St Swithun's Church, Clunbury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Swithin's Church, Clunbury |
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St Swithun's Church, Clunbury, from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | SO 371 807 |
| Location | Clunbury, Shropshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Swithin, Clunbury |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Swithun |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 21 March 1968 |
| Architect(s) | James Piers St Aubyn (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Clunbury with Clunton |
| Deanery | Clun Forest |
| Archdeaconry | Ludlow |
| Diocese | Hereford |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Swithun's Church is located in the small village of Clunbury, in Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church, meaning it's a local church for the Church of England. It belongs to the diocese of Hereford. This church is very important and protected, listed as a Grade I building in the National Heritage List for England. This means it has special historical or architectural value.
Contents
History of St Swithun's Church
The church first started in the 12th century (the 1100s). Back then, it was a smaller chapel connected to St George's Church in Clun. In 1341, it became its own parish church.
Over the years, the church was changed and added to in the 14th and 15th centuries. More changes happened in 1842. In 1848, a special room for the organ was built. The church was also "restored" in 1881 by an architect named James Piers St Aubyn. This included adding a porch made of wood on the south side.
Architecture of the Church
St Swithun's Church is built from limestone, a type of rock. Its roof is made of slate and stone slate. The church has a main area called the nave, a chancel (the part near the altar), a porch on the south side, a room for the organ, and a tower on the west side.
Outside the Church
The church tower probably dates back to the late 12th century. The very top part was added much later, around the 17th century. The tower has a door on its west side. On the south side, there's an 18th-century sundial, which tells time using the sun.
The openings for the bells have louvres, which are angled slats. The top edge of the tower, called the parapet, looks like a castle wall with battlements. A pyramid-shaped roof sits on top of the tower, with a brass weathercock (a weather vane shaped like a rooster) showing wind direction.
On the south side of the church, you'll find the wooden porch. This leads to a Norman doorway, which is a style from the 11th and 12th centuries. Next to the porch is a Norman window. Other windows on the south side of the nave are in a "Decorated" style, which is part of English Gothic architecture. There's also an outdoor tomb area with a stone slab carved with a cross.
The organ room on the south side has a doorway on its west wall. The large east window of the chancel has three sections. Its stone patterns, called tracery, are from the 19th century and are in a "Perpendicular" style. On the north wall of the chancel, there's a window in the Norman style. Another Norman window is on the north wall of the nave.
Inside the Church
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Inside the church, you can see the original Norman west doorway of the nave. This door used to be on the outside but now leads into the tower. Above it is a window from the 12th century. Experts have studied the wood in the nave roof and found that it was built in 1494–95.
In the south wall of the nave, there's a small basin called a piscina. This was used for washing sacred vessels. The font, where baptisms take place, is also from the 12th century.
The church has beautiful stained glass windows. The east window and some nave windows were made by Hardman. Another window in the south wall of the nave, dated 1920, was made by Kempe and Company.
You'll also find special plaques inside. There are war memorial plaques for people from the parish who died in the two World Wars. A slate plaque remembers Lieutenant Edward Whitehead, who was killed in the Gulf War in 1991. There's also a prayer desk given in memory of Robert Henry Cooper and his friends who died in World War II when their ship, the MV Siamese Prince, was sunk.
In 2021, a big project finished. An old room was turned into a toilet and a small kitchen. A spiral staircase was also added inside to help bell ringers get to the belfry (where the bells are).
The church has a pipe organ with two keyboards, made in 1882 by Nicholson of Worcester. There are six bells in the tower. One bell was made in 1620. The other five were made in 1887 by John Warner and Sons.
Churchyard Features
The churchyard is the area around the church. It contains the war graves of two airmen who died in World War II. Also buried there is Leonard Arthur Bethell, an author and former soldier. He lived in Clunton from 1946 until he passed away in 1950.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Shropshire
- Listed buildings in Clunbury
