St John's

While standing at the rear of St John’s I am viewing the trees and grass, unfortunately for the graveyard due to the warm sunny sometimes wet summer the vegetation has overtaken the efforts of the few volunteers we have to keep it in check. However, for the birds, other wildlife and people wishing to visit a quiet natural area not far from Dudley town centre it’s a very calming place.The grave area only extends so far down towards the bottom of St Johns boundary. A start has been made to make the bottom large area into a nature reserve.To try and imagine the size of the area that St John’s occupies is to visualise a foot ruler, 12 inches. What you can see from these pictures is 1 inch of that ruler the other 11 inches have to be explored to see the full extent of St Johns, around the last 4 inches is the proposed nature reserve.We have the equipment to work on the grounds but unfortunately, we are short of manpower to carry out maintenance, i.e. keeping the paths clear of vegetation and the graves etc.In the past we have uncovered a lot of the graves, some families have found their relative's burial place, which they and ourselves are very pleased about and they regularly place flowers and maintain their relatives grave.We could do with a little army to join the existing volunteers in helping to keep nature from taking over again. Let us know if you can help us on a regular basis.If you are in the area of Kates Hill stop off awhile, pay us a visit you’re more than welcome and have a gentle stroll around the graveyard.Unfortunately due to manpower we have limited opening hours of the church but If we are open the kettle will be on and biscuits available.

Home to the grave of the legendary “Tipton Slasher” aka William Perry. Former English Bareknuckle king who is celebrated with a statue in nearby Tipton. The grave is in the middle of the cemetery - next to a holly tree.