Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
The church from the South West
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	www.stratford-upon-avon.org/index.html
History
Dedication	Holy Trinity
Administration
Parish	Stratford-upon-Avon
Diocese	Coventry
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Patrick Taylor
Curate(s)	Kay Dyer
Laity
Director of music	Benedict James Wilson
Organist(s)	Stephen Dodsworth

The Collegiate Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon is a Grade I listedparish church of the Church of England in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.

It is often known simply as Holy Trinity Church or as Shakespeare's Church, due to its fame as the place of baptism and burial of William Shakespeare. More than 200,000 tourists visit the church each year.

The past building dates from 1210 and is built on the site of a Saxon monastery. It is Stratford's oldest building, is situated on the banks of the River Avon, and is one of England's most visited churches. In the fourteenth century, John de Stratford founded a chantry, which was rebuilt between 1465 and 1491 by Dean Thomas Balshall, who is buried at the Church. The building is believed to have originally had a wooden spire, which was replaced by William Hiorne in 1763.

Holy Trinity contains many interesting features, including:

The carved scenes of the life of Jesus around Balsall's tomb were mutilated during the Reformation, as were most images of Christ. Notable 'survivors' include a remarkable face of Christ or possibly God the Father within a sedilia canopy, and some beautiful medieval stained glass depicting the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost. The pre-Reformation stone altar slab or mensa was found hidden beneath the floor in Victorian times and has now been re-instated as the High Altar.

The church has a large three manual pipe organ which dates from 1841 by the organ builder William Hill. It has undergone several restorations by Hill, Norman and Beard, and Nicholson and now has two separate sections. The Great and Swell 1 and Pedal 1 divisions are high on the wall above the arch into the tower crossing and face West. The Choir and Swell 2 and Pedal 2 divisions are at ground level between the St Peter Chapel and the south aisle. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. The organ case was designed by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner.