St. Peter’s Church, Melverley - a photo on Flickriver

            St. Peter’s Church at Melverley, Shropshire is situated on the English / Welsh border on the banks of the River Vyrnwy close to the confluence of the River Severn. The timber frame building was made with local Melverley oak and pinned together, not with metal nails, but with wooden pegs throughout and is the only example of this type of building technique in Shropshire. The walls were made with wattle and daub. The building we see today was rebuilt in 1406 to replace an original wooden church burnt to the ground by the Welsh chieftain Owain Glyndŵr during the Welsh uprisings in 1401.  The site itself has been a place of Christian worship for about 1000 years. In 1141 English chronicler and Benedictine monk Ordericus Vitalis mentions a ‘wooden chapel on the banks of the river above Shrewsbury’.

There used to be a tree where I was standing but it seems to have been removed. The Vyrnwy runs to the left and the back of this picture, down a steep river bank which eroded so much over hundreds of years that major repairs had to be instituted in the early 1990's. A steel wall 30 foot deep by 100 foot long was inserted into the ground between the church and the river to help stabilise the building and prevent it slipping into the river. I remember there being a grand fund raising effort and through the kindness of donors, sufficient funds were raised.

We often stop at the church on our canoe journeys from Llandrinio to marvel at this wonderful building and to take in the peacefulness and seclusion of the area. I remember one memorable day when a friend of mine, who was well versed in the ways of preaching, stood at the lectern and gave the rest of us a spontaneous but properly spectacular 'fire and brimstone' sermon. I'd say it was worthy of the rantings of William Prynne, former polemicist and everyone's favourite Puritan. I recall it was one of those experiences where, even for just a fraction of a second, you felt transported back in time. Suitably motivated and inspired (but sadly non the wiser), we paddled off downriver towards the Royal Hill pub.

Taken on: June 1, 2021

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Sets appears in: • Churches Shropshire • Local

Groups appears in: • Les 12 apôtres, les 4 évangélistes et leurs symboles

Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM3, f/6.3, 1/640 sec, 14.6mm (=14mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7RM3
Lens:	14-24mm F2.8 DG DN \| Art 019
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	14.6mm (35mm equivalent: 14mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 20 Windows
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