Since Jim Hurford (my Dad) and his dear friend, Ruby Edwards retired as church wardens, after many years of dedicated service to Wheathill and Loughton Parish ( in Shropshire), it is now part of Ditton Priors parish.

Loughton is a hamlet of only eleven households and services have been few and far between, although the Harvest and Carol services are always packed, and are an important get-together for the community. The earliest record of a chapel at this site is 1291, and even now, as the only facility in the village, fund-raising events for the church have been the mainstay in forging community friendships and bringing people together. Harvest suppers and the annual BBQ were the highlights and the cake stall at Burwarton show and church lottery, important fundraisers. There has always been a team of cleaners (including my late Mum, who loved this wonderful place) and a strong commitment to preserve and care for our precious little building. Since the damage to the floor last Autumn, we need to think about raising money for repairs and establishing the long term future of this lovely building. Unused and inaccessible buildings further deteriorate very quickly. We wish to see the church restored at the heart of the community. The repairs (which have been approved) to the floor and missing roof tiles should prevent further deterioration and enable us to use this invaluable asset to our community.

The beautiful yew (which I used to get inside as a child) grows on the east side of the present 17th century church. In the second image it is seen as painted by Rev Williams in 1791. The painting is held by Shropshire Archives .

https://www.ancient-yew.org/userfiles/file/Loughton%202019.pdf

Second picture -Copyright © Shropshire Archives-Rev Williams - 1791

(Mam & Dad actually got married in Callwen Church, Pen y Cae, but I wanted to share this lovely photograph of their wedding. The other photo of Mam is her doing her fundraising bit for Loughton Church at the Burwarton Show tent selling cakes and refreshments.)

Appearing in the Wheatland News Nov 22 sadly hasn't drummed up any more donations, but will persevere. Unfortunately the December carol service was unable to take place on 16th due to the poor state of the floor, so we need to keep going.