base with plain pilasters (flat, column-like shapes). The top is stepped and holds a fluted, urn-shaped finial (a decorative top piece).
The parish war memorial is also in the churchyard. It is an elegant stone cross with slate plaques. These plaques list the names of 13 men who died in the World Wars. It also has a verse from a hymn by Francis Pott, called The strife is o'er the battle done.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Shropshire
- Listed buildings in Wem Rural
