Shrewsbury

Well it rained pretty much all night, and was still raining this morning. After a nice cooked Breakfast we headed off to the Park & Ride to spend a few hours in Shrewsbury.

After a bit of a walk around the centre, we headed off for Shrewsbury Abbey. There has been a place of worship on this site since Anglo-Saxon times. The Abbey was founded as a Benedictine Monastery by Roger de Montgomery in 1083 on the site of an existing Saxon church. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of King Henry VIII the part of the Abbey building which survived continued as a Parish Church - as it is to this day.

We then walked up to St Chad's Parish Church. Since early medieval times there has been a church in Shrewsbury dedicated to St Chad, first Bishop of Mercia in the 7th century. By the end of the 18th century the large but ageing building (see photo to left below) had fallen into disrepair, and cracks had appeared in the tower. The great engineer, Thomas Telford, advised that it was in danger of collapse, and he was right. One morning in 1788 the parishioners awoke to find they had a pile of rubble but no church. .

After much argument a new site was found on the derelict town wall, and the Scottish architect George Steuart, who had designed nearby Attingham Park and a church in Wellington, was commissioned. He submitted various designs, and although the Parochial Church Council preferred a rectangular one, ‘due to a misunderstanding’ he actually completed a circular plan that had been considered but rejected. Time was short, however, and it became the final design. Stones from old St Chad’s were used as foundations and the foundation stone was laid on St Chad’s Day, 2 March 1790.

The new church was opened on 19th August 1792. Its design differs from typical Georgian buildings, and mixes Ionic, Doric and Corinthian styles in its facade and interior. The central hall, with a sweeping double staircase to the gallery, is more like a country house than a church, as is the decoration on the ceiling of the nave. Yet the church is a child of its time, for the delicate banisters and the slender pillars supporting the gallery are early products of the Industrial Revolution then beginning in Shropshire.

On November 15th 1809 Charles Darwin  was baptised in St Chad’s Church.

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 The original ‘three-decker’ pulpit has been replaced by one in Arts and Crafts style in copper and brass, placed under the rim of the gallery.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.

We walked back into town and had Subway for lunch before heading back for the bus and back to the caravan

Attingham Park & Haughmond Abbey

After a nice cooked breakfast we headed off to Attingham Park.

Attingham Park is an English country house and estate in Shropshire. Located near the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road. It is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building.

Attingham Park was built in 1785 for Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick, who received his title in 1784 during the premiership of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. Noel Hill was a politician who aided William Pitt in the restructuring of the East India Company. Noel Hill already owned a house on the site of Attingham Park called Tern Hall, but with money he received along with his title he commissioned the architect George Steuart to design a new and grander house to be built around the original hall. The new country house encompassed the old property entirely, and once completed it was given the name Attingham Hall.

The Estate comprises roughly 4,000 acres, but during the early 1800s extended to twice that amount at 8,000 acres. The extensive 640 acres of parkland and gardens of Attingham have a Grade II* Listed status. Over 394,000 people visited the house in 2014/15, placing it as the fourth most popular National Trust house.

Across the 640 acre parkland there are five Grade II* listed buildings, including the stable block, the Tern Lodge toll house which can be seen on the B4380, and two bridges that span the River Tern. There are also twelve Grade II listed structures including the retaining walls of the estate, the bee house, the ice house, the walled garden, the ha-ha, which can be seen in the front of the mansion, and the Home Farm.

On the way back we called in at Haughmond Abbey, a ruined, medieval, Augustinian monastery a few miles from Shrewsbury, England. It was probably founded in the early 12th century and was closely associated with the FitzAlan family, who became Earls of Arundel, and some of their wealthier vassals and allies. It was a substantial, successful and wealthy house for most of its four centuries, although evidence of abuses appeared before its dissolution in 1539. The buildings fell into disrepair and the church was largely destroyed, although the remains of some of the domestic buildings remain impressive. The site is now in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public during the summer.

We called in at Tesco on the way back to the caravan to buy a couple of bits and bobs.

Cartref Camping & Caravan Site, nr Shrewsbury

Due to there being a few people of work this week i was not able to have my usual half day holiday. Consequently we didn't get on the road till nearly 5pm. We had a few problems with traffic and it rained quite a lot on the way, but we finally arrived around 7:30pm.

it was starting to drop dark but we decided to put the awning up by the light of the car headlights. Being a it was not windy we decided to peg the awning out next morning. Although it did rain a bit in the night, we managed to finish the awning off without getting wet.