MarketAll Saints Church, Claverley
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All Saints Church, Claverley

All Saints Church is in the village of Claverley, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Bridgnorth, the archdeaconry of Ludlow, and the diocese of Hereford. Its benefice is united with that of Holy Innocents, Tuck Hill. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

History
The church can trace its origins back to the 7th century. The present church was founded by Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, who died in 1094. The tower was doubled in height and angle buttresses were added to it towards the end of the 15th century. In 1902 the top two stages of the tower were rebuilt, faithfully copying the original design, by W. Wood Bethell. ==Architecture==
Architecture
Exterior All Saints is constructed in local red sandstone. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, and a three-bay chancel with two-bay chapels to the north and south. In the centre of the south side of the church is a four-stage tower, with a two-storey porch to its west, and the south chapel to its east. It has been suggested that this portrays scenes from the 5th-century poem Psychomachia, a battle between virtues and vices, by Prudentius. A recent theory is that the knight with the horn is Roland (the only surviving medieval mural of this hero) and that the Holy Cross is the unifying theme of the mural scheme. Between the windows of the clerestory, dating from the 15th century, are paintings of saints or apostles.) is 16th-century glass that has been re-set, including a female head, and angel and vines. The window in the east window of the south chapel, dating from about 1849, is by David Evans, and is based on Raphael's Transfiguration. There are two windows by Hardman; one in the tower depicting Doubting Thomas, and another in the north aisle. In the north chapel is a window of 1879 by W. G. Taylor depicting the Good Shepherd, while in the west wall of the nave and south aisle are two windows in Arts and Crafts style by Archibald John Davies of the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts depicting the Virgin and Child with Angels and the Christ Child. They were installed in 1934 and 1936 respectively. The oldest monument in the church is a carved slab to Richard Spicer, who died in 1448 and his wife. The monument to Sir Robert Broke, who died in 1558, and his two wives is in alabaster with three recumbent effigies on a tomb-chest, and children standing around the sides. There are also two incised slabs, one to William Gatacre, who died in 1577, and the other to Francis Gatacre, who died in 1599; all these monuments are in the south chapel. The parish war memorial consists of a series of sandstone panels between carved arches in the west end of the church, initially to 30 men who died in World War I with the names from World War II added, while the south porch contains another set of stone panels listing all men from the parish who served in the first war, indicating with stars 42 of the men that were wounded. The two-manual pipe organ was made in 1906 by J. W. Walker, and rebuilt in 1964 by W. Hawkins. There is a ring of eight bells. The oldest are two bells cast in 1703 by Abraham Rudhall I, followed by a single bell by Thomas Rudhall in 1769. Another single bell is dated 1877 and is by John Taylor and Company. The last four bells were cast in 1929 by Gillett and Johnston. ==Gallery==
Gallery
File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - view from north-west.jpg|View of church from north-west File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - frieze on north arcade wall.jpg|Medieval frieze on north arcade wall File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - frieze (detail) 2.jpg|Detail of medieval frieze File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - frieze (detail) 1.jpg|Detail of medieval frieze File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - south chapel.jpg|South chapel File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - high altar.jpg|High altar File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - seat of penitence.jpg|Seat of Penitence File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - font.jpg|Font File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - monument to Sir Robert Broke.jpg|Monument to Sir Robert Broke File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - monument to Sir Robert Broke (2).jpg|Monument to Sir Robert Broke File:Claverley All Saints - Robert Broke Anne Waring and children.JPG|Robert Broke and Anne Waring with children File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - tombstone of William Gatacre.jpg|Tombstone of William Gatacre (1499-1577) and Eleanor Mytton File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - tombstone of Francis Gatacre.jpg|Tombstone of Francis Gatacre (d.1599) and Elizabeth Swynnerton, daughter of Humphrey Swynnerton File:Claverley All Saints - William Forbes Gatacre memorial.JPG|Memorial to Sir William Forbes Gatacre, a distinguished Victorian soldier of the Gatacre family of Claverley File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - wast window.jpg|East 'Te Deum' window by Frederick Preedy, 1858 File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - west window.jpg|West window by Archibald John Davies, depicting the Virgin and Child with Angels (1934) File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - west window in south nave.jpg|South aisle window by Archibald John Davies, depicting the Christ Child (1936) File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - north chapel window.jpg|North chapel window by W. G. Taylor depicting the Good Shepherd (1879) File: All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire - medieval glass fragment.jpg|Medieval glass fragment in north chapel ==External features==
External features
Associated with the church are three structures that are listed at Grade II. At the entrance to the churchyard is a 14th-century cross standing on a plinth with three steps. It was formerly sited in the roadway before it was moved to the churchyard. The lychgate dates probably from the 19th century. It is constructed in brick with a tiled roof and sham timber framing with plastered ends to the gables. The walls at the east side of the churchyard and the gate piers, with their pyramidal caps, probably date from the 18th century. In the churchyard is a yew tree said to be 2,500 years old. == Events ==
Events
The church used to hold an exceptional Flower Festival every year, in July. These events occurred annually for around 45 years, but visitor numbers began to wane during the 2010s. The COVID pandemic saw the loss of the event for two years and the loss of many volunteers, following which the flower festival was not revived. ==See also==
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