Condover
The village located within the borough of Shrewsbury has a main road that snakes its way through the village. There are several old brick and timber framed buildings. The local church is set back from the road and in a harmonious relationship with the rest of this pretty village. The attraction red sandstone building is dedicated to St Andrew and St Mary.
A church has stood on this site for over 1000 years when Condover was a Saxon settlement. The present church building dates from Norman times however, much of the structure was rebuilt after a disaster in 1660 when the parish records indicate that the church and steeple fell down. Today the church has no steeple at all but instead a buttressed and castellated tower and has a black and gold clock face.
In stark contrast to this simple idyllic village is Condover Hall, a magnificent Elizabethan house which somehow looks out of place, almost being to grand for the village that surrounds it.
The hall was built for a wealthy merchant, Judge Thomas Owen died in 1598 before it was completed. Despite not being open to the public, the hall can be seen framed by its stone archway located at t edge of the village.
The archway is carved from the same creamy red sandstone that the local church is constructed from. They both stand as a testament to the skill of stonemason, Walter Hancock, from Much Wenlock. The Hall itself is made up of gables, windows, bays, towers and sitting atop the roof are stacks of tall chimneys.
The village was also once home to Richard Tarlton who was jester to Elizabeth I. Tarlton is said to have been Shakespeare's inspiration for the character of Yorrick, the 'fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy', whose skull features in the graveyard scene in Hamlet.
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