Church History in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, 11 March 2015

We had a restful night and woke up to the smells of a warm breakfast.  Marilyn prepared Dad a full English breakfast and she made two perfectly poached eggs with white toast and milk for me.  The breakfast room was warm and friendly with a beautiful view of the garden.  In spite of winter temperatures, various plants and vines were green and in bloom.  Another traveler had come in after we had retired to our room last night and was at breakfast with us.  She is a young working lady, taking days off from work so as not to loose them.  She is newly married and has family not too far from here.  She is an actuary for a company and enjoys her work.  She was very friendly and we enjoyed conversation.  She pointed out a few places around the area we may be interested in visiting.

With coats on and the sat nav programed, we headed out on this day's adventure which would take us to places that involved Wilford Woodruff and his mission to England in 1840.

We headed off through the hedgerows.

 Across the hedgerow we spotted a dairy farm and other country homes amid the fields.

Wilford and John Taylor arrived in Liverpool,  11 January 1840, and traveled to Preston.  From there, they parted ways with Taylor going back to Liverpool and Woodruff going south into the Staffordshire area.  

Woodruff was successful in the area and within a few days had baptized a goodly number of saints.  He felt he would be staying in that area for some time and was puzzled when he got the impression he needed to move on.  William Benbow, recently baptized, suggested he come with him to his brother's home in Herefordshire.  The next day they began their journey to the home of John and Jane Benbow, at Hill Farm, near Castle Frome.

The original house at Hill Farm.  

Hill Farm is a working farm.  These sheep are in the field we walked through to the pond.

John and Jane were members of a group who had left the Primitive Methodist Church and organized their own religious group called the United Brethren.  They held their meetings in the hall on John's farm.  Wilford shared his message with John and Jane and others who had gathered to listen, and two days after he arrived, he baptized John and Jane and three of their friends in the pond on Benbow's farm.  John spent most of a day digging out the pond for the baptisms.   Nearly all of the United Brethren were baptized into the church and immigrated to America, helping build up the church the, cross the plains, and settle Salt Lake City and other areas as assigned.

We crossed a style to get to the pond.

From the pond looking back to the house.

Wilford Woodruff was at Hill Farm the early part of March.  Here we were around the same time of year standing at the pond and looking into it.  I thought about how cold it must have been and those converts willingly going in to be baptized. 

Our next stop was in Ledbury.  Ledbury was the market town for the farms and villages that surrounded it in 1840.  This became a base for the missionaries such as Brigham Young and Willard Richards who came to visit Elder Woodruff and join him in his proselytizing.  One day Elder Woodruff was visiting in Ledbury when he was approached by the minister of the Baptist Church there.  Upon receiving an invitation to preach in the chapel, Elder Woodruff did so and baptized several members of the congregation in the font within the chapel.  

I wonder what my Grandpa Croslin would think of a Baptist preacher allowing a Mormon to preach in his church?

The Baptist Church in Ledbury where Wilford Woodruff was invited to preach.  It still is a Baptist Church.

Our tummies were telling us it was lunch time, so we stopped at Tesco and bought sandwich makings and made our way on to Malvern Hills.  We parked in the car park at Herefordshire Beacon and enjoyed lunch.  The weather was overcast and light rain every now and then.  We saw people come and go off the hill and saw signs posted here and there.  We finished the meal and I got out to read the signs.  One was a warning against Sheep Worrying.  It is against the law to let your dog "worry" the sheep.  Bob saw the warden and spoke to him.  He said either trail leads to the same place and takes about an hour.  We decided to make the hike in spite of the high wind, rain, and cold temperature.  (When such choices confront us, we say:  "We better do it because we won't be back here in this life.")

We started out on the path and decided it wouldn't be so bad after all.

The path curved around out of the shelter of the side of the hill and we came to these steps.  And yes, they look like they go forever!  We could feel the wind and we pulled our collars closer.

The path continued up.

Dad decided enough was enough and he would wait for me here.  I continued to climb, bracing the wind.

Onward and upward the trail went.  There were other groups and people hiking it as well.  They passed us like a breeze and were headed down before we got to the top.

 Dad decided to come on up, and so he came.

 The view was wonderful.  We just wished it could have been a clear day.  It was not only cloudy, but there was smoke in the air from burns going on here and there.

The wind about blew us over, but we held our ground and took in the view.  It gave me the feeling of wonder and awe at God's creations.

It was atop Herefordshire Beacon that Wilford Woodruff came often to meditate and gain inspiration.  From its 340 foot advantage point, he could see the villages he had preached in, along with Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester.   It was here where he, Brigham Young, and Willard Richards were inspired to complete the work of getting the Book of Mormon published in England, and to publish a hymnal for the British Saints.  Wilford also came to this spot on his own to meditate and seek inspiration.

We were careful on our way down the trail as it was a bit steep in some places and we did not want to slip or fall.  When we got to the bottom, one of the groups that had started up after us and were already back down, gave us a cheer that we had made it.  That was a neat feeling as I realized Dad and I were the oldest ones on the hill for the afternoon and we did what the young'ns did!

We were both very happy to be back to the car.  We turned the heater on and relished in its warmth.  We continued our journey on to Gadfield Elm.  The United Brethren owned forty-five homes licensed for preaching but only one chapel, at Gadfield Elm, to which John Benbow held title.  When nearly the entire membership of the United Brethren were converted to the LDS Church, Brother Benbow gave the title to Elder Woodruff, making this chapel the first LDS chapel owned by the Church in the British Isles, and the oldest LDS meetinghouse still standing anywhere in the world.

The lizard and I at Gadfield Elm Chapel.

When Brigham Young visited Wilford Woodruff, a special conference was held in the chapel at which time twelve branches of the Church were organized from former units of the United Brethren.

 Beautiful flowers were in bloom around the church.

 There was no one at the chapel when we arrived.  We called the available phone number and the brother gave instructions for using the code to get into the chapel.  We did and were successful in entering.  I opened a Book of Mormon on the lectern and Dad caught the photo.

The day was moving on and Dad wanted to make one more stop before heading back to the room.  We went to the town of Worcester and toured Worcester Cathedral.

Wilford was so impressed with Worcester Cathedral that he and Brigham both toured the building and attended an afternoon service here.  Brigham was captivated by the architecture of this and other British buildings, and years later sent the Salt Lake Temple architect, Truman Angell, on a mission to England to study these find buildings.

Worcester Cathedral is an English medieval cathedral and building was begun by King John in 1084. 

Wilford recorded the following about their visit here:  "We visited the ancient noted splendor of the Worcester Cathedral which surpasses anything for splendor and architecture mine eyes ever beheld....Almost everything about this cathedral from top to bottom is carried out in solid marble...The whole concept is superior to the architecture of the present generation."

 Ceiling

Norman Crypt

Baptismal Font.

The day was coning to an end so we made our way back to the car and then on to our room.  We were wanting more than a sandwich for supper so we checked out the towns we traveled through.  When we thought all was lost, we came upon Beefeater by a hotel at a round about.  We went around and  back the way we came to get to it.  We were pleasantly surprised as it was set up like an American restaurant.  It was busy as well which was an indication the food was good.  We were seated and we placed our order.  Dad enjoyed a steak and I had a jacket potato.

We made our way on back to the room and enjoyed a quiet evening of resting and planning for the next day.