St Catherine's Church, Eyton on the Weald Moors, Shropshire - Anglican and Episcopal Churches on Waymarking.com

St Catherine’s Church, is situated in the small hamlet of Eyton on the Weald Moors, in a very rural setting only 2 miles from the centre of Wellington. The population of the hamlet is about 30 made up mainly of farming people. The farming is a mix of arable and livestock.

The present building was completed in 1743, replacing a previous church. It is more than likely that the present church is on the same site as that of the earlier church which was more of a manorial chapel to Eyton Hall.

One of the reasons the church needed to be replaced was its ‘state of disrepair’, in part because of its age, and it was probably rather ‘knocked about a bit’, by Commonwealth forces. The Eyton Family, resident at that time at Eyton Hall were Royalists during the Civil War, there is evidence of probable skirmishes in the area.

The present structure is Georgian in style, similar to many churches in Shropshire, but rather smaller. The church was originally rectangular; there are paintings by Rev Edward Williams (1790) and John Homes Smith (1850) at the local Archives in Shrewsbury. The semi-circular apse at the East End was added in about 1857, and provides a frame for the colourful east window, attributed to David Evans and after the style of Rubens.

In the early years of the Twentieth Century the original box pews were removed and refashioned to the ones we have today.

The church has a West Gallery, hardly ever used now but it was the place where the ‘band’ played for services in the early to mid 1800’s. The organ was sited there, before being moved to its present position.

The organ is of particular note in that it is unusual, being ‘portable’. It is on wheels and is believed to be originally from a large country house where it could easily be moved from room to room. Obviously in those days it was not supplied with an electric bellows as now, hence its permanent position in our church.

The windows are coloured glass and incorporate the Arms of the Eyton Family and their spouse on marriage. The armorial medallions in the centre of the windows are understood to have originally been sited in the old manor house which was adjacent to the chapel. They are believed to be late 16th or early 17th century.

In addition to this old glass there are small portions of even earlier glass from the original church. These can be seen in the middle window close to the pulpit. The story of St Catherine of Alexandria is that she was ‘broken on a wheel’ : hence she became the patron saint of wheel-crafts . Look at the imagery in the East Window and identify the portion of old glass showing a mill-wheel, another portion of old glass shows the Eyton Family motto “ Je my oblige”.

Source : www.stcatherines.wordpress.com/about

Active Church: Yes School on property: No Service Times: Sundays 10.00am Website: [Web Link] Date Built: Not listed

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