EVERY now and then, you might espy an oddly worded sign along the busy Leominster to Brecon road.

At times, these notices near to a small country church, grab attention with promises of carpentry, chronicles or wedding bells, and the ever-constant prospect of lashings of coffee and cake.

The curious visitor will discover that the tiny population of Sarnesfield has once again been busily baking on behalf of the parish and its church of St Mary’s. Small it might be, but this is a spot which positively reverberates with history, and a succession of annual, themed fund-raising open weekends rejoice in that past.

Sarnesfield was home to the celebrated 17th century ‘Architector’, John Abell, who was responsible for some of the finest half-timbered buildings in the region.

Renowned for his fine civic buildings, including town and market halls in Brecon, Leominster and Kington, as well as schools at Kington and Weobley, John Abell carried out major works at Abbey Dore in 1634 where he converted the ruined monastic church into a new parish church for Viscount Scudamore.

No-one is certain where the Abell family lived in Sarnesfield, but his final resting place – he was buried in January 1674 at the remarkable age of 97 - is the solid tombstone beside the church porch. Noted as the most celebrated master carpenter and architect of his time, his tomb is carved with a self-composed epitaph and illustrated with compass, rule, square and an hourglass, not to mention his two wives.

Abell lived in turbulent times, stained not least by religious persecution, and he was twice indicted as a recusant. At Sarnesfield Court, the Monington family was known to shelter itinerant Jesuit priests who would say Mass in the private chapel in the house. It’s believed that Abell may have known the Catholic martyr, poor Richard Cadwallader, who died a particularly brutal death in Leominster in 1610.

During the Civil War, at the siege of Hereford in 1645, he was able to design and build emergency gunpowder and flour mills within the city walls. The siege was lifted by King Charles 1st and it is recorded that Abell was praised as ‘one of His Majesty’s Carpenters’ which may explain how, down the years, he has become known as the King’s Carpenter – a title for which there is no known evidence however.

Into this rich mix of history and heritage has come 63-year-old Roger Marshall, who inherited the 1,700-acre Sarnesfield estate acquired by his great-grandfather in the late 19th century. Friends and neighbours might make light references to the ‘local squire’, but Roger’s not having any of that.

Once a professional cricketer, Roger worked in marketing at the London Business School and contract publishing in Brighton, until as he explains, “They pointed a finger at me, and I ducked slightly!” His cousin, the late Richard Marshall, had left the estate to Roger’s father, who was content to remain living in Sussex. So Roger arrived at Sarnesfield, where he found himself responsible for a rural estate and as patron of St Mary’s Church.

“I don’t think ‘local squire’ is quite right at all,” he laughs. “The farm tenancies are long established, terribly stable, and I just do what they tell me to do! Everyone’s been very welcoming.”

Roger’s ancestors lived in Sarnesfield Court, an elegant mansion demolished in 1957. All that remains is the fine stable block, converted into a house, the handsome grounds and remnants of the walled garden. “My great-grandfather, George William Marshall, was lucky to have had an inheritance from his godfather and this enabled him to buy the estate,” says Roger. “Although a barrister, his great passion was genealogy. He loved living in the country and as a founder of the Parish Records Society he was able to live in Sarnesfield while travelling widely in this part of the country, recording parish registers and working on family trees.”

Anyone who has visited Sarnesfield Church during the series of open weekends will have noted the familiar aprons worn by women helpers on tea and cake duty in the pop-up café – and one or two chaps too. Embroidered with the words, ‘Sarnesfield Church Ladies’, several have been produced to include, as well as the womenfolk, Jim Amos, and Roger. Jim was in his 80s when he enrolled on well-known local caterer, Pru Lloyd’s popular Man in the Kitchen courses.

Says Roger: “Jim has since become a pastry master and his sausage rolls are now compulsory for all our open weekends!”

“The aprons, a wonderful idea from our Lay-co Chair Becky Cutler, give us all a great sense of identity,” says Roger. “We have a terrific PCC, Hilary Havard and Viv Leech are the most lively, hard-working churchwardens and then there’s an army of local supporters who donate cakes and pastries. The valuable funds we all raise together breath life into the church and help us sustain it for the future.”

Like so many churches, St Mary’s was not without its problems, though money raised through the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust and English Heritage has put it on the right track.

The magnificent drystone walling around the churchyard has been repaired, and all this improvement has had a further positive effect on the church, Roger believes. “It’s marvellous to see how many people come to maintain family graves and this sense of history, sense of belonging, helps round out the life of the church and the local community.”

He continues: “This is a great little church, it has a very calming, reflective atmosphere about it, and it really comes to life for festivals and weddings!”

Sarnesfield’s appeal was not lost on Arthur Mee either. In his book Herefordshire he wrote: “Here is beauty for those who love it, and antiquity for those who love that.”

It’s not easy to disagree with this sentiment; this is a little church well worth a visit, and if you visit in May, enjoy the cake!