Shropshire link to American statue row
In Charlottesville, Virginia, a monument to General Robert E. Lee has so convulsed modern American opinion that city council workers have now covered him in a black tarpaulin.
But this is a story which goes back all the way to Shropshire, to which the Confederate general could trace his family roots.
And in a country church in the county, there are memorials to Lee's ancestors.
Lee's monument in Emancipation Park, and a statue to another Confederate era General, "Stonewall" Jackson, have been the focus of violent protests in Charlottesville.
However, there is a connection with a Shropshire village church, as Byron Grainger-Jones, who chairs Shrewsbury Civic Society, points out.
"There are some beautiful memorials to the Lee family there. They are his forebears," he said.
The church - in the current climate, perhaps it is best not to pinpoint where it is - attracts a steady stream of American visitors to see the tombs of Lee's ancestors.
Apparently, Lee’s forebears were originally named de la Lee, being most likely of Norman descent.
The family home was Coton Hall, at the tiny hamlet of Coton, near Alveley, from the 14th century onwards and effigies of prominent family members were erected in the nearby family chapel, but when it fell into disrepair and the roof fell in during the 19th century the effigies were moved to the current location.
General Lee's ancestors left Shropshire for America in the 17th century and, although some returned, many stayed to carve out a new life in the New World by trading, acquiring land and eventually power in the fledgling state of Virginia.
