Day Visit 4

COMPLETED – Shropshire Churches

6th July 2022

On a sunny summer day in early July, more than 30 STRADFAS members and guests travelled to visit five historic churches in eastern Shropshire. It was a really interesting day made so by our expert guide, Tim Bridges and by the enthusiasm and local knowledge of the church members who welcomed us so warmly at the churches.

We began our tour on the eastern bank of the River Severn, first visiting St Mary’s church in Alveley, where refreshments, including delicious home made cakes and biscuits were served before we looked around the church (Photo: Morning coffee in St Mary’s church, Alveley. Note the magnificent reredos to the altar). It is a surprisingly large Norman church sited in what was the original village of Alveley, now incorporated into the large conurbation of today.

We then travelled on to Quatt to visit St Andrew’s, a church with both Norman and medieval features and which was the church of the Wolryche family of nearby Dudmaston Hall (Photo: Stained glass windows at St Andrew’s church, Quatt).
 Our morning finished with a visit to the church of St Mary Magdalene in nearby Quatford, a collegiate church with Norman origins and impressively built on the top of a sandstone hill.

After lunch, we drove to the western bank of the river and visited two slightly later churches, St John the Baptist in Kinlet (Photo: Viewing the monuments at St John the Baptist, Kinlet), a large church sited in the grounds of Kinlet Hall, with magnificent memorials to the Childe and Blount families and St Peter’s in Chelmarsh, a 14th century, Decorated style church. We were then served a splendid afternoon tea, prepared by the ladies of the village, in the village hall, before setting off back to Stratford.

Although all the churches we visited have their origins many hundreds of years ago, each has been altered and restored over time so provide fine examples of later building and decorative styles, furniture and stained glass. There was so much to see and marvel at in all of them.

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