St Mary's Church, Cleobury Mortimer

St Mary's Church, Cleobury Mortimer
Church of St Mary the Virgin
St Mary's Church, Cleobury Mortimer, from the south
St Mary's Church, Cleobury Mortimer Location in Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°22′45″N 2°28′49″W / 52.3792°N 2.4803°W / 52.3792; -2.4803
OS grid reference	SO 674 758
Location	Church Street, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary, Cleobury Mortimer
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	12 November 1954
Architect(s)	Thomas Telford (repairs), George Gilbert Scott (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, tiled roof, shingled spire
Administration
Parish	Cleobury Mortimer
Deanery	Ludlow
Archdeaconry	Ludlow
Diocese	Hereford
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Rector	Revd William Ashley Buck
Assistant priest(s)	Revd Richard Geoffrey Smith
Curate(s)	Revd Kelvin Price, Revd Mark Daborn
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Ryland Robertshaw Jayne Brown

St Mary's Church is on Church Street, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ludlow, the archdeaconry of Ludlow, and the diocese of Hereford. Its benefice is united with those of six local parishes to form the Cleobury Benefice. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is notable for its shingled twisted spire.

The presence of a priest in Cleobury Mortimer is recorded in the Domesday Book, and it is likely that there was a Saxon church on the site of the current church, but there are no residual signs of such a church. The earliest structure in the present church is the tower, which dates from the 12th century. The spire was added during the following century. The nave and chancel were built in the 13th century, with the aisles, chantry chapel and porch being added later in that century. The nave and chancel roofs date from the 14th century, and the north vestry from the following century. By the end of the 18th century the south wall was leaning outwards, and was repaired in 1794 by Thomas Telford, who was at the time the County Surveyor for Shropshire. The church was restored in 1874–75 by George Gilbert Scott. The restoration included replacing all the windows other than the west window, removing the plaster ceiling to reveal the timber roof, replacing the box pews, removing the three-decker pulpit and the galleries, and stripping the plaster, with its medieval paintings, from the walls. In 1994 the spire was re-shingled, and its attachment to the tower made more secure.