The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth, is a

parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, standing in East Castle Street, Bridgnorth.

Early history

The College of St. Mary Magdalen, Bridgnorth was founded as a royal free chapel, and its church was in the royal castle at

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

. The nave, chancel and western tower were probably built c. 1238, and a north aisle was added, presumably after 1294, when a chantry service was founded in St. Mary's by Richard Dammas. As a

Collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

it was originally intended as a private chapel for the castle, but by the later 15th century it was being used as a parish church. The college of canons was dissolved in 1548.

The Deans of Bridgnorth

The current building

The church was designed by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

and built by John Rhodes and Michael Head between 1792 and 1795. The church is aligned north–south, rather than the more usual west–east. The tower stands 120 ft high, and it has a clock, eight bells and a copper-covered roof. The parish's war memorial is a wooden triptych with a crucifix in the centre, above the Latin mottos "AMOR VINCIT" (Love conquers) and the town motto, "FIDELITAS URBIS SALUS REGIS" (In the town's loyalty lies the safety of the King) and listing its war dead from both World Wars.

Organ

The church has a magnificent Father Willis organ, purchased from Clifton College, Bristol

Organists

* William John Roberts (Professor of Music and Organist) 1865 - c1880 * *Arthur C Clarke 1939 - 1972 *Harold Cooper 1972 - 2002 *John Turnock

Bells

The church has 8 bells, the heaviest weighing just over 8 cwt. These are usually rung twice weekly: on Wednesday practice night (7:30 pm – 9:00 pm) and for the main service on a Sunday morning (10:00 am – 10:30 am). Additionally, they are sometimes rung for weddings.

References

Sources

*The buildings of England, Shropshire.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

. *Civil Engineering Heritage, by Roger Cragg *Colleges of secular canons: Bridgnorth, St Mary Magdalen, A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 2 (1973), pp. 123–128. {{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Saint Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth

Diocese of Hereford Churches completed in 1795 18th-century Church of England church buildings Former collegiate churches in England Works of Thomas Telford Bridgnorth