St Peter & St Paul
Wem, Shropshire
Used daily for prayer and worship. Sited in the heart of this Shropshire market town adjacent to a medieval motte castle mound, there has been a church on this site since Saxon times.
The first written evidence of a church on the site is in 1190 when Alexander de Lopitone granted Loppington church and its tithes to Wombridge Abbey in return for prayers at the Priory for his deceased family members. It was at this time that the original stone church would have been built as there is evidence of Norman stone work in the building.
The church has been extended and extensively rebuilt over the centuries since then. A Victorian renovation exposed the magnificent beamed ceiling, recently further restored and pictorially recorded in a folder. It contains memorials, hatchments and stained glass windows to notable local families. The east window depicting the Crucifixion is particularly impressive.
St Michael's is renowned for its collection of 20th century tapestries designed and worked by parishioners. Those from the parish who served in the two World Wars are remembered on the church Roll of Honour and also in a Book of Remembrance which is openly available to consult. Two of the fallen from the First World War are interred with CWG headstones in the churchyard.
Free copies of guides to the church are available and, for consultation, of an indexed plan of the memorials in the churchyard prepared by Shropshire Family History Society. The churchyard has been awarded certificates under the Diocesan Churchyard Awards Scheme for many years, achieving Gold in 2023 and 2024. It supports a variety of wild flowers in season and part has also been set aside specifically as a wildlife haven. Responsible dog owners are welcome in the churchyard.