About St John the Evangelist

About St John the Evangelist.

St John the Evangelist, was completed in 1861 on the site of a much older and more modest building, described as two aisles with a house roof. The current church was designed by the Rev H J Wollaston, whose family contributed substantially to the construction. The architect was W H Knight from Cheltenham.

The stone used is mainly Sydnope stone from Derbyshire dressed with Bath stone, although stone from the old church was used in the internal walls. The oak comes from Chedworth Wood in Gloucestershire and the slates from Colyweston in Northamptonshire. All the stonework and building was done by Haddons of Atherstone whilst the woodwork is the work of James William Sands, the Shenton estate carpenter.

The organ was donated by Mrs A Wollaston in 1887 to replace the harmonium. Repair work was required in 1875 whilst in 1879 the west wall of the tower was removed and rebuilt. Admiral Arburthnot, who was present at the Battle of Trafalgar and who married one of the Wollaston family’s daughters, is buried in the grounds.