St Michael & All Angels

It is a commanding site with lovely views of Caer Caradoc and Lawley. You enter through a lych gate and walk up a sloping path to the timbered entrance. The tower is timbered as well although the walls are built of local stone, carried from a quarry at the entrance to the Batch Valley. 

The church was the ambition of the rector of Church Stretton. He sought out the site, bought the land and gave it to the people of All Stretton. Throughout 1901 money was raised in the village to pay for the building and by the end of the year sufficient had been raised to enable work to start.

The first thing to strike you as you walk inside is how well the church is kept. It is obviously loved and used. There are no pews and the chairs are easily moved to accommodate functions other than services.

There are some interesting windows, particularly the three behind the font which are clear glass, engraved by John Hutton, whose work can also be seen in Coventry Cathedral. The small window by the vestry door is by Herbert William Bryans, identified by a greyhound courant regaurdant. The subject, a dedication to women.

On the wall hangs a straw hat linking St Michaels with the African village of Lesotho.

The hassocks were embroidered by ladies from the village and in 2017 a wall hanging was created depicting the church’s place in All Stretton village.

There is a small but fragrant garden, planted to encourage wild flowers and bees. The last survey noted 61 different species of plant. It is a part of Gods Little Acre and is taking part in the mortar bee project. A special area is designated as a Garden of Remembrance.

Perhaps one of the most momentous events came in the early 1980s when the URC Chapel in the village had to close and the people asked St Michaels whether they could accommodate the URC congregation. They were gladly welcomed. For the first few years the services were kept separate but a Local Ecumenical Partnership was finally celebrated in 1994 when the services were combined