Heath Chapel is arguably the most famous church in Shropshire. Virtually unaltered for 900 years it is perched all alone in a field on the side of Brown Clee Hill. This impressively simple Norman church, which has no bell-cote, is still open regularly for services, although there are now very few inhabitants living in the parish.
Narrow and winding country lanes make access difficult, no signposts lead to it; it is almost hidden away; we took many wrong turnings and went uphill and down dale for seemingly hours before we finally found a man walking a pair of sheep dogs who was able to direct us.
Heath Chapel once served the parish of Heath; remains of this abandoned medieval village are clearly visible in the field to the East of the building. The intact survival of this perfect example of a small Norman church since the early twelfth century is quite miraculous.
It may look as if I held my camera slightly at an angle, not so; I assure you that's exactly how the church leans into the soil.
The key to the door hangs from a nail on the back of the notice board at the entrance to the field. Apart from an advertisement for 'Age Concern', a charitable organisation which helps elderly people with advice, the notice board was bare. Perhaps that tells us who takes the time to visit this hidden gem, which is definitely worth an afternoon's meander.Apart from the chevron mouldings on the Norman arch over the door the church is totally undecorated. The ironwork on the door also dates from the twelfth century.
The Chapel contains a twelfth century font, tub-shaped, its foot decorated with baskets of dried flowers. There are some decorative incised arches just visible on the rim. Other possible carvings on the body of the font have long disappeared, as have wall paintings and writings.
There are some very faint traces of writing. Originally the walls would have had decorative paintings
which were white washed and overwritten in the 17th century.
Pulpit, reader's desk, squire's pew and box pews are all from the 17th century.
Windows in Norman churches are very small and high up on the wall.
Another view of the church with windows and tiny lights high up in the gable end.
On leaving the church you are invited to donate to church funds
by putting money in the slot.
Oh, what a wonderful tour! I'd have been right beside you for this one if it was possible. The floral fabric on the bench was an endearing touch. Makes me faintly ecstatic to see this loving preservation.
ReplyDeleteThe arch doorway and ironwork on the door are so beautiful in their simplicity. I wonder if the flagstone floor goes back to the 12th century also. They look to be in perfect condition. Thanks for sharing this Ursula.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this! So perfect in its simplicity and so beautifully preserved. You Brits have so many wonderful treasures. And I too love the floral seat cover.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see this some day. I am so impressed by real antiquity, probably because Canada is such a young country.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this treasure with us.
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
I vaguely remember having seen pictures of this church before, but I still enjoyed the tour. Wish I had been along. I am in awe of your antiquities, and so glad Britain has such a preservation mindset. Jim
ReplyDeleteThis is when I laugh about our oldest buildings here - from the 1860's.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and peaceful chapel. I reminds me of some of the churches I've visited in Denmark.
This is what makes that side of the world better than this side!
ReplyDeleteIt defies the imagination that this church could be standing from the 12t century! And the baptismal font! Goes to show you there is still reverence for faith... Great post, Friko
ReplyDeleteFriko, let me thank you for this post. I admit that as I read it and looked at your fine photos, I felt very emotional, and my eyes became quite damp.
ReplyDeleteThere is something about seeing this lovely church sinking into the ground, seeing its simple, ageless beauty, and knowing that somehow it has survived so many centuries, with or without any help from caring congregations.
Of course, you know that there is nothing remotely like this in my every changing, every renovation, every disrupting, every seeking modernity city.
How I love your posts! xo
wirklich interessant, diese alte Kapelle zu sehen. Man fühlt sich in das Mittelalter zurückversetzt. Ich würde gerne wissen, wie man sich fühlt, wenn man innen sitzt und der Stimmung lauscht...
ReplyDeleteDir ein schönes sonniges Wochenende mit viel Freude, liebe Friko!
Renée
My fondness for these little churches has increased over the years. Thanks for the guided tour.
ReplyDeleteHello:
ReplyDeleteIt is a favourite pastime of ours to seek out hidden gems such as Heath Chapel. Just imagining the people who have worshipped there over the centuries is, for us, an uplifting experience. Beautiful in its simplicity and how marvellous that a key allows entry to any who come across it.
This reminds us of Kilpeck Church, a very fine example of a Norman church which we would visit often when in Herefordshire.
Hi Friko .. isn't that amazing .. and such a gem - loved your photos and the story. The decorations were pretty special too - even if so few.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much - you live in a wonderful area and continue to show us much ..
Enjoy this beautiful weekend .. Hilary
What a wonderful place. I visited a similar church in Oxfordshire, St. Philip's Church Little Rollright. It was in the middle of a field, no electricity. Magical.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this wonderful tour!
Dianne
:-)
The feeling of antiquity is very reassuring somehow, that things do exist beyond just the few years of a single lifetime. I looked at that door and imagined all the generations that have passed through. Thank you for the tour.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this tour of a Norman church that has stood against storm and drought, war and peace for centuries.
ReplyDeleteAs you led us to and then into the church, I wished I could know the people who had worshipped there. The people who had trod that stone floor and read the words on the wall before they were whitewashed over.
I was, of course, reminded of all those characters who people Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth." They were building a Gothic cathedral and yours is Norman--different times, different building techniques, different ways of praise with the materials and skills of the time.
But all times lead us somehow to the longing within ourselves to be one with past, present and future.
Thank you again, Friko
How beautiful is this! It reminds me of some old chapels like this that I visited in England, along those narrow windy roads between those walls that you seem to find everywhere there. Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I could feel its history reaching out through the screen...
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
What a gorgeous place!
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit this chapel. I was in Shropshire last week. Next time I go I'll find my way to it, the kind of place I like to visit on foot or by bike.
