About Us

St Mary the Virgin church is set in the Parish of Edstaston and Coton. The Vicar is Revd Deborah Walton. We are part of the PEW group of churches, together with St Chad's Prees and St Mary's Whixall.

Our church is Grade 1 Listed. It dates back to 1150 and is one of the most complete Romanesque buildings in Shropshire. The building has medieval wall paintings and Victorian stained glass windows. The churchyard is award winning and there is a new Church burial ground donated for community use. There are toilet facilities available at the church.

There is a small but dedicated congregation with members of the wider community attending special/ festival services such as Harvest, Christmas, Easter etc. There is a two-manual organ built by JJ Binns played by a dedicated organist. Joint and combined services with other PEW congregations offer opportunities to worship as part of a larger group.

The PCC work extremely hard to fund raise in a variety of creative ways and parishioners work together to maintain the building and grounds. There is a monthly coffee morning during which the 100 Club draw takes place. In 'normal times' this provides an opportunity for informal meetings for the wider community. The church has a very close relationship with the village hall, often sharing very successful and lively fundraising events, such as their Beer Festival, concerts, comedy nights etc; these events have enabled the hall committee to plan substantial re-development.

The Parish of Edstaston and Coton is long and narrow, extending north from the outskirts of Wem, to the southern edge of Tilstock. There are approximately 720 inhabitants in this rural area, one public house, and the village hall. The village of Edstaston is non-nucleated but the hall is the centre of much of village cultural life. There are many small businesses but primarily the area is agricultural. Young people in the parish usually attend Whixall CE Primary School and Thomas Adams Secondary.