Public Lecture: Sermons in Our Stones — The Local Birthplace of As You Like It

There is a remarkable cultural phenomenon happening across Shropshire and its borders this summer.

William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy, As You Like It, is being performed a striking number of times by different theatrical troupes.

What is driving this sudden explosion of Shropshire interest in this specific play?

To answer that question, Tim Ashton will deliver a vital lecture on Saturday 11th July 2026 at 7:00 PM in the Weston under Redcastle Village Hall.

[Click here for ticket link]

The funds raised will assist Weston Church with its local fundraising, care, and community presence.

The momentum behind this summer’s theatrical explosion reached a historic milestone earlier this year: on May 8th, 2026, the Shropshire Youth Theatre (SYT) staged a landmark production of As You Like It at Soulton Hall.

Following years of careful research and preparation, this presentation was a momentous event: the first-ever recorded performance of the play on the actual ground that breathes life into its history.

The core of the lecture reveals a profound historical reality: the parish we inhabit—and the specific geographical corridor running from Soulton Hall to Hawkstone—is the birthplace of As You Like It.

While traditional narratives confine the “Forest of Arden” to a small pocket of Warwickshire, archival and architectural evidence tells a deeper story.

This is a landscape where the land and the poetry fit together perfectly:

• The Source Material: The primary source text for the play, Rosalynde, was written by Thomas Lodge. A crucial archival document known as the Soulton Rental bears the side-by-side signatures of Sir Roland Hill and Thomas Lodge’s father, proving that the author spent his youth interacting with this exact Shropshire landscape—which he explicitly described as a “fair valley, compassed with mountains.”
• The Family Connection: Sir Roland Hill (c. 1492–1561), the Tudor polymath who held the Soulton and Hawkstone estates, was a relative by marriage to Mary Arden, Shakespeare’s mother.

• The Fictional Tribute: The moral anchor of the play is a deceased patriarch named Old Sir Rowland. This character is a direct, affectionate tribute to Sir Roland Hill, honoring his legacy as a protector of culture, literature, and social harmony during the dangerous years of the Tudor era. In the text, the Duke affirms this powerful memory, matching the elevated cliff and cave environment of our local landscape:

  “If that you were the good Sir Rowland’s son, / As you have whisper’d faithfully you were, / And as mine eye doth his effigies witness / Most truly limn’d and living in your face, / Be truly welcome hither: I am the duke / That loved your father: the residue of your fortune, / Go to my cave and tell me.”

Attendees will discover how specific natural features visible across the parish today are written directly into the dialogue of the play:

• The Landscape Settings: The text carefully places Rosalind’s cottage as being “West of this place, down in the neighbour bottom,” while characters interact closely with domestic settings, noting, “O, sir, very well; here in your orchard.”

• The Terrain: Shakespeare marks the local topography by describing an oak whose “antique root peeps out upon the brook that brawls along this wood.”

• The Philosophy of the Place: The history od Old Sir Rowland’s activities at Soulton were, just like th retreat in the plat, a strategic survival of important ideas during times of political chaos, captured in the play’s most famous observation of nature:

  “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”

• The Pavement Patterns: The ancient, geometric paving stones at Soulton Hall record a “Dance of Eight” that mirrors the climax of the comedy, where characters celebrate a return to harmony: “Here’s eight that must take hands / To join in [wedding] bands.”

The 2026 Summer Performance Calendar

The exceptional volume of regional performances this summer serves as a widespread celebration of this local heritage.

The landscape that inspired the play is transforming into the very stage where it comes alive.

Local residents have multiple opportunities to experience the production across the region, matching the sentiment of the characters who declared,

“…I like this place. / And willingly could waste my time in it.”

 

Venue	Date & Time	Performance Group / Details
Hawkstone Park Follies   (Weston-under-Redcastle, SY4 5JY)	Thursday, 16th July 2026   7:00 PM	Performed by The HandleBards. A bicycle-powered, outdoor production set against the dramatic cliffs and grottoes that mimic the “abandoned caves” of the text.
Dudmaston Hall   (Shropshire, WV15 6QN)	Thursday, 6th August 2026   7:00 PM	An outdoor evening performance in the beautiful grounds of the National Trust estate.
Moseley Old Hall   (Wolverhampton, WV10 7HY)	Saturday, 15th August 2026   7:00 PM	Located just over the county border, perfect for a weekend open-air theatre outing.
Soulton Hall   (Wem, SY4 5FB)	Sunday, 30th August 2026   3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Performed by The Whole Pack Theatre in the Epidaurus Court, offering a direct homecoming where the characters face the actual Soulton Wood on the horizon.

Supporting Weston Church

First and foremost, this upcoming lecture is a charitable endeavor. All support and proceeds from the evening will directly benefit the financial needs and community care initiatives of Weston Church.

By gathering at the Village Hall, attendees will not only uncover the hidden history linking William Shakespeare to our immediate landscape, but will also provide meaningful support to the ongoing preservation and local care provided by the parish church.

Event Summary:

• What: Historical Lecture by Tim Ashton

• Where: Weston under Redcastle Village Hall

• When: Saturday 11th July 2026 at 7:00 PM

• Purpose: Raising awareness of local Shakespearean roots and supporting the funds of Weston Church.