East Castle Street is one of Bridgnorth’s finest streets: a cul-de-sac
filled with Georgian and Victorian properties. Brass ‘lion mask’ doorknockers
like the one at Garden Cottage are a notable feature of the
houses in this street as well as in other historic parts of the town.
The magnificent church of St Mary Magdalene closes the street view.
The present church, dating from 1794, was designed by the famous
engineer Thomas Telford (1757-1834). The original medieval church
had served as the Castle chapel and for centuries it also had the rare
status of a ‘Royal College’, such as are still found today at Westminster
and Windsor.
Just beyond the church lie the spectacular Castle Ruins, with their
extraordinary leaning tower (the angle being much greater than that
of the tower at Pisa). The Castle Gardens are now a well-maintained
public park with a fine rose garden, bandstand and views over the
Severn Valley steam railway.
Terrace walks around the Castle Gardens lead to several long flights
of steps and the Victorian Cliff Railway which runs every few minutes
during the day down the sandstone cliff to the river and Low Town
(and, more usefully, up again!).
Visiting family, April 2014: Really enjoyed our stay. A great house on a lovely quiet street.
