St Mary's Church, Acton Burnell

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Acton Burnell, Shropshire, beside the ruins of Acton Burnell Castle. Built of local sandstone with tiled roofs, the church follows a cruciform plan with a nave, chancel, north and south chapels, and a small tower. The tower rises in three stages, topped by a weathervane and a gabled dormer. Carved corbels run along the eaves, some shaped as heads, while stepped lancets and elaborate windows punctuate the walls. A blocked doorway on the south side and a circular window above the north porch add further interest to the exterior. The church was constructed between 1275 and 1280 for Robert Burnell, who later became Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Bath and Wells. It was restored in the late 19th century by Fairfax B. Wade, who added the small tower. Inside, the chancel roof dates from 1571 and the nave roof from 1598, both richly decorated with Purbeck marble shafts. The octagonal font is from the 13th century, and the pulpit was made in the 19th century using Jacobean pieces. Medieval tiles pave the north transept, and the south transept walls bear painted red rosettes from the 13th century. Visitors find a stained glass window in the chancel designed by A. K. Nicholson in 1927. Monuments in the north transept include one from 1382 and another by Nicholas Stone dated 1632. A marble plaque honours Lieutenant Walter Smythe, killed in 1794, while wooden plaques list those who served in the First World War. Four bells hang in the tower, the oldest from 1650, and a former font from the 15th or 16th century stands in the churchyard. Two war graves lie in the south-west corner, marking the final resting places of a Canadian and a British soldier.