ReplyDeleteI'd leave a donation if I could. Thank you for the walk to the little chapel, a gem indeed and one that excaped the ravages of heathens. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI'll freely admit it. I am quite jealous of the experience. Thank you so much for having taken photographs at so many angles, I am deeply impressed by the way the building lists into the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe windows really captured my imagination. Wondering if the moonlight is capable of filtering through those slim openings in the night during harvest.
Now, that's a very special place, Friko. I'd never heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteYour sharing of the area where you reside is a feast...the iron work on that ancient door is amazing and the fact that it is still in place even more so.
ReplyDeleteHow many infants were baptized over the centuries and how many prayers were sent up to heaven...
This would be a chapel I would love to visit someday and just sit and listen to the long ago voices.
I read this post yesterday, Friko, but was distracted before I could comment. In any event, this church is such a gem and I so appreciate your photographic tour. There is something very reassuring about seemingly timeless structures, especially places where people came for solace as they struggled through difficult lives.
ReplyDeleteMum & I were only talking about Heath Chapel a few weeks ago. Part of my family are from that area and a great great uncle of mine met his death in the woods near the chapel. I must visit one day.
ReplyDeleteThis post was fascinating to read. It must be amazing to live near such a place. When I think of the history that has occurred within its walls, I am even more intrigued. Thanks for sharing your afternoon visit with us.
ReplyDeletePerhaps its remoteness has been its saviour. Though, how sad that the wall paintings were whitewashed over and lost. In contrast, many Swedish churches from this period still have their decorated interiors. However, I have never come across one that is so forlorn as Heath Chapel.
ReplyDeleteAnna
I wonder what it is about a big old heavy key that holds such immense appeal. Every time I see one, I want to hold it, own it, have it. My son is the same.
ReplyDeleteBut if we took off with that one, and locked the door behind us, what a shame that would be. Best leave it.
Beautifully preserved in its isolation .
ReplyDeleteI can feel the chill and the damp, which I love in old churches. But this is really old! I am reminded of Phillip Larkin's poem "Church Going."
ReplyDeleteSplendid photos, Friko. The one of the front door is wonderful, for its iron, worn boards, and leaning lines.
Are services still held here? It would seem so, judging by the flowers round the font and the coded padlock on the collection box. As a choirmaster I'm afraid my first reaction on entering a new church, rather than lift my thoughts to higher things, is to snap my fingers to test the acoustic - this one looks interesting, to say the least, with the arch and wall between nave and chancel.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful church! I am very attracted to all these photos that show details that are so often overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Heath Chapel but want to discover more about it.
Lovely blog!
Greetings
Wow! From the 12th Century. Amazing. Thank God it's hard to find. Probably the only thing that has protected it from vandals and grafitti. Nice tour. Would loved to have been there.
ReplyDeleteStepping inside a place of such antiquity must fill one with awe. The essence of all of those who have crossed the threshold, either to be Christened, Baptised, married or buried from there over so many countless generations must surely leave its mark. I would imagine that sitting in silent solitude, one would hear whispers on the heavy air and in the faint breezes entering through cracks and crannies.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what prosperity, decline, and human dramas this antique church has witnessed, standing solitary yet dignifiedly for such a long time?
ReplyDeleteToday I saw Duddingston Kirk (12 century), the Scoto-Norman architecture, in the Scottish blogger. Though it has been well maintained in the rich nature, I have the same impression on this simpler Heath Church probably because both of them are Norman architecture. Antique buildings or ruins in the countryside is the place I like to visit. Friko, you stimulated my longing again with your wonderful photos.
Have a nice week.
Yoko
What an extraordinary connection to nearly a millenium in the past, and for taking us there, Friko, I felt such a pang of longing to visit such a structure.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
XO
WWW
I could almost feel the cold coming through your blog! Great pictures - I love old churches like this. Such a sense of the past.
ReplyDeleteThat´s a lovely church!
ReplyDeleteThank you for another visit to the wonders of your world. Just think of the many worshipers who sat through long, long sermons on those hard benches. Even the Squire and his family didn't escape the discomfort. (Although they were able to squirm in privacy. ;-). )
ReplyDeleteReligion was taken very seriously in those days and I guess we understand why. Life was hard.
I love ancient buildings. It is fascinating to see how people lived hundreds of years ago. My imagination runs wild when I enter one.
thanks for this. how wonderful that your country and people treasure these old buildings. over here we tear it down. doesn't matter if it's old or historical or award winning or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI love exploring old churches like these :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your tours of Shropshire--such a rich area to mine! I'm intrigued, among other things, by the small and high-up windows chosen by the Normans. Is there an explanation for that?
ReplyDeleteThis church is magnificent in its oulde and sturdy and faithful way. I would put money in the box to preserve it if I visited. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the smell inside that chapel. What a fantastic building, gradually sinking into the earth. When I was young(er) churches were left unlocked all the time. I suppose there's little of value to steal from Heath Chapel, or perhaps it's safe because of its inaccessibility, and that's why the key is readily available.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting about this. I often find myself travelling through Shropshire when I go on holiday in Wales. I'll try to remember to drop in and look around the place next time I do.
ReplyDeleteI lived quite a lot of my childhood in Wolverhampton. Trips to the country usually meant Shropshire. I always found it a magical place.
I love the leaning chapel. One thing about living in the USA, nothing is truly old. ~Mary
ReplyDeleteThe tour you have provided does indeed evoke the spirit of worshippers past, but the thought of those who care for this treasure now, their lives and what keeps them engaged piques my interest, too.
ReplyDelete