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October 23, 2021

Oswestry, Shropshire – St Oswald

We spent the last week of September 2021 on holiday in Wales, and on Wednesday 29 we crossed the border and went to Oswestry. Julie enjoyed Booka Bookshop, and then we went to St Oswald’s church. The last time I came here was for a job interview in 2008 – the world could have been very different if I’d got that! It was good to find the church open, and they have a website – https://www.stoswaldsoswestry.org.uk/church-history/. In 642 Oswald, King of Northumbria, was killed by Penda, King of Mercia – tradition has it that he died on the spot...
Categories Railway History/Shropshire Comments: 0
August 23, 2020

Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire

After Blist’s Hill we drove out through Coalport and some interesting roads to Shifnal, which looks like a town worth exploring, and up to the A5. Then I saw a sign to English Heritage Lilleshall Abbey, so we followed it. SJ737142. A short walk from the road, and a rather peaceful spot. It was founded in about 1148 for a community of Augustinian canons – they originally came from Dorchester in Oxfordshire (a town I have never been to), there were probably about 13 canons originally. It was a powerful place by the C13, deriving its income from gifts...
Categories Shropshire Comments: 0
August 23, 2020

Blist’s Hill Victorian Town, Shropshire – St Chad

Last November we purchased an Annual Pass for the Ironbridge Museum in their Black Friday deals. Then came winter, then came Covid. We drove over a few weeks ago to collect it, but it was a wet, horrible day and after a couple of hours at Blist’s Hill we had had enough. On Friday 21 August we booked a 10 am admission, and were there exactly on time. The weather was rather better. We ambled across to the Canal, and admired Trevithick’s loco which was built here in 1802 (this replica dated 1990 – I would love to see...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Railway History/Shropshire Comments: 0
November 7, 2016

Myddle, Shropshire – St Peter

I had a day on the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway – my favourite. On my return I stopped at Myddle – St Peter’s church is at SJ 467236, in the middle of the village. The church website is here and there is a church history page here. I remember this book, I’m sure I read it many years ago. “Written between the years 1700 and 1706, Richard Gough’s history of Myddle in Shropshire is a biographical profile of a complete village during the 17th century. Gough wrote brief biographies of many of the people living in the village, derived...
Categories Railway History/Shropshire/World War 1 Comments: 2
August 30, 2015

Whitchurch, Shropshire – St Alkmund

When we are on holiday our blue astra doubles as a white van. Like an idiot I had buried the road atlas somewhere on the back seat, so it is a good thing I have a decent sense of direction. Eventually we ended up in Whitchurch, a nice little town, had coffee at Etzio – website – really a nice-looking pizza restaurant, but they quite understood when all we wanted was coffee. We got a nice welcome, and must go back for a proper meal sometime. Then we went and explored the church – well, to be honest, I explored...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Shropshire Comment: 1
August 29, 2015

Baschurch, Shropshire – All Saints

Shrewsbury and the area north is in the Diocese of Lichfield. We went for an explore north of Shrewsbury on the B road across towards Oswestry, and stopped in the village of Baschurch. We went for an explore. All Saints SJ422219 was open, good access, and looks very welcoming.According to the guidebook, there are Saxon references to the churches at Bassa. It could have stood where an earthworks now stands to the NE of the village, or have been completely demolished when the Norman church was built. The Norman church, built of the lovely local red standstone, consisted of a chancel,...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Railway History/Shropshire Comments: 2
August 28, 2015

Cressage, Shropshire – Christchurch

We went down to the main road and the village of Cressage – Christchurch at SJ593040. It is a busy main road and three steps up into the churchyard. A welcome notice by the door. There is a nice local history exhibition inside and some information about the church. The medieval church of St Sampson’s was situated at the west end of the village, probably on the site of a Saxon church. The Reverend George Onions Bird was Curate 1839-53 and raised funds to build this new church, presumably much nearer the centre of the village. When this new...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Shropshire Comments: 2
August 28, 2015

Cound, Shropshire – St Peter

Just south of Berrington, our stop was Cantlop Bridge. Thomas Telford was County Surveyor for Shropshire between 1787 and 1834 and probably designed this bridge in 1818. It has a lightweight lattice structure of cast iron, showing how technology had moved on from the Ironbridge. We continued on via beautiful narrow roads to St Peter’s church in Cound, grid reference SJ558050. We parked next to the church in the grounds of the Guildhall, and discovered they have a bookshop. The Guildhall looks fun – with its own website – with a village celebration of Agincourt later this month (an historical...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Shropshire Comments: 0
August 27, 2015

Berrington, Shropshire – All Saints

Thursday morning – let’s have an explore of village churches south of Shrewsbury. We started at All Saints, Berrington SJ530069. Narrow roads past lovely houses bought us to this church with a nice solid tower. It is in a circular churchyard – a pre-Christian sacred grove? The church was mentioned in Domesday, and the font is probably from a similar time. Seven heads accompanied by a lighted candle, a beast of some form, and a cockerel. Light of the world, beast perhaps equals lion (“Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion” 1 Peter), and denial of Christ. High up...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Shropshire Comments: 0
August 26, 2015

Wroxeter, Shropshire – St Andrew

After Julie had been in every shop in Shrewsbury, we went out to Wroxeter Roman Site, which was fascinating (English Heritage). It was the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, and must have been quite a place. Website. Then down to have a look at Wroxeter church – St Andrew’s SJ564083. I had noticed the roman columns now gateposts when we drove past the other evening. I was surprised to find this is also in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The name means “the fort by the Wrekin”, and this church stands in what would have been the...
Categories Churches Conservation Trust/Outside Northumberland/Shropshire Comments: 5