Astley Abbotts

St Calixtus's Church.

Astley Abbotts is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 396.

It is famous for its lavender fields in the centre of the village near the church.

Astley Abbotts is a pleasant parish immediately north of Bridgnorth, straddling the B4373 Bridgnorth to Broseley road. The church in the village of Astley Abbotts is dedicated to St. Calixtus who was a Bishop of Rome martyred in the 3rd century. Inside can be found the faded remains of a 'maiden's garland', a heart-shaped wooden frame decorated with gloves, cloth and ribbons. Such garlands were once the fashion to commemorate maidens who died before marriage. The one at Astley Abbotts has a ribbon-like piece of paper saying, in still legible handwriting, that it commemorates Hannah Phillips who drowned while crossing the River Severn on the eve of her wedding.

Nearby is Stanley Hall, a magnificent red brick building with a gabled end and incorporating traces of a possibly earlier sandstone building. The grounds, which open occasionally under the National Gardens Scheme, are extensive and well tended. Unfortunately, the house is not open to the public, especially as many believe it to be one of the finest homes in the county.

People from Astley Abbotts

Thomas Billingsley (1600-c.1670/80) - Noted horseman who was in the households of the Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset, Elizabeth of Bohemia, and the Earl & Countess of Thanet.

Rupert Billingsley (1644-1713) - Godson of Prince Rupert, soldier and governor of Berwick upon Tweed at the time of the Glorious Revolution

External links

Media related to Astley Abbotts at Wikimedia Commons