St Mary
SY5 7PX Open every day.
St Mary’s was built in c.1275, probably by the same team of master craftsmen who
built nearby Acton Burnell Church. It is considered to be a perfect example of Early English architecture. Grade 1 listed, it was formerly a chapel to the Corbett family of Longnor Hall.
The church is a simple nave and chancel with a 19th century bell turret. The woodwork is 17th and 18th century, comprising box pews, a pulpit with a canopy and a reader's desk. The 18th century box pews were made by Richard Lee. He was great-grandfather of Samuel Lee, who was born in Longnor in 1783 and trained as a carpenter but later became Professor of Arabic and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University and an expert in more than 18 foreign languages.
There is a large west gallery from the same period, reached by a set of exterior stone steps.
The church has been lovingly conserved and the stone fabric bears only superficial alteration since the builders left it 750 years ago.
For more about this lovely church, visit <www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10623>
and www.longnorvillagehistory.co.uk