St Michael and All Angels' Church, Welshampton
The Church of St Michael and All Angels is a Grade II listed Anglican church in the village of Welshampton in Shropshire.
| Church of St Michael and All Angels, Welshampton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| 52.9099°N 2.8423°W | |
| OS grid reference | SJ 434 350 |
| Location | Welshampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Michael and All Angels |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 27 May 1953[1] |
| Architect(s) | George Gilbert Scott |
| Style | Early English style |
| Completed | 1863 |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Ellesmere Deanery[2] |
| Diocese | Diocese of Lichfield |
It was built in the 1860s for Frances Mainwaring and Salusbury Kynaston Mainwaring, in memory of Charles Kynaston Mainwaring of Oteley. The architect was George Gilbert Scott. There was originally a medieval church, which was replaced in 1788 by a church for Mary Kynaston of Oteley; this was replaced by Scott's church.[1]
Building
The walls are of yellow sandstone ashlar; it has a slate roof which has a lozenge pattern over the nave and a zig-zag pattern over the chancel. The chancel has a semicircular apsidal shape. There are buttresses at the corners of the church and against the chancel. On the roof at the junction of the nave and chancel is a bellcote.[1]
The church has lancet windows. The stained glass includes, in a west window a commemoration of Charles Kynaston Mainwaring, and in the north-west window of the nave a commemoration of Jeremiah Libopuoa Moshueshue (see below).[1]
The link with Lesotho
In the churchyard is buried an African prince, Jeremiah Libopuoa Moshueshue (1839-1863). He was a son of Moshueshue I of Lesotho.[3][4]
The history of this link with Lesotho (at that time known as Basutoland) began when the vicar of Welshampton, Thomas Buckley-Owen, was offered a post in Lesotho. He turned it down because the new church in Welshampton would soon be complete; however, he maintained contact with the country. Moshueshue I sent two of his junior sons to study at an Anglican school in Zonnebloem. One of them, Jeremiah Libopuoa, came to England to train as a priest. He visited Welshampton when the new church was consecrated in 1863; during the visit he caught a fever and died.[3][5]
In 2010 Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho visited the church, where she attended a service and paid respects to the grave of prince Jeremiah Libopuoa.[3]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Michael and All Angels, Welshampton. |
- Historic England. "Church of St Michael (1177141)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- Welshampton St Michael and All Angels Diocese of Lichfield, accessed 21 October 2017.
- Queen of Lesotho visits Welshampton in Shropshire Shropshire Star 6 Oct 2010, accessed 17 March 2014.
- LIBOPUOA Jeremiah Lesotho royalty, from freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com, accessed 17 March 2014.
- Historical Dictionary of Lesotho by Scott Rosenberg, Richard F. Weisfelder, Scarecrow Press, page 39. Via Google Books, accessed 17 March 2014.