The name Mainstone is a combination of two words with the same meaning: English stone and Welsh maen (stone). The earliest recorded spelling of the name for this remote rural community appears as Mayneston in the Close Rolls of 1284. The stone after which the hamlet is named now stands in front of the pulpit of the Parish Church. It was most likely used as a weight for a bag of wheat - 200 plus 4.5 pounds for the bag. It dates from medieval times when Mainstone or Mayneston was a trading post on the Kerry Ridge Way an ancient Drover's Road used for travel and driving stock, especially sheep and cattle, from Wales to England.

However there is a local folk tale, dating fron the 19th century which records that the stone (weighing 204.5 pounds!) was used by young men of the locality to test their strength and win their lady love. According to the tale the young men competed in a test of strength which involved throwing the stone across the nearby river Unk, which is fortunately little more than a stream. The one to throw the mainstone the furthest won the hand of the lady of his choice.

A brief history of the Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Mainstone

Any accurate history of the church at Mainstone is hampered by the lack of records before the Reformation in the 16th century. The earliest mention of a church here dates from the Visitation of the Bishop of Hereford in 1587. But architectural evidence suggests that the present building is of an earlier date. Parish Registers begin in 1604 and show a small community gathered from surrounding hill farms and hamlet. In the 1824 the parish had a population of 419 which had dropped to 235 people in 44 dwellings by 1871. By this time in the late 19th century the church building was in a poor state of repair and a decision was taken to rebuild, although the original roof and fittings were retained. The church re-opened on 3 August 1887 and a Victorian Flower Festival was held in 1987 to mark the centenary of the restoration. No major work was undertaken on the building until 1997-98 when the stone and tile roof was completely replaced with a fine roof of Welsh slate. At the same time repairs were carried out on the medieval roof timbers. The return of the resident bat colonies has returned the building to normal after the disruption of building works.

Although the population of Mainstone Parish is now almost half of the 235 recorded in 1871 the community remains lively and commited to a Christian presence and mission in these remote hills. Our next project is to improve our ministry of hospitality to the many visitors who come each summer to walk the Offa's Dyke long distance footpath which adjoins the churchyard wall.