CHURCH.
Eyton church was recorded in 1336
when William of Kynardeseye was instituted on
the death of the previous rector. (fn. 99) Its description
as a chapel in the mid 16th century (fn. 1) suggests that
its parochial status remained uncertain; it had
perhaps originated as a manorial chapel founded
by the lords of Eyton. The parishioners of Eyton
were buried at Wellington until the mid 19th
century, (fn. 2) a fact that suggests that the parish
originated as a chapelry in Wellington parish.
Nevertheless incumbents of Eyton were consistently described as rectors from 1336 and the
independent parochial status of the church is not
in question after the mid 16th century. John
Eyton, lord of Eyton, presented to the living in
1336 (fn. 3) and the advowson descended with the manor until the living was united with the vicarage of
Wellington, of which the Eyton family were also
patrons, in 1767. (fn. 4)
A proportion of the greater tithes in Eyton
township was appropriated to the owners of Wellington rectorial tithes. (fn. 5) In 1635 Sir Philip Eyton
paid two thirds of the tithe of his estate at Eyton
(the whole township) to the rector of Eyton, the
other third being paid to Wellington 'parish'. (fn. 6) As
late as 1736 the rector of Eyton collected tithes
from the whole of Eyton township and made an
annual payment of £5 14s. to St. John Charlton in
lieu of 'the tithes of Eyton which are in the parish
of Wellington'. (fn. 7) Tithes were paid in kind except
for the tithe hay of the part of the Weald Moors in
Eyton township, for which a modus of 7s. 6d. was
paid from at least 1698. (fn. 8)
The glebe, which in 1635 consisted of a croft, a
piece of meadow, and a number of small parcels of
arable scattered in the open fields, had been
consolidated by 1694 into two contiguous closes
totalling 13½ a. In addition the rector held a
number of cottages in Eyton township, given as 5
in 1635 and as 3 from 1694. During the in
cumbency of John Manning, mentioned 1597-
1605, the glebe and tithes were farmed to David
Roe of Eyton for £7 13s. 4d. a year. (fn. 9) In 1807 the
glebe was given to Thomas Eyton, lord of the
manor, in exchange for property in Wellington. (fn. 10)
In 1635 there was no parsonage house at Eyton,
nor had there been one in living memory. (fn. 11)
The living was valued at £2 4s. 8d. in 1535; (fn. 12) at
£26 in 1655; (fn. 13) and at 'near' £40 c. 1693. (fn. 14) It was
reputed to be worth between £40 and £50 on the
eve of the union with Wellington in 1767. (fn. 15)
Most of those pre-Reformation rectors whose
names are recorded were probably Shropshire
men (fn. 16) and few seem to have been graduates. (fn. 17)
After the Reformation the living was sometimes
held in plurality, intermittently being held with
Wellington and thus effecting an unofficial union
of the livings before they were legally united in
1767. Such a union was mooted in 1655 (fn. 18) but
almost a century earlier John Gryce, mentioned as
rector 1553-84, (fn. 19) was also vicar of Wellington
1562-81 or later. (fn. 20) John Manning and his successor Richard Felton, rector 1606-20 or later, (fn. 21) both
employed curates. (fn. 22) The few post-Reformation
rectors unbeneficed elsewhere did not stay long.
The exception was Richard Lane, 1635-65 or
later. (fn. 23) He was succeeded by a series of pluralists.
John Eyton, rector 1675-1709 and lord of the
manor from 1701, was vicar of Wellington from
1689. (fn. 24) He lived at Wellington but officiated in
both churches, although Eyton church was also
served during his incumbency by Samuel
Pritchard, rector of Preston upon the Weald
Moors. (fn. 25) He was succeeded as rector by his
cousin's son, Robert Eyton (1709-18), later
archdeacon of Ely, who likewise held the living of
Wellington from 1713. (fn. 26)
Vincent Corbet, rector 1720-50, (fn. 27) was also rector of Moreton Corbet (fn. 28) and employed curates at
Eyton during his long incumbency. Richard
Tourneor, mentioned as curate 1725-39, (fn. 29) was a
graduate and son of a rector of Waters Upton, (fn. 30)
while Richard Smith, mentioned as curate 1747-
51, (fn. 31) another young graduate, became vicar of
Wellington in 1751, rector of Eyton in 1760, and
first incumbent of the united living of Wellington
with Eyton until his death in 1773. (fn. 32) Corbet's
successor, John Fieldhouse, 1750-60, (fn. 33) also employed curates at Eyton, among them another
future incumbent of the combined living. (fn. 34)
As well as burying at Wellington the inhabitants of Horton's wood also christened there in the
early 17th century. (fn. 35) During the late 18th century
one service was held at Eyton each Sunday (fn. 36) and
in 1799 additional services were held on Christmas Day and Good Friday and communion, taken
by 16 communicants, was given four times a
year. (fn. 37) Use of the church increased temporarily
between 1787 and 1790 when weddings for Wellington parish were held at Eyton during the
demolition and rebuilding of Wellington church. (fn. 38)
The frequency of services remained the same in
1824 and 1843 as in the previous century. (fn. 39) In
1871 evening services were held fortnightly in
addition to the weekly Sunday morning service,
and in 1888 the vestry resolved that a regular
Sunday afternoon service should be instituted. (fn. 40)
After the Second World War services were held
once each Sunday with communion once a month
given to 10-20 communicants. Preachers regularly included lay readers in addition to the rector or
curate. (fn. 41)
The church of ST. CATHERINE, (fn. 42) replacing
one that was so called in 1366, (fn. 43) is built of red
brick with sandstone dressings and has an apsidal
chancel with north vestry, nave, and west tower.
Of the earlier church, demolished c. 1743, little is
known except that it was notably small. (fn. 44) Some
window glass, however, including an early 16thcentury depiction of St. Catherine, was reset in
the later church and survives. The church of
1743, (fn. 45) also small and plain, consisted only of the
nave and tower. Contemporary with it are a small
west gallery, a pulpit whose sounding board is
now the vestry table, and the font and font cover.
The nave benches were cut down from the 18th-century oak box pews in 1902. (fn. 46) The apse and,
probably, the vestry were added in 1850 and the
nave roof was renewed without a ceiling in the late
19th century. The tower contains three bells of
1732 (fn. 47) and an 18th-century clock, probably that
mentioned in 1770. (fn. 48)
Apart from a silver-gilt paten of c. 1340, the
plate consists of 17th- and 18th-century pieces,
some pewter; an almsdish bears the arms of
Eyton. (fn. 49)
The church had a very small graveyard, used
only from 1860, (fn. 50) until the apex of land between
the road and the drive to Eyton House Farm was
consecrated in 1873. (fn. 51) It was extended by the
consecration of a detached plot in 1951. (fn. 52)
The register of baptisms and marriages begins
in 1698. Burials are registered from 1860. (fn. 53)