Shropshire schools invited to historic church undergoing £240,000 facelift

Worshippers at Grade I listed St Bartholomew's, in Moreton Corbet near Shawbury, are celebrating an extra special Easter after securing a £10,000 grant towards the repairs to bring the facilities up to date.

The site is next to the Moreton Corbet Castle which features impressive ruins of Elizabethan state apartments and together they form part of a group of nationally important buildings.

Now that the church is carrying out improvements including installation of a kitchen, toilets and water supply, the volunteers are looking to welcome more visitors to the village's attractions which are steeped in history.

Church warden Christopher Corbet's ancestors are buried inside the place of worship and he is part of the fundraising drive to renovate it.

"It is a pretty church.," he said. "The main grant came from the Heritage Lottery Fund and all the monies that come in will help us to complete the work. It will allow the church to be used by schoolchildren and other visitors when they come to castle next door.

"The castle has no roof and gets draughty. In 2012 a group of pupils from Meole Brace Primary School were visiting the site, but they had to come into the church to do their writing because of the conditions. Now we have much better facilities for groups when they come to visit.

"So we are calling on teachers to consider coming here for curriculum projects. We can provide shelter from the elements and there are good stories to tell."

St Bartholomew's was awarded a £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant towards the scheme which includes repairs to the tower stonework and a replacement tower roof.

Following the major fundraising drive which has also attracted donations from members of the small congregation and the public church has just £5,000 left to raise of the total needed to cover the cost.

The next fundraising activities include a flower festival on June 15 and 16.