This is the narrative of Steve Oakley and Faye Owen`s involvement with this derelict church site, starting with a reformulated world adventure, becoming a mobile home venture to Jenny Murrell’s campsite next to this site. Their involvement went from distant interest from their Canvey home to their moving to a cottage opposite to make their tending easier.

The church is in Shopland Hall Lane, previously The Chase. It is /was the oldest Norman church in the Rochford Hundred, sister to Sutton Church. They have investigated graves from records of births, deaths and baptisms.

There was a very important brass – one of three – of Serjeant at Arms to King Edward 111, one Thomas de Stapel, now found in Sutton Church. The oldest gravestones are those of William Haker (1639) and two listed graves for type of stone.

The foundations revealed a very small priest`s door. The church was deemed redundant and was somehow demolished without permissions and faculty! The font went to Canewdon; the porch can be seen at St. Thomas’s at Bradwell; the bell (1608, Peter Hawkes) is now with St Chad’s, Vange; the organ is in Sutton Church. Sutton Church is isolated within Tabor land, the farm at Sutton. There are six services per annum.

The demise of the church at Shopland was hastened by gales that damaged the roof in 1930 and 1934 and also a landmine that exploded nearby in the 1940’s. Dennis Brown and Tom Delaney, with others, oversaw the church and grounds. The famous historian of “The Rochford Hundred”, Philip Benton, has a grave and a glass window to him is also found in Sutton. As there is quite a prominent monument raised by the local businessman, Andrew Lewis Utton, it’s worth looking into further.

There is a website at http://www.shoplandchurchyard.co.uk/

The churchyard site is up an unmade road. It has trees around the perimeter and is a mossy moist place with a large complex of old badger sets. Now that it has many gravestones revealed, It will be interesting to see the flora through the seasons along with the fauna.

There are footpaths from Garon’s golf course and from the Wellesley Hospital at the back of the allotments to the Barling Road by Claystreet Farm going south. One could go down Rebels Lane to return to the Rusty Bucket. They hold a walk from Southend to the church site on Good Friday – check it out.

Ron Bates