St John's and the Area's Rich History

5th November 1605

Not far away is Holbeche House a mansion located in Kingswinford, now part of Dudley but earlier in Staffordshire. In 1605 after the botched Gunpowder Plot some members on the run were holed up in the mansion where they were found by the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester, a shooting fight started ending with them either being killed or captured.

'Kates Hill', is a post-medieval name that seems to have been used for part of the hill that was originally called Cawney Hill which is the highest point at 823ft in Dudley, it's just a few hundred yards from St Johns and it's believed that’s were the Hill part of Kates Hill came from.

Civil War 1648

A few years later in 1648 Kates Hill was the scene of chaos when the parliamentarians used it as their base in the Civil War against King Charles I. As a result of it's history many roads in the area are named in honour of parliamentary figures from that era and afterwards, including Oliver Cromwell (Oliver Close and Cromwell Street) and Robert Peel (Peel Street).

It is thought that from the site of Cromwell Street, Oliver Cromwell fired his cannons at the royalist garrison that was Dudley's Norman Castle.

As the Hill is 823ft and Dudley Castle 730ft the parliamentarians were in a good strategic position for Cromwell to fire his cannons at the royalist garrison that was Dudley's Norman Castle.

1830's

The area remained rural until around the 1830's then Kates Hill started to be developed as a residential area. During the 1830's a large number of houses were built for people moving to the Black Country in hope of getting jobs in the ever-growing number of factories and coal-pits that were being created in the area at this time.

Two churches were built in Dudley at the same time and to similar designs by William Bourne, St John's and St James's, at Eve Hill. The drawing picture used at the top is the only one we have showing the castellations on the tower that have been removed since being built.

1840's

In 1840, St John's Parish Church was opened with a church school next door being built soon afterwards. St James also had a school built across the road, which was dismantled and rebuilt in the Black Country Living Museum, St James's School now demonstrate lessons and school life from those days. Opened in 1842 for pupils aged 5–11 closed and relocated October 1990.

All around St John's Church during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, hundreds of houses had been built, despite this Kates Hill was still surrounded by a considerable amount of farmland.

1910's The Great War

But this generally rural scene in 1914 started to disappear 1915 onwards, as hundreds of council houses were built covering a vast area to accommodate families who were being rehoused. The very first council houses in Dudley being completed by 1918 consisting of more than 300 houses.

As the Great War had ended in 1918 most of the roads were named after British heroes including Kitchener Road (Herbert Kitchener), Cavell Road (Edith Cavell) and Haig Road (Douglas Haig).

At first St John's did not have a Lychgate. It was built after the Great War paid for by public subscription as a memorial to those lost in that War. Such was the enormous loss of life of Kates Hill men, suffering took place in every household.

2000 to the Present Day

Due to safety fears St John's closed 2002 and the congregation moved across the road into the parish hall. In the years after the church's closure, "St John's Church Preservation Group", whose patron is local historian Professor Carl Chinn, campaigned for the church to be repaired and reopened.

The campaign to reopen started in 2007 it was found to be structurally safe and repairable in 2008. The church was leased to the Group in 2016 and is undergoing gradual restoration.

The building has Anglican Christian worship up to 6 times a year and private prayer. To be developed as a visitor destination with historic church, café, extensive and beautiful churchyard, and adjoining nature reserve with nature trails, community orchard and picnic areas, plus community centre.

Fantastic News. St John's Award MBE

It was announced 2nd June 2020 in the London Gazette on the anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, we have the honour of being awarded the The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, for outstanding achievement by groups of volunteers. The award is equivalent to the MBE.