St Gregory the Great Church

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History

Morville was one of the most important places in Shropshire before the Norman Conquest. The Saxons had created a vast Manor with 18 independent hamlets, including Bridgnorth which was of minor importance.

After the Norman Conquest, The Saxon Manor was split up and given to the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury. The monks built the present church in 1118. They then enlarged the church and added the tower completing the work in 1168. To this day it remains predominately Norman and would be recognised by the monks as their place of worship.

The Priory was demolished in 1545 and much of the stone and timber was used to build Morville Hall and a number of local buildings including the Acton Arms public house.

Morville Church Today

Thanks to successful fundraising the church building has been kept in good repair and the facilities modernised without affecting the historic aspects of the fabric. In 2009, for the first time in 55 years, the bells rang out from the restored bell tower.

We were delighted not only to raise sufficient funds to repair the 18th century bells but were able to increase our bells from 6 to 8. The bells can be heard on a regular basis rung by our active group of bell ringers.

In 2018 we celebrated 900 years since the church was consecrated. As part of the celebrations we added information boards inside the church to provide visitors with interesting details of the church history.

In the north west corner of the church there is a display of Morville photos and memories dating back to the 19th century. The churchyard contains many interesting headstones in particular those situated along the northern boundary.

Care should be taken when walking in the churchyard as the ground is uneven in parts consistent with a country churchyard.

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