Shobdon Church Preservation Trust

The Church of St John the Evangelist
Shobdon, Herefordshire

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.