The Old Tower

The old tower which stands in the churchyard at St John the Baptist Church is all that remains of the first 'Chapel of Ease' built on this site in 1828. Prior to this Chapel being built parishioners belonged in Droxford parish but because Droxford is a fair distance from Shedfield, parishioners used to worship at either Wickham or Bishops Waltham. Shedfield became an Ecclesiastical Parish in 1843. The chapel eventually seated 272 parishioners but after 40 years the roof of the chapel began to leak and at a vestry meeting in 1873, Frederick Townsend proposed that a new church should be built in its place.

By the late 1980s the Old Tower was in a state of serious disrepair, and posed a danger from falling masonry, etc.

Largely at the initiative of the late Eve Evans, a previous verger and sacristan at St John's, an imaginative project was launched to renovate the tower, with wildlife in mind. With the help of several dedicated parishioners and the support of local a architect of the Hampshire Bat Group, the Shedfield Old Tower Conservation Society (SOTCS) was founded in 1992.

This restoration project was entirely independent from the church. Financial support was given by many local organisations including the Hampshire Buildings Bureau and the Shedfield Parish and Winchester City Councils. Following a major fundraising effort, the breakthrough for the completion of the project was a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Old Tower is open to the public several times a year, and by arrangement. It continues to be maintained by the SOTCS, who actively seek new membership.