St. John the Evangelist
The first known church at Shobdon was a timber chapel, built in Anglo Saxon times. The second was a stone church built in the 12th century, the brainchild of Oliver de Merlemond, who employed the knight Bernard to build it for him. A tower was added in the 13th Century. The third and present church consisted of a completely new nave, which was built onto the 13th Century tower, by the Bateman family in 1756.
The original structure was fascinating, mainly for its Romanesque decoration, which connected it to the important Herefordshire school of masonry, and the remains of which can still be seen on the hill above the church. The current church could hardly be more different. Its rather bland exterior gives little clue as to what you will find within : a unique combination of Rococo and Gothic, often called 'Strawberry Hill Gothick', and reflecting the links between the Batemans and Horace Walpole.
It is the striking blue and white interior with its wealth of ornamental arches, lavish pulpit based on the Kent design for York Minster and extensive Gothic detailing that makes Shobdon so unique among churches in Britain.
The Church today forms a vital centre to the community and is one of six churches in theArrowVale Group.
Like all such buildings, the church at Shobdon demands regular maintenance, and periodically major renovations to preserve its beauty for future generations. Current problems include decay and degradation in the transept roofs, and a resulting ingress of water causing damage to the fine plasterwork, stonework spalling and the loss of detail to mouldings and carvings, the tower coming away from the rest of the building, as well as deterioration to the very ornate pulpit. There would be great support too for replacing the Edwardian glass in the east window with the original Georgian glass, much of which is preserved in the north transept.
Some of this work is in hand, but much more needs to be done. As a long term strategy, the Shobdon Church Preservation Trust has been established to set up and manage a trust fund large enough to ensure the future of this remarkable building.
