Reasons for Designation
A medieval chapel is a building, usually rectangular, containing a range of
furnishings and fittings appropriate for Christian worship in the pre-
Reformation period. Chapels were designed for congregational worship and were
generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provided accommodation
for the laity, and the chancel, which was the main domain of the priest and
contained the principal altar. Around 4000 parochial chapels were built
between the 12th and 17th centuries as subsidiary places of worship built for
the convenience of parishioners who lived at a distance from the main parish
church. Other chapels were built as private places of worship by manorial
lords and lie near or within manor houses, castles or other high-status
residences. Chantry chapels were built and maintained by endowment and were
established for the singing of masses for the soul of the founder. Some
chapels possessed burial grounds. Unlike parish churches, the majority of
which remain in ecclesiastical use, chapels were often abandoned as their
communities and supporting finances declined or disappeared. Many chantry
chapels disappeared after the dissolution of their supporting communities in
the 1540s.
Chapels, like parish churches, have always been major features of the
landscape. A significant number of surviving examples are identified as being
nationally important. The sites of abandoned chapels, where positively
identified, are particularly worthy of statutory protection as they were often
left largely undisturbed and thus retain important information about the
nature and date of their use up to their abandonment.
Details
The monument includes the remains of a ruined chapel together with the extent
of the surviving burial ground. The chapel (Grade II Listed) is known to have
been in use in the 13th century, and to have survived the Reformation, as a
minister was in office in 1590.
The north east corner of a single celled building survives as a standing ruin,
and the north wall is traceable as a line of stone footings in the turf. The
south and west walls are buried in the grass but are known from archaeological
survey to survive as foundations. The chapel stands on a small mound raised
from the promontory above marshy ground. The latter is an ancient watercourse
now cut off by the Shropshire Union Canal. The mound represents the extent of
the original burial ground and has been raised by the introduction of the
burials.
The walls of the chapel show that it was originally built of coursed ashlar
sandstone with a rubble and mortar core. The exterior dimensions were 5.6m by
6.3m. The present remains stand 3.4m high and only 1.8m in length at their
widest point on the east side. The walls average 0.9m thick. The burial ground
was oval and 60m long by 35m wide on the west and wider end. The slight traces
of a boundary ditch enclose an area of 0.17ha.
There are unconfirmed reports of burials found outside the burial ground,
possibly when the sand quarry, which takes out a part of the mound on the west
side, was in use. These are likely to have been early in date, predating the
the formal enclosure of the burial ground. They may indicate an early
Christian site as the origin of the present chapel.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
27590
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
