Church Of St Mary

SJ 5023-5123 BROUGHTON C.P. CHURCH ROAD, Yorton (south-west side)

16/7 Church of Saint Mary - - II

Parish church. 1858. Dressed grey sandstone with slate roof. 6-bay nave and chancel in one with western bellcote and vestry to north. Early Decorated style. Chamfered plinth, buttresses with chamfered offsets, and parapeted gable ends with moulded kneelers and wrought- iron crosses at apexes. Square bellcote with battered lead-sheathed lower section, 3 x 3 trefoil-headed openings, and steep pyramidal slate (some in fishscale pattern) cap with sprocketed eaves. Chamfered trefoil- headed lancets to north and south, those in eastern bay taller with trefoil above; south doorway in second bay from east consisting of moulded arch dying into chamfered reveals with broach stops, hoodmould with carved stops, and boarded door with strap hinges. West end: tall central buttress with chamfered offsets and flanking trefoil-headed chamfered lancets linked by continuous cill string and hoodmould, both with carved stops. East end: east window with 3 trefoil-headed lights (centre ogee), cusped circles in tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmould with carved stops; cill string, dropping at sides of window, returning along the north and south walls, and ending in the second bay from east with carved stops; small cusped opening in apex of gable above window. Small north vestry in second bay from east with chamfered plinth, hipped slate roof with wrought-iron finial, and external stone stack to west with chamfered offsets and chamfered cap. Window to front with 2 chamfered trefoil-headed lights and quatrefoil plate tracery; doorway in left-hand return front with moulded arch, chamfered reveals with broach stops, and boarded door with strap hinges. Interior: trussed rafter roof with chamfered arch-braced collars at each end. Vestry doorway with moulded arch, chamfered reveals with broach stops, and boarded door with strap hinges. Fittings include: late C19 or early C20 reredos, sanctuary wainscot panelling, lectern, pews and stone tub font. Early to mid-C18 communion rails [probably reused from the old church of St. Mary (q.v.)] with turned balusters, moulded rail and central gate. There is a watercolour of the old church of St. Mary and its churchyard before 1858 and an oil painting of the ruins. This church replaced the old church of St. Mary (q.v.) which subsequently fell into ruin. D.H.S. Cranage, An Architectural account of the churches of Shropshire, Shrewsbury churches, pp.852-3; B.O.E., p.87.

Listing NGR: SJ5045023444