England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Acton Burnell St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Acton Burnell lies almost centrally within Shropshire being located about 7 miles south of the couty town of Shrewsbury. Modern day Acton Burnell is a small crossroads village, little more than a hamlet, which sits in an area almost devoid of major, numbered, roads, the closest being the A49 (which sits some 3 or 4 miles west) which connects Shrewsbury through to Church Stretton. Acton Burnell takes its name from the Burnell family, prominent amongst those was the 13th century Robert Burnell who rose to the position of Bishop of Bath & Wells and in 1383 staged an elaborate "parliament" inviting the Marcher Lords & the King to a parley in what appears to have been a large "marquee" in the grounds of his castle. Both castle & church were built around the same period, the church pre-dating the castle by a few years. Since those events Acton Burnell has lapsed into sleepy rural tranquility as a typical pastoral farming village of Shropshire. Acton Burnell is drained northeastwards by the Row Brook which soon joins the River Severn and makes its long journey south to reach the Bristol Channel. Acton Burnell is sited at around 110 metres above the in fairly tranquil countryside which is broken only by isolated outcrops of hard and ancient rocks, one example rises to the southeast of the village topping out at 235 metres at the summit of Park Wood. Acton Burnell parish is fairly typically sized for this area, covering close to 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. In Domesday times, and prior to the Burnells, Acton Burnell was a sleepy rural backwater held by one Roger the son of Corbet and offering just a pair of ploughs.

The Church

St Mary's church and the castle stand just east of the main village crossroads accessed by a lane off the entrance to Concord College. The church is a fine example of late 13th century architecture, sponsored by Robert Burnell at or close to the time of him receiving his bishopric. Following the earlier cruciform layout with nave and chancel supplemented by transepts, the church, however, never had a central crossing tower typical of such layouts. Documentary evidence places the build precisely to the period 1275 to 1280 putting it into the height of the Decorated architectural style. Pevsner waxes lyrical about the pure features presented by this untouched example, covering several paragraphs in his detail, suffice it to say that until the Victorian restoration not much happened to alter the purity of its features and it is a fine example of the period. In the 1880 the rather incongruous tower, inserted into the angle between the northern transept and the chancel was added along with a general restoration. At the entrance to Concord College a sign points south down a partially surfaced lane to parking for church and castle, the church being reached first. The churchyard is open and uncluttered with no obstacles to photography.