St Chad’s and St Mary’s: The Churches of Shrewsbury

Two churches, two centuries

Shrewsbury has a lot of churches, but two repay a careful look: St Chad’s, a rare round church of the Georgian period, and St Mary’s, a medieval church that has been added to for hundreds of years. Together they show how English church building moved from Norman solidity and Gothic aspiration to Georgian calm. Both are Grade I listed, first listed on 10 January 1953.^[1][2] This guide explains what each is, how it came to be built, what to look for, and how to read the architecture without a specialist’s vocabulary.

For the abbey on the other side of the river, see Brother Cadfael’s Shrewsbury. For the county’s wider story, start with Shropshire’s architectural heritage.

Old St Chad’s: tradition and a collapse

St Chad’s has an old and partly uncertain story. Wikipedia records a tradition that it is a Saxon foundation, linked to Offa in the 8th century as a collegiate church (a church served by a group of secular priests, not monks).^[3] What is recorded is that by the time of Domesday Book in 1086 it was well endowed and ancient,^[3] and that the church standing in 1394 was consumed in the Great Fire of Shrewsbury, which spread through a largely timber town.^[3][4]

The old church fell down in 1788. The central tower collapsed after attempts to expand the crypt compromised its structure.^[3] Telford, then Shropshire’s Surveyor of Public Works, was called in about a leaking roof and warned that the church was in imminent danger of collapse; it collapsed three days later. He was not the architect of the replacement.^[5] See our guide to Telford in Shropshire for the engineer’s wider work in the county. What survives of the old building is a side chapel, a disused churchyard and the exposed crypt.^[3]

New St Chad’s: why a round church?

The new church was designed by George Steuart. Wikipedia’s account is that he submitted several designs, three of them circular; the planning committee wanted an oblong church, but the round design went ahead.^[3] Visit Shropshire adds that the parish had preferred a rectangular plan, and says the circular design was built partly because of a misunderstanding and partly because time was short.^[9] Historic England dates the church to 1790–92 and records ashlar stonework over a rusticated basement.^[1] The site was chosen at the Quarry, the town’s park beside the river. The foundation stone was laid on 2 March 1790. It was built in white Grinshill stone under the supervision of John Simpson, and opened on 19 August 1792.^[3]

The round plan is the feature everyone remembers, but the structure is just as interesting. The gallery is carried on slender cast-iron pillars made by William Hazledine;^[3] Historic England describes cast-iron cylindrical Ionic shafts on high bases.^[1] Iron let the builders support a gallery on thin columns, leaving the circular space open and the view uncluttered. Iron was the new material of the age: the Iron Bridge, a few miles down the Severn, opened to traffic on 1 January 1781.^[6] See our guide to the architecture of the Ironbridge Gorge.

What to look for inside St Chad’s

Read the building from the outside in. Rule of thumb, general background and not cited: the white stone and clean classical lines are typical of the Georgian period (1714–1830), when churches were designed for preaching and congregations wanted to see and hear. Inside, look at the circle of the nave, the gallery above it and the slim iron supports. Then note the later additions: a sanctuary window, made in the 1840s by David Evans, that is a stained-glass copy of a triptych by Rubens in Antwerp Cathedral; a copper and brass Arts and Crafts pulpit that replaced the original, which was removed in 1888 (Historic England dates the present pulpit to about 1890); a reredos by Cecil Lightwood Hare; and an organ built by Norman and Beard in 1904.^[3][1]

The entrance hall holds memorials to the 53rd Regiment of Foot and the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, and funds were raised in 1951 to convert a chapel into a regimental chapel for the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.^[3] Charles Darwin was baptised here on 15 November 1809;^[3] see Darwin’s Shrewsbury. Visit Shropshire also gives the foundation stone as laid on 2 March 1790, the opening as 19 August 1792 and a capacity of 1,200. It credits the sanctuary window to Betton and Evans, whereas the account above names David Evans, so the sources differ on the maker.^[9]

St Mary’s: a medieval church that kept growing

St Mary’s sits near the heart of the town. It was originally a collegiate church. Tradition has it founded by King Edgar in the 10th century, though that is uncertain, and excavations in 1864 revealed an earlier church with a nave and an apsidal chancel.^[7] Construction of the present church began in the 12th century. Historic England dates the chancel and St Anne’s Chapel to about 1170 and the Trinity Chapel to the mid-14th century.^[2] Wikipedia dates the clerestory to the 15th century, possibly about 1477.^[7]

You can read the history in the stonework. According to Wikipedia the bottom three stages of the tower are Norman in style and the top stage is Perpendicular, the late medieval style of tall windows and panelled surfaces.^[7] Historic England describes a four-stage tower whose upper storey is a white-stone addition with a clock.^[2] The spire is said to be the third tallest in England; no height is given in the sources we consulted, so look rather than rely on a number.^[7] The National Churches Trust describes the spire as “one of the tallest in England”, standing on a tower with clear Norman origins in its lower part, and lists a Norman west doorway, Early English lancets in the transepts, Decorated windows in the Trinity Chapel and Perpendicular windows in the south aisle.^[8] The top fell from the spire in 1894, damaging the clerestory, and the tower was restored in 1924–26.^[7] The church was declared redundant in 1987 and vested in the Churches Conservation Trust.^[7]

