England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Albrighton near Tong St Mary Magdalene

The Parish

The parish of Albrighton, near Tong to distinguish it from the tiny parish just north of Shrewsbury, lies in the extreme east of Shropshire forming a stretch of the county's boundary with Staffordshire. Albrighton is located midway between the Staffordshire industrial town of Wolverhampton and Telford New Town being roughly 7 miles northwest of the former and a similar distance southeast of the latter. Albrighton sits on the former route of the A41 road which connects Wolverhampton with Newport and Whitchurch, that road now bypasses to Albrighton's north. Albrighton is today a large village but at one time was a regional market town but that status has lapsed long ago. Early maps show Albrighton as a crossroads settlement gathered around a junction of the former A41 and with a western sub-cluster gathered around the church a quarter of a mile west, today all has been infilled with Albrighton, roughly oblong in shape running for about a mile from west to east, its population boosted by both commuting to Wolverhampton and by the presence of the RAF base at nearby Cosford. Like most parishes in western Britain pastoral farming was the more important of the farming methods albeit both were practiced in a mixed area. Modern developments have aided the village's recent revival in fortunes with the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury running through and granting Albrighton a station. Albrighton lies within an area of rather diffuse drainage but water tends to trend towards the east where it eventually meets the River Penk, the latter heads northwards joining in quick succession the Sow and finally the Trent for a rather long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Albrighton is sited at around 100 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside where local high points tend to acquire little more than 140 metres. Albrighton is an unusual one in that it consists of twin strips of lane with Boningale parish lying between, each strip occupies about half of the total acreage of a little over 3,400 acres with the whole parish supporting around 1,050 parishioners. In Domesday times Albrighton was a holding of one Norman the hunter and a small holding at that time offering just 3 ploughs and a tract of woodland.

The Church

St Mary Magdalene's church once stood away from the main cluster of the village but still on High Street, today its sits almost opposite the Shrewsbury Arms Inn on the northern side of High Street. Three distinct ages are shown by this church with the sandstone western tower being the earliest and also the most complicated. The tower was first constructed in the 12th century in a Norman Romanesque style but has 13th century lancets inserted into the lower stages and early 14th century belfry lancets in the upper stage showing a gradual build and rebuild to today's form. Next in dating sequence one must go to the opposite end where the fine 5-light east window of the chancel confirms that it too is 14th century in age, attached to the chancel are twin vestries on the northern side, the smaller a 16th century addition. In between the two medieval sections the nave is a Victorian rebuild of 1853 in a matching Decorated styling to the chancel and augmented at the same time by wide-gabled aisles and a southern porch. With the A41 diverted to the north its old route along the High Street carries less traffic allowing on-street parking outside the churchyard. The entrance is by a neat lychgate and along a shady pathway, shade is a complicating factor for the photographer who needs to carefully select the angles from a limited set of views.