Holy Trinity Church in

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England. Located on Wilmore Street and dating to the early 12th century, it is now a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The oldest part is the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, the south

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

and chapel and the tower were added in the late 12th century, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

was later extended, doubling its length. The church is built in stone, and consists of a nave, a south aisle and chapel, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The nave is

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

in style, and the chancel is early

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

. The tower has four stages, clasping

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es, round-arched bell openings, and an

embattled A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

. Architect Samuel Pountney Smith added windows to the south aisle and the south chapel in 1843 and 1866. The church has a variety of war memorials. In the chancel are plaques to Lieutenant Robert Gwinn Granger, died of wounds in the

Action of 7 February 1813 In the action of 7 February 1813, two evenly matched frigates of the French Imperial Navy and Royal Navy, ''French frigate Aréthuse (1812), Aréthuse'' and , engaged in a battle in the Atlantic Ocean at the Îles de Los, off Guinea. The action ...

on HMS ''Amelia'', another to John Arthur Greer, attached to the Ashanti Field Force, killed in attack on rebel camp at

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

during The War of the Golden Stool in 1900, and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Thomas Milnes-Gaskell of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

who was killed in an aircraft crash in Egypt during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1943, while in the west end of the nave is a memorial to townsmen of Wenlock killed in the First and Second World Wars.

William Penny Brookes William Penny Brookes (13 August 1809 – 11 December 1895) was an English surgeon, magistrate, botanist, and educationalist especially known for founding the Wenlock Olympian Games, inspiring the modern Olympic Games, and for his promotion of ...

, inspirer of the modern Olympic movement, is both buried and commemorated at the church. The refurbished gravestones of himself and his family are in the churchyard, surrounded by coloured iron railings surmounted by olive crowns; indoors on the west wall of the nave is a memorial tablet to Brookes on the south west side of the entrance door and a clear glass memorial window to Brookes' parents.

Alice Glaston Alice Glaston ( – 13 April 1546) was an 11-year-old English girl from Little Wenlock who was hanged in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England, under the reign of Henry VIII. She is likely the youngest girl ever to be legally executed in England, th ...

, believed to be the youngest girl executed in England when hanged in 1546 aged 11, was recorded to be buried at the church.

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Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Grade I listed churches in Shropshire 12th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Shropshire Listed churches in England {{England-Anglican-church-stub

See also

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