St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield

St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Battlefield, from the southeast
52°45′02″N 2°43′25″W / 52.7506944°N 2.7235849°W / 52.7506944; -2.7235849
OS grid reference	SJ 512 172
Location	Battlefield, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Authorising papal bull	30 October 1410, from John XXIII
Status	Chantry 1406, Collegiate church by 1410–1548 Parish church, c.1548–1982
Founded	28 October 1406 (grant of site authorised)
Founder(s)	Roger Ive Richard Hussey Henry IV
Dedication	Saint Mary Magdalene
Dedicated	In or before March 1409
Events	c.1500: West tower completed. 1548: College and chantry dissolved. 1861–62: Major restoration.
Associated people	Richard Hussey granted site. Henry IV granted advowsons and tithes, re-founded church in 1410. Edward VI presided over dissolution of chantries and colleges. Lady Annabella Brinckman initiated Victorian restoration.
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	19 September 1972
Architect(s)	Samuel Pountney Smith (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1406
Completed	1862
Specifications
Materials	Limestone, tiles and slates on roofs

St Mary Magdalene's Church is in the village of Battlefield, Shropshire, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It was built on the site of the 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury between Henry IV and Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and was originally intended as a chantry, a place of intercession and commemoration for those killed in the fighting. It is probably built over a mass burial pit.^[1] It was originally a collegiate church staffed by a small community of chaplains whose main duty was to perform a daily liturgy for the dead. Roger Ive, the local parish priest, is generally regarded as the founder, although the church received considerable support and endowment from Henry IV.

After the dissolution of the college and chantry in 1548, the building was used as the local parish church and it underwent serious decay, punctuated by attempts at rebuilding from the mid-18th century. A restoration in Victorian times was controversial in intention, scope and detail, although many original features remain. Today it is a redundant Anglican church. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,^[2] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.^[3]