Church of All Saints, Neenton

Summary

A Gothic Revival church of 1870, designed by AW Blomfield.

Reasons for Designation

The Church of All Saints, Neenton, Shropshire is statutorily listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* For its sensitive but inventive replacement of a medieval church which formerly stood on the same site;

* The quality of the fittings, notably including a Norman font and a stained glass eastern window by Morris and Co.;

* As a modest work of clear quality by the noted architect Arthur Blomfield.

Historic Interest:

* A building which continues the tradition of worship on this ancient site.

History

The present church was built to the designs of Arthur W Blomfield in 1870-1871. The foundations of a preceding church were re-used. This was a timber-framed, late-medieval building which a wash drawing shows to have had a nave and chancel, which roughly correspond to the present footprint, together with a western turret. The present organ loft has a fireplace in its west wall, indicating that it was probably once a private pew or vestry which was opened out to connect with the church. The eastern window by Morris and Co was added in 1921 as a war memorial to three members of the parish who died in the First World War.

Details

A Gothic Revival church of 1870-1871, designed by Arthur W Blomfield.

MATERIALS: the church is built of red sandstone rubble, brought to course, with ashlar dressings of a greenish sandstone and a tiled roof.

PLAN: a nave of three bays with a chancel under a lower ridge. To the north is an organ chamber, which appears to have originally been a vestry and a gabled porch to the western end of the south side. There is a gabled bell cote above the western end.

EXTERIOR: there is a projecting plinth which girds the building. The nave has, at its western end, angled buttresses with offsets. There are two, two-light windows with traceried heads set at either side of a central buttress which rises to support the projecting, gabled bell cote. The south side has the gabled porch at left, to the right of which are a single-light and a two-light window. The chancel arch is marked by a buttress with offsets and a gabled head. The north side has three, two-light windows with traceried heads, including quatrefoils to the apexes.

The chancel has, to its eastern end, a central, three-light window with traceried head and lancet lights divided by mullions in the form of colonettes. The northern wall has the organ chamber projecting at right, under a catslide roof, with a lancet to its eastern side wall. The south side has a two-light window at left and a lancet to the right.

INTERIOR: the nave and chancel have panelled ceilings with arched trusses which rise from stone corbels and short wall posts. The chancel arch is pronounced and partly supported by short columns which rise from moulded stone brackets.

The organ chamber on the northern side has a blocked fireplace with a Tudor arch, indicating its previous use as a private pew or vestry, but there is no internal door.
The font has a circular bowl and is plain. It appears to date from the C12 and to have been transferred from the predecessor church on the site.

The eastern window has stained glass of good quality by Morris and Co. with a crucifixion at centre, flanked by figures of St Mary and St John. At the base lettering identifies the window as a memorial to three members of the parish who fell in the First World War: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND / IN MEMORY OF FRANK AMIES * / HENRY YAPP * AND JOHN / LEATH OF THIS PARISH WHO / LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE / GREAT WAR. 1914 - 1918. *

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Shropshire, (2006), 439

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