Friends of Hughley Church


St John the Baptist Church

Hughley

Shropshire

With kind permission of Robin Shaw 'Housman Society'

With kind permission of Robin Shaw
'Housman Society'

Donations

If you would like to make a donation in support of our cause please contact the Treasurer, by e-mail at hkjobber@ukonline.co.uk he will give you the relevant details so that you can send a cheque made payable to ‘The Friends of Hughley Church’.

We would like to assure you that all donations (however small) will be gratefully received and will go to preserve St John the Baptist Church, for future generations. A list of donors and sponsors will be collated and publicised (with your consent) in our fundraising literature in due course.

Diary of Events

  •  25th October 2008              
    8.00- 12.15 Fund raising stall -
    Wenlock Corn Exchange (donations welcome)
  • November 2008                   
    Taize candlelit Service (date tbc)
  •  December 2008                  
    Christingle Service- (date tbc)
  • 24th December 2008           
    8pm Christmas Service- mulled wine
    & mince pies                          

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Where is it ?

St John the Baptist church is located in the village of Hughley which lies about 5 miles to the southwest of Much Wenlock and is part of the South Shropshire hills area, designated in 1959 as an area of outstanding natural beauty. Hughley nestles in the valley of Apedale, which refers to the large number of apiaries kept by the priory in monastic times in this area.  It is bordered to the south by Wenlock Edge and is separated from its neighbouring settlements of Kenley and Church Preen by Hughley Brook and its tributaries which drain North East from Longville in the Dale to the Severn at Sheinton. 

Clock face on St John the Baptist Church, Hughley, Shropshire
St John the Baptist Church, Hughley, Shropshire Inside St John the Baptist Church, Hughley, Shropshire


The church of St John the Baptist, Hughley is one of a number of ancient churches in the locality named St Johns, but is perhaps best known through A.E. Housman's stanza “Hughley Steeple” from his collection of poems ‘ A Shropshire Lad’,

 "The vane on Hughley steeple
Veers bright, a far-known sign,
And there lie Hughley people,
And there lie friends of mine.
Tall in their midst the tower
Divides the shade and sun,
And the clock strikes the hour
And tells the time to none."

A.E.Housman

 Whilst Housman is perhaps the writer most closely associated with Shropshire, when he wrote 'A Shropshire Lad,' in 1896 he had never actually visited the county. The cycle of poems was in part, inspired by the views of Shropshire's "blue-remembered hills" from his home in Bromsgrove.

Hughley Village   Disused Railway Line on Wenlock Edge  Hughley Open Fields  Hughley Smithy  Kenley Common


Housman's evocation of the county is romantic and idealised, he name-drops with little regard for topographical accuracy and as you can see “Hughley Steeple” is actually a church without steeple, albeit it has a bell tower. But somehow his idealised ‘mindscape’ does not seem to matter. The world he created lives on in his poems and is reflected still in the rolling beauty of Shropshire and its ancient places. It is fitting that he is buried in the graveyard of St Lawrence's Church in Ludlow.

Kenley Fields   Mill Farm Caravan Park  The Mill at Hughley  The Spring  View of Hughley looking towards harley and Kenley Common

The plight of Hughley (church) "Steeple"

Today this beautiful and historic Grade 1 listed church believed to date from the 12th Century, is in need of major repairs to the roof and tower (and if we are lucky we may even get a steeple!). Without undertaking the repairs the church is likely to close.

We are a small village of 18 households and need to raise a considerable sum of money in the region of £100,000. We hope to receive grant aid from English Heritage, which will go some way to meeting our goal. However a condition of grant aid is that the parish contributes 10% of the total. Approximately £10,000!

We have put together a programme of fundraising events/activities throughout the next 12-18 months, which will be publicised in the local press and on this site and we would welcome your support.

If you could come along, bring your friends, family and anyone interested in preserving the heritage of Shropshire you will be made very welcome. Please come and visit this beautiful church, take time to appreciate the wonderful space, and read the information display, which tells you more about the locality, the church and our progress in the attempt to save it. Please also sign our visitors book.