ARS Walk at Church Preen

ARS Walk at Church Preen

This walk was "discovered" and led by Tony Crowther last Saturday.

Although there was some concern by the Rambling Editor on account of the previous day's rain and flooding, we were only inconvenienced by some mud and a low mist which which managed to hide Wenlock Edge until a limited view as we finished the 6.5 mile walk. The closest we came to flooding was from the comfort of our cars as we drove past sections of the River Severn!

The attached pictures mainly relate to the yew tree in the Church grounds – a short history below was extracted from Wikipedia.

History of Church Preen

St. John the Baptist Church is the only religious site and is the centre of Church Preen. The church was built in the 13th century and is 70 feet long by 13-foot wide. It was originally a monastic church, which explains the abnormal appearance.

The church was founded as a cell of Wenlock Priory in 1163. A prior and 2 or 3 monks would have served the church. The priory has little remains; however a few can be seen when visiting the gardens of Church Preen Manor.

Church Preen Yew (pictured), which stands inside the church's grounds is thought to be of a very old age.

This is because the Celtic people used to think of them as symbols of death and rebirth.

When St. Augustine brought Christianity to England, he ordered that churches were to be built around them, which dates the trees back to the 5th century. In Domesday Book, Preen had a recorded population of seven households, comprising 1 villager, 1 smallholder and 5 slaves.