St Botolph's Church, Shepshed is the
Church of England Parish Church in
Shepshed
Shepshed (often known until 1888 as ''Sheepshed'', also ''Sheepshead'' – a name derived from the village being heavily involved in the wool industry) is a town in Leicestershire, England with a population of 13,505 at the 2011 census. It is ...
,
Leicestershire.
Background
It is the most westerly church dedicated to
St Botolph and was founded in the 11th century.
It is a
Grade I listed building.
The church sits on top of the highest point in Shepshed, probably on the site of an ancient pre-Christian site of worship. The oldest surviving part of the church, the west tower and spire, dates from the 13th century. The nave, with clerestory and aisles, and chancel are all 15th-century. It is constructed mainly from
Charnwood granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
with
Swithland slate roofing.
The south transept with vestry by
Albert Herbert
Albert Herbert (10 September 1925, Bow in the East End of London – 10 May 2008) was a British abstract and religious artist, painter and etcher.
Education
He went to West Ham secondary school and then worked in the ''News Chronicle'' picture l ...
. The pulpit is by
R. Norman Shaw.
Bells
The church has a ring of bells for
bell ringing
Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art.
It is common to collect t ...
. The present set of bells were all cast in 1948 at the nearby
Taylor's Bell Foundry in
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...
.
Organ
The church has a two manual pipe organ by Henry Willis, located in an organ loft to the east of the nave. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register
References
External links
details of bells
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepshed, St Botolph's Church
Church of England church buildings in Leicestershire
Grade I listed churches in Leicestershire
Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Leicestershire
St Botolph's Church