About Us

St Mary's Kinnerley is committed to Safeguarding and has adopted the National and Diocesan Safeguarding Policies. Our Safeguarding Coordinator is Graeme Ross and he can be contacted on 01691 680302.

This lovely corner of rural Shropshire lies in the shelter of the Welsh Hills.  The Benefice is compact in size and shape, being no more than 7 miles from N-S and E-W.  The population is about 1600 people.  There are good road links to local towns and the cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.  There is also a convenient railway station with frequent services to Shrewsbury, Chester, Birmingham and Cardiff, which provide links to the rest of the country.

The five parishes (Kinnerley, Melverley, Knockin, Maesbury and Maesbrook) which make up the Benefice have strong social links, and the five churches work well together.  However, they are five very different villages and church communities, with different strengths and weaknesses, different needs and different ways of working.

Kinnerley is the largest of the five communities and contains the hamlets of Dovaston, Knockin Heath, Pentre and Edgerley.  It has a population of 830 and increasing, with 24% under 24 years old, 49% between 23 and 60 and 27% over 60.  Many people travel outside the village to work in Oswestry and Shrewsbury and further afield.  Those working locally are mainly engaged in agriculture or are self employed.

St. Mary's Church provides the main focal point in the centre of the village, with a shop, post office, public house (currently closed and undergoing renovation) and parish hall in close proximity.  The Junior School is a few hundred yards away on the edge of the village centre.  There are regular bus services to Oswestry and Shrewsbury and a Medical Centre in Knockin, about 1 mile away.  The Parish Hall is well used by a range of clubs and many more organisations.

The C of E Primary School has about 100 pupils; the Rector and local URC Minister share Collective Worship.  Most children move on to the Corbet School at Baschurch, the area Comprehensive School, at the age of 11 years.  Two church members are Governors.

There are plenty of good things going on - the work with young people in Knockin, the lay-led Worship for Everyone Services, Prayer and Praise services, House Groups - all of them instigated and largely run by laity.