page_title: Ludlow
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Ludlow / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: St. Peter's Catholic Church, Ludlow A building in the french style with what looks like an art deco priest's house.
context_page_description: Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England, 28 miles south of Shrewsbury and 23 miles north of Hereford via the main A49 road, which bypasses the town. With a population of approximately 11,000, Ludlow is the largest town in South Shropshire. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and neighbouring Wales.
  The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme. The oldest part is the medieval walled town, founded in the late 11th century after the Norman conquest of England. It is centred on a small hill which lies on the eastern bank of a bend of the River Teme. Situated on this hill are Ludlow Castle and the parish church, St Laurence's, the largest in the county. From there the streets slope downward to the River Teme, and northward toward the River Corve. The town is in a sheltered spot beneath Mortimer Forest and the Clee Hills, which are clearly visible from the town.
  Ludlow has nearly 500 listed buildings, including examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings. The town was described by Sir John Betjeman as "probably the loveliest town in England".
context_section_description: There are two Church of England parishes in Ludlow and two Church of England churches — the large and historic St Laurence's Church in the centre of the town — and the 19th century St John's Church on Gravel Hill. Within St Laurence's Church are the St John's, Lady and St Catherine's chapels. Ludford has its own Church of England parish and church, dedicated to St Giles.
  Ludlow falls within the Church of England's Diocese of Hereford and since 1981 is a suffragan see with its own suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Ludlow, the only such bishop in the diocese. There has long been an Archdeacon of Ludlow, historically known as the Archdeacon of Shropshire, overseeing the other parishes in the southern part of the county (the part of the Hereford diocese that is within Shropshire).
  There is a Roman Catholic parish covering Ludlow, with its own church dedicated to St Peter on Henley Road. Construction began in 1935, using stone from nearby Farlow and building in a neo-Byzantine and plain Romanesque style. The construction also involved novel reinforced concrete technology. The Byzantine design continues inside, with a blue dome with twelve gold-leaf stars representing St Peter and the other Apostles. An Art Deco presbytery was built next to the church. St Peter's chapel, within the castle, is now a ruin.
  Ludlow has a Methodist church on Broad Street, a Quaker Meeting House on St Mary's Lane, a Baptist church at the Rockspring Community Centre, and an Elim Pentecostal church off the Smithfield car park.
  Two monastic institutions once existed in Ludlow — one Augustinian ("Austin") Friars on the corner of Lower Galdeford and Weeping Cross Lane, and the other Carmelite ("White") Friars between Linney and Corve Street. Both were dissolved in 1538. The White Friars site became the town's cemetery in 1824, with a new church constructed, dedicated to St Leonard (a St Leonard's chapel existed on the corner of Corve Street and Linney in medieval times). The St Leonard's graveyard and church still exist but are no longer used for burials or worship (instead the church building is now a commercial premises). The Austin Friars site became the town's livestock market (the Smithfield) and is now a public car park.
caption: St Peter's church, built in the late 1930s in the neo-Byzantine and plain Romanesque styles, is the town's Roman Catholic church.
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