Along the Moors - Eyton upon the Weald Moors

Ties that Bind

The Eytons are among the oldest landed families in Shropshire and it was Catherine Eyton, one of the earliest known members of the dynasty, who is thought to have been responsible for founding the local church which supposedly bears her name. Although the current edifice only dates from 1743, St. Catherine’s was so-named by 1336 and is said to owe its foundation to a vow made by Lady Eyton in the event of her husband Robert’s safe return from the Crusades of the late 12th Century. The family motto Je m’y oblige (‘I bind myself’) is also said to have originated from her promise and appears, together with a depiction of St Catherine, in the stained glass of the church’s north wall.

Nestled behind a cluster of trees to the south of the parish church is Eyton Hall, the former seat of the lords of the manor. Surprisingly, the current edifice is actually a heavily altered 18th Century farmhouse that was chosen as the family residence when the Eytons moved back to the village from Wellington in 1816. No trace of the original building (which may have been located in dense woodland to the east of the current hall) survives and it appears the family left their ancestral home in the wake of the English Civil War. Lord of the Manor Thomas Eyton was forced to pay a heavy price for his support of the monarchy during the conflict and subsequently made to compound his estate to the tune of £976 after it ended. It is unclear what, if any, physical damage was rendered to his property but Eyton was supposedly captured in a surprise attack on his home in 1644 which, combined with the heavy fine later imposed on him, may explain his family’s decision to leave.