A brief history of the church

Now a Grade 11 listed Victorian building, the church of St Mary the Virgin was opened in 1838. The land was gifted by the second Duke of Sutherland, George Granville Leveson-Gower who also bore the cost of building. The church was designed by James Trubshaw in Early English Style and built of dressed sandstone, which possibly came from the Red Lake quarries nearby.

At the time, the township of Ketley lay mostly in the parish of Wellington and partly in the parish of Wombridge which also included Oakengates. It became a parish in its own right in 1880. Ketley was a scattered but thriving industrial community and the non-central choice of Red Lake for the site of a church reflected the distribution of people living in Red Lake and Potter’s Bank. These would have included colliers, ironworkers as well as farm workers. This is probably why St Mary’s is known locally as Red Lake Church.

The first Vicar was Revd Thompson Stoneham who was in post until 1877. There followed nine incumbents, the longest serving being Revd AP Davies from 1940 -1969. In 1978 major changes occurred due to the development of Telford New Town. Ketley was united with the Parish of Holy Trinity Oakengates and clergy were shared.  Further reorganisation in 2000 saw Ketley move into the Parish of Central Telford withthree other churches and a Team Ministry.

A substantial Vicarage was built adjacent to the churchyard in 1881 but after 1978 it was sold by the Diocese and remains a private residence.

In the 1980’s the large churchyard was closed to new burials and later to new plots for cremated remains. The responsibility for maintenance has since rested with the Borough Council.

St Mary’s Church Hall, modernised in the 1960s, had provided a well used church and community facility for many years but by the early 2000s high maintenance costs caused it to be unsustainable. It was sold and in due course it became a private residence. Following the closure it became possible to improve the church building by the addition of a small kitchen, toilet and meeting room. These were finished in 2009 and since then the church has been able to hold a variety of events including community celebrations in 2018 for the Church’s 180th Anniversary and in 2022 for the Platinum Jubilee of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11.

(Reference: some notes taken from “Ketley Township 1838 - 1988” written by John Hassall for the church’s 150th Anniversary.)