St.Mary's Church, Shrewsbury
St. Mary's Churh in Shrewsbury You may notice that the full title "St.Chad's with St.Mary's"
is sometimes used. When St.Mary's was made redundant in 1987, the Churches
Conservation Trust took on
responsibility for the care and preservation of the building. It is the vicar of St.Chad's who has spiritual over-sight of the church of St. Mary which does host a few services a year. Hence the addition of St. Mary
to the name of St.Chad. St. Mary's also hosts many interesting exhibitions
and is well worth a visit.
St Mary's is only a ten-minute walk from St.Chad's and has quality work from the 12th century to the present day. St Mary's most famous treasure is the wonderful collection of stained glass, with examples of different styles from the 14th to the 19th centuries, all of the highest quality. No other church in the country has a collection to equal it. Most of the glass was brought from elsewhere, much of it from Europe, and installed in St Mary's during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most spectacular is the huge 14th century east window depicting the Tree of Jesse, and filled with figures of Old Testament kings and prophets, in brilliantly vibrant colours. Warmth and richness is also provided by superb Victorian coloured tiles on the floor. And lifting your eyes upwards, you will see the wonderful 15th century carved oak ceiling of the nave, with a profusion of animals, birds and angels.
In March 2007 St Mary's famous collection of stained glass panels, was loaned to the prestigious Museum Schnütgen of Cologne for their international exhibition on 16th century German stained glass. Exact replicas were carefully installed to cover the six month period of the exhibition. Images of the stained glass panels can be viewed at www.bbc.co.uk/religion/galleries/stbernard/
St. Mary's is open Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm; Saturday, 10am - 4pm and occasional Sundays. Custodian contact telephone number: 01743 357006