Cleeton St Mary's – Exterior View - a photo on Flickriver

As for getting to Cleeton, the countryside to the east of Bridgnorth and Kidderminster is rural and some of the roads are a bit ropey. It's also hilly and sat-nav can be unreliable. I did the driving for a small group of visitors and I'd say an Ordnance Survey map is strongly recommended, as is a keen eye for potholes. At one point between churches, we seemed to be turning right all the time! Still, we eventually got to all six destinations and back to Cleeton.

St Mary's Church is situated in the small village of Cleeton St Mary (or just 'Cleeton') on the north-east slope of Titterstone Clee Hill, at an elevation of 1,037 feet above sea level. From the picture, if you were to look up and to your left, you'd see odd-looking man-made structures at the top of the hill. The building consists of a chancel with a lean-to north vestry and a slightly higher nave with a tower and shingle broach spire built into its west end. At time of visiting, there'd been problems with loose roof tiles, hence the safety barriers around the building.

The church was designed by Thomas Nicholson of Hereford and built 1876-8. It should be noted that the original architects drawings still exist and I've included a photo of one of them further on this set. It's also interesting that the plans included stipulations, one of which was that the stone for building the church could be taken free of charge as long as it was from the local quarry which was only 100 yards away. Also, to “unbar, quarry and saise” the stone, that is to do all of the necessary work to transform the stone from its natural state to a state ready for building purposes. Likewise, oak timbers for the carpenters and joiners was also free, if it was to be found “lying about in various places in the neighbourhood of the site”, sggesting there were a lot more trees around then as there are now.

Dressed 'Luston Stone' for more decorative purposes such as windows, doorways, piscina and sedilia was sourced from the quarries of a Mr Peaslett at Luston near Leominster. The roof was covered with Knowbury brick roofing tiles, the ridges with Bridgewater tiles from Colthurst Symons & Co.

From the “achurchnearyou” website.... “St Mary's, Cleeton St Mary, in the Stottesdon Group of Churches. St Mary's church was built by a local philanthropist in the late nineteenth century along with a vicarage, school and alms houses, for the scattered farming community on the north-east slopes of the Titterstone Clee Hill. It is a gem of a building - not much to look at outside, but beautifully finished on the inside in the best of Victorian gothic. It serves as a place of worship for Sunday services and for the life occasions of this little village perched on the edge of the hill, with views across towards the Derbyshire Peak!”

For details of services please see.... www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10471/service-and-events/ev...

Please see the following link for a fascinating insight into the history of the Cleeton area and its church. This includes the earliest known information pre and post Conquest, the feudal system, the obligations of knights, a former 'St Margaret's Chapel', a lost shrine, strip fields (? open field system of farming) and how even today, you might still be able to see them! Please see...
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10471/page/44701/view/

Pictures were taken during a group visit of six South Shropshire churches by the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust (SHCT).

Taken on: August 31, 2024

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Sets appears in: • Churches Shropshire

Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM5, f/6.3, 1/400 sec, 17.8mm (=17mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7RM5
Lens:	14-24mm F2.8 DG DN \| Art 019
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	17.8mm (35mm equivalent: 17mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	-0.3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
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White Balance:	Auto
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Software:	Capture One 23 Windows
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