St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield

St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield, from the southeast
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield Location in Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°45′03″N 2°43′25″W / 52.7507°N 2.7237°W / 52.7507; -2.7237
OS grid reference	SJ 512 172
Location	Battlefield, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication	Saint Mary Magdalene
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	19 September 1972
Architect(s)	S. Pountney Smith (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1406
Completed	1862
Specifications
Materials	Limestone, tiles and slates on roofs

St Mary Magdalene's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Battlefield, Shropshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

The church is built on the site of the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 between Henry IV and Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and is probably built on a mass burial pit. In 1406 Roger Ive, the rector of Albright Hussey, the parish in which the battle was fought, gained a licence from Richard Hussey, the lord of the manor, to acquire the site on which to build the church. Its initial purpose was to act as a chantry chapel to sing masses for the souls of those killed in the battle. The church was completed in 1409, and in the following year its purpose was changed; it was re-founded by a royal charter as a college of priests. The charter established a community of six chaplains and a master to pray daily for the souls of the king, Richard Hussey and his wife, and for those killed in the battle. More buildings were constructed to house the college.

A contemporary record, 1418, indicates that Roger Ive was expected to pay an annual rent to the Archdeacon of Richmond, Yorks, although the College was in the diocese of Lichfeld The record contains the response of Roger Ive or Yve, and thus is an extended rebuttal of the Archdeacon's claim.

Building of the tower of the church started in the mid 1440s, but it was not completed until later in the century under the mastership of Adam Grafton.

In 1547 the Chantries Act was passed and in the following year Battlefield College was closed. The church became the parish church of Albright Hussey. The college buildings were disused and their fabric taken for other purposes. The church continued to be used but its condition deteriorated. The roof was repaired in 1749, but later the nave roof completely collapsed. In the 18th century the nave was abandoned and the chancel was restored in neoclassical style, with four Doric columns forming a square. In 1638 the ownership of the church had passed from the Hussey family to the Corbet family. In the 19th century Lady Brinckman, a member of the Corbet family, commissioned the architect S. Pountney Smith to restore the church and to build a mortuary chapel. This was carried out between 1860 and 1862. The church was declared redundant in 1982 and became vested in the Churches Conservation Trust.