29. The Harley Rectors
The Rector at the time of the rebuilding in 1845 was Rev.John Gibbons who was Rector from 1782 to 1858, a period of 76 years. He also consolidated the glebe lands and enlarged the parsonage building the brick Georgian extension. There is a plaque in the Church in memory of Helen, his wife. He also owned 1 and 2 Glebe Cottages which it is thought were Alms Houses.
Most of the Rectors of Harley have held the post for long periods. Of the 7 rectors before 1563, 2 served for more than 30 years, and 2, as rectors or curates for over 20 years. 9 out of 11 rectors, in the period 1563 -1891 held the post for over 20 years, 2 of them for over 50 years, and 7 died in office.
In view of the close connection between the manor and the church it is surprising that only one of the Rectors, Henry, son of Richard de Harley (Rector 1331- 53) was a close relative of the lord of the manor. Robert de Harley, son of Richard, as previously noted, died in 1349 at the time of the plague. Robert and Henry were therefore brothers. Whether Henry was one of the 7 who died in office is not known, and as his date of death is seemingly not recorded it cannot be presumed that Harry was a victim of the plague but as his rector ship ended only 4 years after the fateful year 1349, it is possibility.
Henry de Harley was one of only three rectors who are known to have been consistently non – resident in Harley. He obtained a licence of absence to study shortly after his institution in 1331.
The list of rectors covers a period of 672 years from 1301 to 1973. The only other Rector of note was Benjamin Jenks, a Theologian, was the author of several theological treatises. He was a native of Eaton in Shropshire, and was educated at Queen’s college Oxford. He was Rector of Harley from 1668 to 1724.
Harley church Registers (extracts from the remaining Register)
There were originally three Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. The existing Register commences in 1745 and ends in 1812. There are two volumes.
Inserted in Volume 2 is a loose paper concerning the rebuilding of the nave of the church at a cost of £550 dated 29th January 1845.
Two earlier Registers commencing 1590 and 1631 have disappeared (have been lost).
A tradition of the village states that they were thrown on the fire by a former Rector in consequence of some dispute that arose about these Registers, or because of his vexation at his inability to read them. It is doubtful if this is true. It seems more probable that, when Harley church was being rebuilt, the Registers were removed to the Rectory, or to the residence of the then churchwarden, and at that time they disappeared, though how and why, nobody can now say.
An account of Harley church Registers etc. can be found in the Shropshire Archaeological Society’s Transactions Vol. iv, pp 329-344
The most important entries in the Register are those relating to the families of Harnage, and of Belswardine, Sprott, Corfield and Lacon.
The church had a clock by 1701. A new one bought in 1814 was restored in 1920. The church had three bells by 1552, which were recast in 1878.
There is a Communion plate, a silver-gilt paten c1480- 1500 and a silver chalice given to the church by Thomas Taylor in 1580. This was ‘carried off’ (stolen?) during the Civil War. It was repurchased (so not stolen) by the churchwardens George Swayne and Richard Corfield after the Restoration round about 1600.
A thankful village
A memorial plaque, inside the church, names 20 men who served in the Great War, WW1. It bears the inscription ‘By the Grace of God, every one of these men returned to the village after the war’. Harley is therefore on the list of ‘Thankful Villages’.
It is the only WW1 Thankful village in Shropshire.
The men’s names are recorded as,
- C. Beddow H. Morris
- J. Bushnell W. Mullard
- W.Hammonds J. Page
- I. Harris W. Preece
- E. Hopkiss W. Drow
- F. Hopkiss H. Drow
- J. Jarrett W.Trumper
- C. Jones H. Trumper
- A. Hughes C. Wright
- F. Morris R.Wright
The name ‘A Thankful Village’ was proposed by Arthur Mee in the 1930s. He was the author of ‘The King’s English’ and also of the ‘Children’s Encyclopedia’.
In 2018 two metal benches were commissioned by a village committee to commemorate Harley as a Thankful Village 100 years after the end of the First World War. The bench was constructed by Melvyn Evans a metal Fabricator/Blacksmith using a laser cut mild steel image of five soldiers heading home which enlarged and replicated a drawing by the author, Allan Howard.
