An 8 year journey, but we did it!

It started in 2017 with a meeting that told us St John’s might soon be on the national At Risk register – we knew we had to act to repair the windows and somehow make the church sustainable for the future as a heritage building: a small congregation responsible for a church that the much larger community held in its heart. After 8 years, we have now reached the end of what became the Beacon on the Hill project. Not only are the windows, clock and organ all repaired, but, while it remains the active parish church, the building now includes a unique Heritage Gateway to the Shropshire Hills National Landscape including community facilities; we’ve made the building more accessible; and we’ve done all this working with the community and in the most planet-friendly way we could, as well as improving the churchyard for wildlife. With fundraising and grants totalling more than £500,000 over the 8 years, we are incredibly grateful to all who have contributed. To anyone who has supported our events and activities, lottery players, our largest funders, Invest Shropshire and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with many smaller funding bodies too, we say a big THANK YOU!

The building is open to visit any day between 9am and 5pm, but you are particularly invited to a special afternoon when you’ll be able to see all we’ve done, and see the clock and hear the organ being played:  Sunday 14th December from 1.30pm to 3pm, and you don’t need to leave then - you can join our 3pm Carol Service at which Cleobury Mortimer Concert Brass will be playing. And of course there will be refreshments. Come along to either or both!  We look forward to seeing you.

Looking forward, we’re planning activities for 2026 from walks to workshops, pancakes to a quiz and much more. Knit and Natter continues on the 3rd Monday of each month at 2.30 in St John’s, and if you’d like to use the space or bring a group to visit the new Heritage Gateway, or get involved in any other way, do get in touch