Volunteer spirit revives site of Jackfield's haunted church

But now a group of volunteers is working to spruce up the site of one of Shropshire's more unusual churches and tell some of the fascinating stories associated with it and the people still buried there, who include victims of a 19th century cholera epidemic.

Jackfield's Red Church was a place of worship under which the ground really did move, becoming so unstable that it had to be abandoned and eventually demolished.

The 18th century St Mary’s Church was built on a knoll near Broseley and received its name because of the reddish tint of its brick.

There was folklore attached to it, including of a ghost which kept pulling it down during building work until its alignment was changed. Left unused for many decades, the building was demolished in the early 1960s.

Nevertheless it remains a historic site and last resting place of hundreds of people, and the deteriorating appearance of it has led to locals deciding to take action.

Graham Hollox, of Jackfield, said: "Basically a group of us – all volunteers – felt disgusted that the old churchyard had been allowed to get into the very disrespectful overgrown state, so we decided to get together as a properly constituted group, Friends of the Red Church, to see if we could improve the situation."

Graham, who is secretary of the Friends, added: "We've started to clear up the site helped with small grants from Broseley Town Council and the Gorge Parish Council and assistance from Caring for God’s Acre.

"We are developing stories of the history of the church and the people buried there, and the first collection is in a pamphlet called Tales from The Red Church.

"This tiny churchyard, which measures 50 yards by 25 yards, is clearly of historical importance. The 1,200 or more burials include persons from all walks of life – such as bargemen trading along the River Severn and those in the plethora of coal, iron, clay mining and manufacturing industries at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Some are of national significance.

"Nearby is the aftermath of the cholera pandemic of 1832 to 1834 where over 40 persons are buried in a mass grave. The stories are increasing interest not just locally in Shropshire, but far afield from descendants in Queensland, New Zealand and California.

"The churchyard lies alongside an old footpath between Broseley and Jackfield, so we feel that it could be interesting for visitors to the area.

"There's a lot more to do. Respecting appropriate legal restrictions and conditions as the site remains consecrated, we're reliant on permission from the Diocese of Hereford for removing diseased trees, clearing up damaged memorials, outlining the church foundations with a small wall, and so on.

"We await completion of that painfully slow approval process, the need for which we find very surprising as the site has been ignored by its owners for over 60 years. After that we’re going to have to do some serious fundraising to be able to carry out our planned renovations."

Graham said Bridgnorth District Council used to be responsible for the maintenance of the churchyard but it passed on to Shropshire Council when that new unitary authority was created.

"It is difficult to understand how the council has managed to ignore maintaining the site."

Despite a meeting with a council chief agreeing on action in September, nothing had been done, Graham said.

"It is extraordinarily difficult to get replies from the council. It seems as if there is a culture of complacency – ignoring communications and failure to respond to emails in a reasonable time."

However on this front it seems things may be about to improve, as in response to Graham's criticisms a Shropshire Council spokesman said: “Work will be undertaken to improve the area as there are some trees that are dangerous and need to be removed.

“We have confirmed to Mr Hollox that we will be undertaking this work and are currently finalising the details before starting.”

Details researched by the Friends show that the church was completed in 1767, but subsidence from earlier mining meant continual repairs were needed. In 1862 it was partially closed because of the lack of structural safety, and a new St Mary's Church (known as the Blue Church) was built nearer the river in Jackfield.

In 1885 the churchyard, where over 1,200 people had been laid to rest, was closed, but remains consecrated, and in the 1930s the last service was held. There followed dereliction and vandalism and final demolition, for which the Friends give the date of July 1961.

With its spooky reputation, it is perhaps not that surprising that the Red Church was the scene of a failed hoax that made headlines in October 1949.

The pranksters were revealed many years later as local lads Doug and Max Jones when their sister Iris let the cat out of the bag in 2001.

The Jones family lived by the church, at Wynde Cottage, Jackfield, and the pair decided to play the joke on some folk from Birmingham who were staging a ghost vigil.

“Doug and Max were in their teens, or around 20," Iris, then aged 72, was to recall.

"Doug, the eldest, had just come back out of the navy. They had heard about all these people going up to the church to sit and wait for the ghost. It was always a big joke with us.

“They thought they would give them a thrill, so they got one of my mum’s old dresses. It was a darkish colour – mum hadn’t got a light one – so they got something to make the dress white. I can picture them now stirring this bucket of whitening up trying to make the dress light. My mum called them silly monkeys.

“They fixed some string or wire to the tower, and went down to the field. There are houses there now. They were going to pull it down the string at midnight. But these boys from Broseley got up the tower and found it just before they were able to pull it.”