In Shrewsbury, there has been a church dedicated to St Chad’s since early medieval times. In 1788 the old church collapsed into a pile of rubble and a new church was commissioned. The foundation stone was laid on St Chad’s Day, 2 March 1790 and the new church was finally opened on 19th August 1792. Architect George Steuart submitted several designs for the new St Chad’s and a rectangular building was selected. However, due to a misunderstanding a circular building emerged, a design that had been rejected earlier