The Church

We are welcoming place, where you can come and just be, or come in need and receive help, or come and be involved.

Our tradition is open Evangelical, using both traditional hymns and contemporary songs, we are relatively light on liturgy but remain recognisably Church of England.

Alongside our regular worship, people in the parish come to us for Christian Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals.
The church is also a focus for a lot of other activities that go on, and you are welcome to explore these pages to find something or get in touch to suggest something new.

The Church Building

The Church of Mary the Virgin, Shaw cum Donnington was built in first half of the 19th century on a site of at least two previous places of worship.
The style is late Norman/early English.
The chancel roof has recently been retiled. Gutters and down pipes have been replaced or repaired as appropriate. Exterior pathways and lighting were replaced in 2018 and the interior lighting was upgraded in 2019.

The interior is light and airy with a wide centre aisle and fixed pews.  Stained glass windows are found on the north, south and east walls and a Butterfield-decorated chancel and sanctuary.

There is a large car park on the opposite side of Church Road.

The Church Centre

Our Church Centre is modern, well equipped two storey building with disabled access and facilities, a semi-professional catering kitchen, toilets, and two function rooms. It also has an intimate and peaceful counselling room upstairs.
The Church Centre can be hired by groups and individuals, e.g. for children’s birthday parties, family reunions, retirement get togethers, baptism receptions, company meetings and training days.

To book the Church Centre, please contact the Church Office.

Additional information:

The Parish

The parish of St Mary’s, Shaw cum Donnington is on the North East side of Newbury, about 7 square miles comprising the villages of Donnington and Shaw, along with the area known as Clay Hill. The river Lambourn runs through the parish, Vodafone’s Headquarters is here, along with 5 schools, one and a half golf clubs, a ruined castle that was significant in the English Civil War. About 10,000 people live in the parish.
On the map to the right (from acny.org.uk), local church buildings are shown as numbers in lilac diamonds: we are number 2