St. Peter’s church, known by this dedication since at least 1322, is one of four churches in Shropshire with substantial Anglo-Saxon remains. The original building consisted of a nave with a west tower which was subsequently rebuilt in Norman times. The north wall, with its characteristic small double-splayed window and blocked door is the most visible surviving feature and dates from the eleventh century. The combination of dressed square ashlar masonry on the outside with herringbone work on the interior is most unusual, and has been the subject of much academic controversy.
Other Anglo-Saxon work includes some herringbone work in the North West corner, and fragments of sculpture, one of which predates the building by a century.
The chancel was added in the twelfth century, and some of the original windows survive. The tower was rebuilt in Norman times, and the later buttresses show that the structure had been unstable from an early date. The large blocked western arch is unusual, and its original purpose is unclear. The tower also features animal heads on the west face, and two sheila-na-gigs (obscene female figures) on the south side.
The south aisle originally dated from the fourteenth century, but was rebuilt in 1860. Inside the church, few furnishings survived Nicholson’s restoration in 1883, but the Royal Arms of William III on the west wall, painted in 1700, are worthy of note, as are the Jacobean corbels retained when the old ceiling was replaced in 1860.
Monuments in the church are mostly small mural tablets commemorating local gentry families of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Note the two
fourteenth century tomb recesses in the chancel, one of which contains a later heraldic brass to Charles Baldwyn (1674), and also the small brass high on the north wall of the Vestry (formerly the Baldwyn family aisle of 1609). This commemorates Thomas Baldwyn (1614), who had earlier been imprisoned in the Tower of London for involvement with Mary Queen of Scots. There is good Victorian glass in the chancel.
For further information see the Short History and Guide available in the church for £2:50 or by post from Dr. M. Speight (see Contacts). Please add
£1 to cover postage and packing.
Other Anglo-Saxon work includes some herringbone work in the North West corner, and fragments of sculpture, one of which predates the building by a century.
The chancel was added in the twelfth century, and some of the original windows survive. The tower was rebuilt in Norman times, and the later buttresses show that the structure had been unstable from an early date. The large blocked western arch is unusual, and its original purpose is unclear. The tower also features animal heads on the west face, and two sheila-na-gigs (obscene female figures) on the south side.
The south aisle originally dated from the fourteenth century, but was rebuilt in 1860. Inside the church, few furnishings survived Nicholson’s restoration in 1883, but the Royal Arms of William III on the west wall, painted in 1700, are worthy of note, as are the Jacobean corbels retained when the old ceiling was replaced in 1860.
Monuments in the church are mostly small mural tablets commemorating local gentry families of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Note the two
fourteenth century tomb recesses in the chancel, one of which contains a later heraldic brass to Charles Baldwyn (1674), and also the small brass high on the north wall of the Vestry (formerly the Baldwyn family aisle of 1609). This commemorates Thomas Baldwyn (1614), who had earlier been imprisoned in the Tower of London for involvement with Mary Queen of Scots. There is good Victorian glass in the chancel.
For further information see the Short History and Guide available in the church for £2:50 or by post from Dr. M. Speight (see Contacts). Please add
£1 to cover postage and packing.
