St Laurence's Church, Ludlow — Attraction in Ludlow

I'll start by saying that the church itself is beautiful, grand and wonderful to look around. The place is amazing and would highly recommend seeing! Had this just been my experience I would say no more and leave it at a 5* review.

However myself, my husband and father went up the church tower and paid the £5 per person. (I thought it was weird that the cashier mentioned that if we wanted to gift aid this we would have to pay £5.50 each which is not my understanding of the Gift Aid system but I could be wrong)

The tower is very cramped but this is to be expected - and lots of steps! This was fine but as we were coming up we met another couple who kindly went back up to go to a passing point. This was fine as we were able to work this out - but it struck me at this point that there was absolutely no induction or quick informal chat about the protocol regarding this situation, or any other health and safety advice. Given that this is accessible to anyone who pays I feel it would be of great benefit to the church itself to just quickly summarise some health and safety advice to all those who go up so you aren't left feeling the way we felt when we weren't sure what to do at that point.

The top was lovely and we had some biscuits and water and took our time and enjoyed our £5s worth each of the view and pleasant surroundings.

Some time later, a voice called to us from the steps. The lady was very abrupt and said that we needed to come back down right now as they were closed. We were never made aware at ANY point that they closed at 5pm or else we would have made the conscious effort to get back in time. She explained she had tried ringing us - they had taken a phone number when we paid but didn't explain why that was or what it would be used for and that meant that the phone number she had was on silent and didn't know we had been called.

She was very rude and when my father said he is just packing his bag he will be down now, she had the audacity to ask him "what are you packing up? What belongings?" And when he said some biscuits and water, she said we were having a picnic in a sarcastic manner. If this is a problem, this is something they should include in the (non existent) induction but we weren't told otherwise at any point.

We then walked down behind her and she made comments about us being lucky to have not been locked in. My father said that wouldn't go down well in the local press and she responded with "wouldn't it?" She continued to make comments about our luck not being locked on the roof all night, even after she was informed that a member of our party is pregnant.

It made us feel extremely unwelcome and had completely tainted my opinion of this church and the people who work there. I would not return or support this place again due to how we...

A large and impressive parish church that is hidden from view in the narrow streets that immediately surround it - although its 135 foot tower can be seen from virtually everywhere else in Ludlow! Was welcomed by a very friendly gentleman who told me a lot about its history. It originally dates from the 11th century and was greatly enriched by the town's wealthy wool merchants in the 15th century. I was particularly impressed with the skilfully carved misericords depicting both everyday scenes and the mythical creatures that were very real to people living in medieval times. The stone figures on the altar screen are magnificent and there's also some beautiful medieval stained glass. A few info panels around the church including one about Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's brother, whose heart is said to be buried here. There's a café where you can get cakes and light snacks, and a friendly and well...

This church is a fascinating building full of history across hundreds of years. It remains an important place of worship and is also a significant amenity that sits at the heart of Ludlow centre. It offers its visitors an insight into the lives of previous citizens and the wider history of the area. The volunteer staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the church and there is a small shop and café allowing visitors to linger a while and soak up the atmosphere of this fabulous building. It's also worth taking a trip to the top of the tower to enjoy the views over the Shropshire countryside, and also hear the peal of bells from the carillon at certain times of the day. Definitely worth a visit. Entry is free, and there is a small charge to climb the tower to the roof...