The body of the church is 100 feet in diameter, and the total length, including the entrance and vestibule, 160 feet. The building is of fine Grinshill stone, and was designed by Mr. George Steuart, of London. It was commenced March 2d, 1790, and consecrated August 20th, 1792, and will comfortably accommodate a congregation of about 2300 persons. The total cost, including site, organ, bells, &c. was £19,352, of which £15,800 was raised under act of parliament. The steeple is 150 feet in height, and contains a full and melodious peal of twelve bells; the weight of the tenor being 2 tons 1 cwt. and measures 16 ft. 6 in. in circumference at the mouth. The balcony beneath the dome commands a fine prospect of the town and immediate vicinity. In the vestry is a carved statue of St. Chad in his episcopal habit, holding a bible in his right hand and a crosier in his left. It originally stood upon the organ in the old church. St. Chad’s is considered the principal church of the town; it is used on all public occasions, and is the place where the archdeacon holds his visitations and probat court. A lecture is delivered here every Thursday evening, according to a bequest of the late James Phillips, Esq. of London, who by his will (dated 1661) devises, after the death of his wife, the rents of his property in Three Crown Court, Southward, unto the mayor and aldermen of this town for that purpose, and also for a lecture in the parish churches of Oswestry, Ellesmere, and Whitchurch. This property now produces a good revenue. On the east side of the church is a spacious cemetery. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the crown, being endowed in 1674, by the benefaction of Nathaniel Tench, Esq. with “the tithes of corn and hay of the grange of Crow Meole,” in commemoration of which the testator directed that a sermon should be annually preached on the 6th of June. The parish comprises nearly one-half of the town, and extends several miles into the country, having two chapels of ease,—St. George’s (Frankwell), and Bicton, three miles distant. ST. MARY’S CHURCH stands on a commanding situation, nearly one hundred feet above the level of the river, on the north-eastern side of the town, and is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical edifices in the county, displaying in its construction almost every variety of ancient architecture, and affording to the antiquary and man of taste a rich and unique field for observation. [Picture: St. Mary’s Church, N.W.] It is a cruciform building, consisting of a nave, side aisles, transepts, spacious chancel, two chantry chapels, and a lofty spire steeple.