St Michael the Archangel, Llanyblodwel

St Michael the Archangel stands in the quiet village of Llanyblodwel in Shropshire. It is a Grade I listed church with a spire that has an unusual shape. The building was designed and rebuilt between 1847 and 1853 by the vicar John Parker. He also added the nearly detached steeple between 1855 and 1856. Nearby are two listed buildings he designed for the school and the schoolmaster’s house. The church’s setting is simple and rural, far from busy towns. The church is worth visiting for its unique features and history. John Parker designed the porches, ceilings, windows and the reredos himself. The interior once had large scripture quotations on the walls and a double-decker pulpit. Later Victorians removed much of Parker’s decoration, but later restoration partly reversed this. The church holds a memorial to Elias Owen, a Welsh antiquarian who wrote Welsh Folklore. There is also a First World War memorial with a stained glass window and a brass plaque. Inside, visitors find a 15th-century rood screen carved with vines and animals. The south porch has fragments of a 14th-century grave stone with a hare and Lombardic lettering. The steeple is linked to the church by a corridor and has an unusual curved spire. The churchyard contains war graves and the graves of former vicars and the composer Henry David Leslie. The surroundings are peaceful, with the church standing as a quiet landmark in the village.