A NEW book about Bromsgrove’s historic St John’s Church was launched this week.
The 300-page book ‘Fairly Mounted on a Hill’, which features many photos and illustrations, has been written by Simon Henderson, local historian and past church warden.
In order to get the book published, residents were asked to pay a £25 subscription – in return for their donation, they received an invite to the official launch on Tuesday (September 8) at St John’s Church and a copy of the book signed by the author.
The Standard was among those who subscribed and such was the response from the Bromsgrove public, £1,000 was raised for the Friends of St John’s Church, once the publication costs had been covered.
At the launch, Simon spoke about the history of the church and how it was 100, 500 and 800 years ago. It is in fact more than 1,000 years old.
During his speech he said: “It started out as a four-page booklet about the church, but it grew and grew.
“As much as I tried to write about the church, the people of Bromsgrove kept marching into it.”
And he said by the end, rather than being about the bricks and mortar, it was more about the characters who built it, who sheltered in it and those who even brewed beer in it.
He said those who read the book would realise that, despite the different times, there were similarities between Bromsgrove residents now and those who lived in the town hundreds of years ago.
“They had the same sized brain, they thought in the same way as we do and felt the same emotions we do.
“A 14th Century peasant confronted by a lack of food would react in the same way as us if we were desperately hungry.”
Simon thanked everyone for their support, adding: “There has been so much enthusiasm from Bromsgrove people for the book.
“The response has been amazing, both from the congregation of St John’s and local people from further afield – we are so grateful.
“I hope they really enjoy reading the book as much as I did writing it.”
Jo Slade, the Friends of St John’s chairman, said: “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the response from everyone who has subscribed.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to each and every one of them.
“The project has been a massive success and we have a fantastic book at the end of it.”
Call 01527 835734, e-mail [email protected] or www.facebook.com/FriendsStJohnsBromsgrove for more about the book.