One bench is located outside the Church Porch, the other is sited on land at the front of the Village Hall near the road.
WW2 A sad note. John Colin Preece, a soldier from the village, died in a notorious Japanese POW camp in Sumatra in 1945. A long way from home. There is a memorial plaque to John in the church.
The Yew Tree The large yew tree on the south side of the present church is of interest.
Yew trees are often very old. Theoretically they can live for a very long time because they regenerate themselves by growing new stems on the outer side of their trunks.
During research for the book The Trees of Shropshire by Andrew Morton a large yew tree in the churchyard of Clun Church was carbon dated at just over 5000 years old, with the remains of a much older yew surrounding it, containing burials.
The Harley yew does not look to be anything like that age but it does have a substantial trunk with a circumference of at least 5.0 m
So if it was planted when the church was rebuilt in 1845, then it is only 176 years old (in 2021). This appears to be too young.
If it was planted when the first Norman church was built just prior to 1300, then it would be just over 700 years old. This is very possible.
Remnant Banks
The areas south and west of the church within the churchyard (the Tower and Porch sides) appear to have remnant banks. These measure around 1 metre above the area’s natural, original ground level as seen in the floor level of the church, No 3 Harley and the Rectory lawn. As these banks appear to be man-made they must be ancient ie. prehistoric.
The Research Appendix contains measured sections of the banks, with more information and an investigation.
Origins of the church site
The present church stands on an approximately round site, which is a sign of great age.
The baptismal font appears to be Saxon. Therefore the late 13th century Norman church, as previously argued, would have been preceded by an Anglo Saxon church.
On arrival in about 800 AD or earlier, it is possible that the Anglo Saxons saw a woodland clearing, as their name Harley suggests. This would have been significant to them with echoes of their pre Christian past. The Saxons however, were Christian when they arrived in Shropshire. They would therefore have needed a much stronger motive to build a church on the site than this. Ritual practices in sacred groves would have been firmly banished to a pagan past.
Christianity was well established in the area. A Monastery was built in Much Wenlock in 794 AD, only two miles away and with assumed strong links to Harley.
So what determined the choice, the incentive, for siting their church on this site?
Firstly, there was the very powerful instruction contained in the Papal Decree or Instruction by letter. So they would have had to build, if possible on an old temple site.
Therefore, everything points to the very high probability that the woodland clearing contained or displayed a Neolithic Ring Ditch, that is, a circular formation of banks and ditches, forming the remnants of an old Temple Henge. Long out of use and favour, but with the remnants, it is assumed, still prominent after about 1500 years. Remember that the Neolithic Ring Ditch on land adjacent to the Meole Brace Retail Park in Shrewsbury, is over 4000 years old and is still very visible at the present time.
Lastly, it is worth making the point that it is only the presence of the remains of a former Neolithic Temple, as described, which would have provided the necessary reason and motive for building the Saxon church on this site.
The present church has, on two sides, the West and the South, what appear to be low remnant banks. Are these the last remains of a very pre historic past?
For this possibility there is supporting circumstantial and physical evidence. See the Research Appendix.
That habitation is proven in the Domas area in the Neolithic era is a strong supporting factor. It can be said with certainty that the settlers would have constructed and used a timber henge for a considerable time, probably centuries, into the Bronze Age. The special elevated location of the church site in relation to Domas by the river, is also relevant in their choice of site.
If the above is correct, the site of Harley church, has been in use for worship over a period of at least 4000 years. More information in the Research Appendix.
Against this, there is scant evidence to support the theory that Christian churches were built on pre-Christian temple sites. In England there are only a few recorded examples, one of these being the Greek Orthodox Church located off Oteley Road, east of Shrewsbury as mentioned earlier, is only a mere 10 miles away. Another is Knowlton which is a church within a stone circle, along with Cranbourne Chase, Dorset (a Norman ruin). Within a much wider historical background there are many examples in Europe and the Middle East where the Christian church appropriated and built over pre-existing pagan sites of various kinds in order to overthrow their use but also in an attempt to retain their power.
Against this, other writers stress that old henge sites continued to retain their influence long after they had fallen out of use and fashion.
