Description
Buildwas, a village and a parish in Salop, on the river Severn, 3 1/2 miles SE of the Wrekin, 2 NW of Ironbridge, and 4 NE of Much-Wenlock, with a station on the G.W.R., at the junction of the Wellington and Craven Arms branch with the Severn Valley branch. The post town is Ironbridge (R.S.O.) Acreage of parish, 2181; population, 228. There is a fine iron bridge over the Severn here, erected by Telford. Buildwas Park, a modern mansion, is the seat of the lord of the manor. A Cistercian abbey was founded in the parish in 1135 by Roger, bishop of Chester, and given at the dissolution to Lord Powis. The side aisles and the chapels of the abbey church have perished, but the chancel, the nave, the transept, and the chapter-house mostly remain, are Transition Norman and Early English, and form a noble ruin. The church is 163 feet in length, of which the nave is 70 feet; the chancel contains three Early English sedilia, and has a Norman window with three lights ; the chapterhouse contains several stone coffins of the 13th century.
The abbot's house, chiefly 13th century work, has been restored, and is used as a residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield; gross value, £112. The parish church of Holy Trinity was rebuilt in 1720, and is a small plain edifice, consisting of chancel, nave, and bell turret.