The glass at St Mary’s

St Mary’s is best known for its stained glass. The Jesse window in the chancel shows the family tree of Christ growing from the sleeping Jesse. Historic England dates the glass to 1327–1353 and records it as from Greyfriars, Shrewsbury;^[2] Wikipedia adds that tradition says it was made for the town’s Franciscan church, and that the window was enlarged and the glass much restored in 1858.^[7] The Churches Conservation Trust gives a different account: the window is dated about 1330–1353, was made for the Greyfriars, moved after the friary closed in 1538 to St Chad’s, and reached St Mary’s in 1791 after St Chad’s partly collapsed, when the glass was rearranged; it says David Evans’s workshop restored it in 1859.^[10] The church also has glass from Altenberg Abbey in Germany, dated 1505–1532 and bought in 1845, glass from Trier and Herkenrode bought separately in 1801 by Sir Brooke Boothby, and two windows from St Aspern in Cologne. Wikipedia says no other church in the country has a collection to equal it.^[7]

The Altenberg glass is a useful reminder that church glass moved around: it was bought and brought to Shrewsbury in 1845, centuries after it was made.^[7]

How to tell Georgian from Gothic

A simple rule of thumb (general background, not cited) works for most English churches. Gothic buildings (about 1180–1520) have pointed arches, tall windows with tracery and a vertical emphasis; Norman buildings before them have round arches and thick walls. Georgian churches use classical forms: round-headed windows, columns, pediments, clean stone and a calm symmetry. At St Mary’s you will see Norman and Gothic together; at St Chad’s, almost pure Georgian. The same logic applies to houses: see our Georgian interiors guide and guide to Robert Adam and neoclassical interiors.

Planning a visit

These are working or conserved churches, so check opening arrangements first: St Chad’s on its own website, and St Mary’s via the Churches Conservation Trust. Be respectful during services. If you walk between them, the Quarry park makes a natural link. Binoculars help with the high glass at St Mary’s. Photography rules vary, so ask first.

Glossary

• Apse: a semicircular end to a church.
• Clerestory: the upper window level of a nave.
• Collegiate church: a church served by a college of priests.
• Crypt: an underground room beneath a church.
• Georgian: the period 1714–1830.
• Gallery: an upper floor within a church.
• Perpendicular: the last phase of English Gothic, roughly 1350–1530.
• Reredos: a decorated screen behind an altar.
• Redundant church: one no longer needed for regular worship but preserved.
• Triptych: a three-panel painting.

Common mix-ups

• “St Chad’s is the oldest church in Shrewsbury.” The site is ancient, but the present building dates from 1790–92.^[1]
• “St Mary’s is still a parish church.” It was declared redundant in 1987 and vested in the Churches Conservation Trust.^[7]
• “The round shape is Roman.” It is a Georgian design by George Steuart; his submissions included three circular designs.^[3]

Classical details at home

St Chad’s shows how Georgian designers used classical forms: columns, pediments and calm proportions. The same vocabulary appears in houses, in doorways with a pediment and in plaster ceiling roses. If you would like a little of that classical discipline in your own hall, see our guide to overdoor pediments; and for the ceilings, our history of the ceiling rose.

Keep reading

• Brother Cadfael’s Shrewsbury
• Charles Darwin’s Shrewsbury
• Thomas Telford in Shropshire
• Georgian interiors guide
• Shropshire’s architectural heritage
• Stokesay Castle and the fortified manor houses of the Welsh Marches
• Georgian Shrewsbury: streets, townhouses and details
• Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings: the first iron-framed building
• Thomas Farnolls Pritchard: the architect behind the Iron Bridge
• Victorian Shrewsbury: the railway station and landmarks

Shop the look

Wellington Overdoor PedimentAcanthus Overdoor Pediment — 35 inDuchess Ceiling Rose

Frequently asked questions

Why is St Chad’s church in Shrewsbury round?

The architect George Steuart submitted several designs, including three circular ones. The committee wanted an oblong church, but after delays the round design went ahead, and the church was built in 1790–92.

When did old St Chad’s fall down?

The central tower of the old church collapsed in 1788, after work to enlarge the crypt weakened it.

Who made the iron pillars in St Chad’s?

The slender cast-iron pillars that carry the gallery were made by William Hazledine.

Who was baptised at St Chad’s?

Charles Darwin, on 15 November 1809.

What is St Mary’s Shrewsbury known for?

Its Norman tower, its tall spire, and a notable collection of stained glass including the Jesse window and glass from Altenberg Abbey, bought in 1845.

Is St Mary’s still a working church?

No. It was declared redundant in 1987 and is vested in the Churches Conservation Trust.

Are the churches listed?

Yes. Both were first listed Grade I on 10 January 1953.

How can I tell a Georgian church from a Gothic one?

Georgian churches use classical forms, round-headed windows, columns and clean symmetry. Gothic churches have pointed arches, tracery and a vertical emphasis; Norman work has round arches and thick walls.