Closure-threatened Shropshire church designed by Thomas Telford must 'move with the times' to survive

A Shropshire church that could close within 15 years without significant investment needs to ‘move with the times’.

That is the view of a consultant who has been tasked with seeing what can be done at St Magdalene Church in Bridgnorth.

It has also been home to many concerts, and will be part of the English Haydn Festival in June. However, the building faces significant challenges.

A recent structural survey revealed there is extensive dry rot, a failing heating system, and poor insulation. A spiral staircase also present accessibility issues.

A series of consultation events have been held this month, where people were asked to fill out a survey about the church.

They were asked how often they had visited the building during the past year, what it means to them, and what it offers.

People were also asked to share what the church needs, how it can be better used, what can be improved, and what are its strengths.

Reverend Suzanne Williams, the rector at the church, said that St Mary's is more than just a place of Sunday worship.

"It's a place where our community gathers, marks milestones, finds support, and belongs," she said.

"It has been at the heart of Bridgnorth for over 200 years - managed by local people for local people."

Claire Cox, from Impact Consultancy, helped organise the events and urged that the church needs to move with the times.

She said the church could needs to look at ways to futureproof the building. This could involve having a permanent café, or even removing the pews.

"Some people have said to get ride of them because you can do more with the space, but other have said, 'absolutely not'," said Ms Cox.

"Outside, it looks a lovely building but the feasibility study uncovered a lot of issues," said Ms Cox.

"There is a huge opportunity - the acoustics are very good, and there is the historic link of it being Thomas Telford's first church.

"It has an enormous amount of heritage attached to it which is its selling point when presenting the case.

"A lot of people have said that, even if they don't go [to the church] regularly, they've said it's an important and iconic building.

"We will analyse the feedback and take it to the PCC (Parochial Church Council) and Restoration Trust.

"It has amazing potential, and because of its heritage status and its links to Thomas Telford, I think it's something the Heritage Lottery Fund will be interested to support."