page_title: St Bartholomew's Church, Tong
section_title: Exterior and grounds
hierarchical_section_title: St Bartholomew's Church, Tong / Exterior and grounds
caption_attribution_description: English: Cannonball damage beside the blocked north doorway of St Bartholomew's parish church, Tong, Shropshire
context_page_description: The Collegiate Church of St Bartholomew, Tong is a 15th-century church in the village of Tong, Shropshire, England, notable for its architecture and fittings, including its fan vaulting in a side chapel, rare in Shropshire, and its numerous tombs. It was built on the site of a former parish church and was constructed as a collegiate church and chantry on the initiative of Isabel Lingen, who acquired the advowson from Shrewsbury Abbey and additional endowments through royal support. Patronage remained with the lords of the manor of Tong, who resided at nearby Tong Castle, a short distance to the south-west, and the tombs and memorials mostly represent these families, particularly the Vernons of Haddon Hall, who held the lordship for more than a century. Later patrons, mostly of landed gentry origin, added further memorials, including the Stanley Monument which is inscribed with epitaphs specially written by William Shakespeare.
  The church was the site of a minor skirmish during the English Civil War and also hosts the grave of Little Nell from Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, despite the character being entirely fictitious.
context_section_description: The church is built of New Red Sandstone, which is abundant locally. Pevsner describes it as "local sandstone ashlar of a sombre brown hue which has worn wonderfully well". The church can be seen from the A41 and is described as being so beautiful as it makes the traveller wish to stop and explore further. Its low pitched roof is decorated with battlements, pinnacles and gargoyles.
  The north side of the church has many musket ball holes and at least one cannon-shot hole in its outer walls. These were made during the English Civil War when minor skirmishes between the two warring factions were trying to wrest control of Tong Castle from each other. Because the church was on the road between Newport and Wolverhampton, it regularly featured in the fighting. After the fighting, one of the soldiers, identified as Richard Symonds, described Tong church as "[a] faire church [but] the windows much broken".
  The musket ball holes have also been alluded to possibly be from when enemy soldiers were executed (usually on the north wall of a church). This has been discounted with the church at Tong as it was felt that the extreme dip between the road and the church wall would make it impractical. One of the smaller bells was taken from the church to be melted down for use in artillery and lead from the church roof was also stripped to provide ammunition for firearms.
  A carved statue of St Bartholomew is situated on the east wall and sits in a niche. The statue was made by Pat Austin, the wife of the rose breeder, David Austin, whose rose growing business is located in nearby Albrighton. 16 feet (5 m) south of the South Chapel in the church is the base of a 15th-century cross. The base is made of sandstone and used to have a headcross upon it, but this has since been lost and replaced in 1776 with a sundial. The base is grade II* listed.
  For some time, at least until the 18th century, school buildings were located in the churchyard.The licence for the college was granted by Henry IV in 1410 and the college buildings were located on the south side of the church. The buildings were largely destroyed in 1644 during the English Civil War when Colonel Tiller drove the Parliamentarians from Tong Castle, church and college. Subsequent archaeological investigations determined that the buildings had been burnt around that time period. The college buildings survived until the middle of the 18th century when they were taken apart. George Durant destroyed the rest in the 19th century and their site is directly under the A41 bypass.
  Between the north side of the nave and the vestry there is a gap which has a small Maltese Cross sunk into the ground. This area is known as "Chrysom's Graveyard" and was where unbaptised babies were buried. The cross has lines from Lord Byron, Walter Scott and Sir Thomas More cut into it (though they are mostly worn away now by weathering), and, like many other parts of the church area, is a Grade II listed structure.
caption: Cannonball damage next to the blocked north doorway
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