St Chad's Church occupies a prominent position in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire. The current church building was built in 1792, and with its distinctive round shape and high tower it is a well-known landmark in the town. It faces The Quarry area of parkland, which slopes down to the River Severn. The church is a Grade I listed building. The motto of the church is "open doors, open hearts, and open minds". This indicates the aspiration of the church to be a welcoming church, involved in the community, and on a collective journey seeking after God. Charles Darwin was baptised in St Chad's church in 1809, and as a young boy attended the church with his mother Susannah. In 2010, the church became a member of the Greater Churches Group. History The present building replaced an earlier church, dedicated to St Chad, situated near College Hill; this was a 13th-century building which was largely destroyed when the central tower collapsed in 1788. All that remains of the earlier building is a side chapel surrounded by a disused churchyard which also contains an exposed crypt. Scottish architect George Steuart was commissioned to build a new church, and he submitted several preliminary designs. Due to a misunderstanding, Steuart went on to complete a circular plan which was not the Parish Church committee's preferred design; however, time was limited, and this was the design which was built. The foundation stone was laid on St Chad's day, 2 March 1790. The church was built of white Grinshill stone. The building work was supervised by John Simpson (who later worked on several projects with Thomas Telford, including the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct). Internally, the gallery was supported by slender cast iron pillars, an early example of cast iron used for this purpose; they were made by William Hazledine, a pioneering ironmaster who had a foundry in Shrewsbury. (There are memorials to Simpson and Hazledine on either side of the sanctuary arch of the church.) The church was opened on 19 August 1792. The sanctuary window is a copy in stained glass of a triptych by Rubens in Antwerp Cathedral; it was made in the 1840s by David Evans, a local stained glass artist. The original pulpit, which obscured the altar, was removed in 1888; it was replaced by a copper and brass pulpit in Arts and Crafts style, placed to one side and giving a