He might have trouble carrying his bags of shopping up the countless spiral stairs but that is a small price to pay for one Shrewsbury man who is simply living his dream as he overlooks large swathes of the county.
Little did Andrew Wright know, when his fascination with St Julian’s Church reached its height in 1976, that he would end up making an offer for the 12th Century Saxon building.
The Wolverhampton-born man even lived in a windmill at one stage, and then a more traditional house in Belle Vue, Shrewsbury, before he finally realised his dream of living in a castle and transformed the church belltower into his very own home.
“People always say I should install a lift of some sorts because there are so many steps but that would just take away the character of the building and I’ve always been determined not to – even if when I’m ancient my knees might say something different,” said Andrew. On his return from a tour of the Middle East, Andrew set up an Indian-themed shop on Fish Street when he moved to Shrewsbury in 1974, which sold everything from brassware to carpets to exotic spices.
Despite being involved with the church from a young age it was during this time that Andrew first started to attend services at St Julian’s, at the top of Wyle Cop.
Ambition
It attracted over 200 people in its prime so when church commissioners closed down the popular church in 1976 Andrew spotted his chance to kill two birds with one stone – save the church while accomplishing a lifelong ambition at the same time.
And just a year after leaving his shop behind and moving into the 80ft sandstone tower with his wife Lexie; he had set up a craft centre, restaurant and prayer group which has attracted ten or more people every week for well over 20 years.
“All my life I wanted to buy a castle so I seized the opportunity, hired two workers to renovate the tower at £3 per hour and after six months it had been transformed,” said Andrew.
“But I also wanted to give people the chance to sell their own handmade goods and have their own business – that was my main motivation.”
It took all four trap doors open, including one that was initially plastered closed, to remove six of the former church bells from the tower using a block and tackle pulley system.
They then used the same rope system to move the reinforced kitchen floor, double glazed windows and timbering to the top of the tower during the elaborate renovation work.
The tower, which has six rooms including a study and library, has 360-degree views of the county and still holds the original working clock mechanism.
Andrew added: “I did actually change the pendulum to an electrical mechanism because it would tick two and a half seconds and it was slightly tedious so it seemed best to change it – and I still have to remember to set it every morning.”
The walls are two feet thick towards the bottom of the tower changing to half the depth at the very top and Andrew is quick to point out it’s not like living in a flat.
“It’s a glorious place to live and you feel like you are a part of history when you touch the 12th Century walls,” he said.
“From the inside you would never know it was a belltower as it just functions as a home, until of course you look out the window and see the Longmynd and the Clee Hills.”
In 2002 the chapel re-opened and weekly services are now held partly through Andrew’s determination to follow a dream and to keep a slice of history from being confined to the record books.
By David Seadon
