On Wednesday, November 5, we celebrated a special milestone — the 87th anniversary of the laying of the church’s foundation stone.
After the morning service, the congregation gathered outside the church where we sang hymns and held the original trowel used to lay the foundation stone on November 5, 1938.
The trowel bears the inscription:
With this trowel the foundation stone of the church of St. Hilda Warley Woods was laid by The Ven. CE. Hopton, Archdeacon of Birmingham, November 5 1938.
The Venerable Charles Edward Hopton served as Archdeacon of Birmingham from 1915 to 1944. The trowel which he used was recently gifted to the church by the husband of the Archdeacon’s granddaughter, reconnecting the present-day congregation with its founding legacy.