Overlooking open countryside to the west and north, St Mary’s is a medley of medieval features, dating back to the Norman Conquest. The lower part of the west tower is Norman, the aisles are late twelfth century, and the chantry chapel was founded in 1353. The south chapel holds a mid-fourteenth-century trefoil-headed piscina, and the now faded wall painting on the south wall of this chapel depicts a crowned female figure and skeleton, which is also a fourteenth-century feature and apparently is a depiction of the seven deadly sins. Stained glass in the clerestory (south-east) dates to the fifteenth century. In a glass-fronted case on the north wall is a splendid, embroidered altar frontal dating from c.1470.
Within the churchyard, to the right of the main door, is a standing stone, believed to be a preaching cross which predates the church. Marks on the wall of the churchyard, to the left of the gate, were supposedly made by soldiers sharpening weapons before a skirmish that occurred at the church during the Civil War. The interior walls of The Bell (a house to the east of the church), which was formerly an inn, contain several carved panels of mid-12th-century sculpture, including Samson and the lion, St Michael and the dragon, and a knight in foliage.
Accessibility
There is ample parking just outside the churchyard and the church itself is easily accessible. There are toilets within the church, which is open from dawn to dusk. Those wishing to view the carved panels in the The Bell will need to ask permission from the owner.
Address
Alveley Village,
Alveley,
Bridgnorth
WV15 6ND
Directions
Get directions to St Mary’s, Alveley
Heritage trails
St Mary’s, Alveley is part of the following heritage trails:
