Frequently Asked Questions

The Masefield Matters project was started to explore the legacy of Ledbury-born poet John Masefield through a range of events celebrating his work, his life, and the things that mattered to him. The project will finish with a memorial celebrating John Masefield's 150th anniversary in 2028. The form this memorial takes will be chosen by the community through a series of consultation workshops.

The project has two main goals; to bring Masefield back into the public consciousness in Ledbury, and to produce a memorial to him so that he will always be remembered here. We are currently planning a range of events for the community of Ledbury to take part in, where we will be celebrating John Masefield’s poems and novels, as well as inspiring creativity and artistic expression. Then, once everyone in Ledbury knows him better, they will all get a say in how he will be memorialised.

To find out more about our upcoming events, visit our main page or our Instagram page @masefield_matters.

See the project timeline below for a broad overview of the project.

Although born almost 150 years ago, John Masefield, his poems and his beliefs are still relevant to the modern day. He overcame a series of setbacks to achieve his dream of becoming a writer, whilst still remaining true to his beliefs in a rapidly changing world. He is proof that despite the difficulties we face, we can still achieve great things.

As the heart of Ledbury life, the Town Council is running the Masefield Matters project to bring Masefield to as much of the community of Ledbury as possible. The Town Council will be able to connect Masefield Matters to a wide range of events and organisations within Ledbury.

Ledbury Town Council applied for and received a grant of £222,000 from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in 2024. Half of this money they have received up front. The rest will only be received after 90% of the grant value has been spent. The Heritage Fund monitors how the money is being spent.

The greater part of the project is the familiarization phase, during which we will run activities  to raise awareness of John Masefield and his work. One of the major costs associated with running these events is the staff to co-ordinate them and the facilitators to run them. The staff’s salaries are matched to those of existing roles within the Town Council, and many of those facilitating the events will be part of the local community.

The memorial to Masefield is going to be the final output of the project, with £60,000 of the National Heritage Lottery Fund grant earmarked for this purpose.  

The National Lottery Heritage Fund requires that an organization provides a proportion of the project costs through alternative means of funding. In the case of Masefield Matters, our match funding requirement is 10% of the total project cost. Therefore, we need to raise that money separately from the grant. This is £25,000, of which we have raised £5,500.

If we raise more than the £19,500 needed, this extra funding can be put towards further familiarization events or towards the final memorial. The more we raise, the wider the options will be for the memorial. 

It has not yet been determined what form the memorial to John Masefield will take. The memorial will be chosen by the people of Ledbury over the next two years, and need not necessarily be a representation of Masefield himself.

The memorial will be chosen through a series of consultation workshops. We plan to involve as many people in the Masefield Matters events over the next two years as possible so they are well informed about the choice.  Please keep up to date with the project website and Instagram to find out how to get involved when the consultation begins.

Over the course of this project, we hope to see a noticeable change in the familiarity of the people of Ledbury with John Masefield. We aim to highlight the community and countryside that inspired Masefield so heavily.

You will be able to see all our work on our regular blog posts, social media and website updates, as well as being able to speak to us in person at events in and around Ledbury.

Processes for monitoring progress exist via both the Town Council and the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and the project will include an evaluation as it is ongoing.

Masefield Matters is run by Ledbury Town Council, who are working with a range of groups in Ledbury to raise the profile of John Masefield and his work. These groups include John Masefield High School, Ledbury Primary School, Ledbury Poetry and Ledbury Civic Society, as well as the John Masefield Society.

The John Masefield Society is assisting Masefield Matters by advising on the events we hold and sharing their knowledge on John Masefield and his work. They are represented on the Masefield Matters Board.

Our board comprises people representing a range of communities in Ledbury and beyond. Among the board members, there are representatives of:

• Ledbury Poetry
• the John Masefield Society
• John Masefield High School
• Friends of the Parish Church
• Ledbury Civic Society
• Ledbury Town Council
• Herefordshire Council

The purpose of the Masefield Matters Project Board is to ensure that the project is successfully delivered in accordance with the aims for Masefield Matters and the approved purposes agreed with the main funder, the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

The Board ensures that the community focussed projects are of the highest possible quality, providing high quality and memorable experiences for participants. It also aims to ensure that the voices and views of participants in the familiarisation phase are heard and carried through to the commissioning phase of the project. The Project Board will therefore oversee the completion of the memorial.

If you’d like to get involved, check our website and social media pages (see below) for our upcoming events. We’ll keep you posted when the consultation workshops begin, to give you the chance to be part of choosing the memorial.

We would love to hear from you if you have ideas for activities you would like to see from Masefield Matters. Please let us know via email, phone or Instagram message:

Email: mmpc@ledburytowncouncil.gov.uk

Phone: 01531 800583

Instagram: @masefield_matters

Facebook: Masefield Matters

If you’d like to write a blog post for Masefield Matters, please email mmpa@ledburytowncouncil.gov.uk