St Chad’s – Shrewsbury

St Chad’s is an unusual church in that it has a circular design. The actual design was due to a misunderstanding as this plan was originally rejected in favour of a more normal rectangular one.

St Chad’s from the Quarry Park by the River Severn

I was very excited on my visit to Shrewsbury last September to be able to go into the church and also be allowed access onto the upper gallery. Oddly enough, even though I lived in the town for two years I never managed to get inside this church.

Columns and decorative capitals
The central detail of this magnificent ceiling: golden glory with cherubs in stucco.
The Pews in the nave
Pews and upper gallery
The oval font was bought in 1843 and replaced the silver christening basin which was used to baptise Charles Darwin in 1809.
The Sanctuary Window
The Arts and Crafts style pulpit in copper and brass was given by Mrs Morris in 1892.

The circular nave is unique, with pews arranged like a maze. The original ‘three-decker’ pulpit has been replaced by one in Arts and Crafts style in copper and brass, placed under the rim of the gallery. This opens a clearer view of the Sanctuary, which, bordered by Corinthian pilasters and columns, contains a fine reredos and a colourful window, made by the renowned Shrewsbury firm of Betton and Evans.

source: History of St Chad’s with St Mary’s

In the vestibule two arms of a fine staircase sweep up to the gallery. The rail is of elegant Shropshire ironwork.

Daily Post Photo Challenge | Rounded

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

19 thoughts on “St Chad’s – Shrewsbury”

    1. I think they ran out of time and decided just to go ahead with what they had. It is very nice and the staircase is glorious – think ‘Gone with the Wind’.

    1. It is out near the park on the town walls and contains the grave of Scrooge (from filming Christmas Carol in the town). Thanks for the link, that looks like an interesting building too.

  4. What a beautiful interior. Shrewsbury is on my list of places I still want to go to on a UK visit. We spent a day there in 1999, which of course wasn’t nearly long enough. I only did the Cadfael things.

  5. Beautifully rounded and beautifully photographed. A triumphant post for a challenge. One day I may master the language of church architecture – but geology comes first!

    1. I was delighted that the lady in the vestibule allowed us to go up those glorious stairs (they were roped off) so we could get a closer look.

    1. The staircase is totally unexpected to find in a church. There is another flight opposite so very appealing. I didn’t get a good enough photo of the two of them though.

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