St John the Evangelist Eton

[turtle]

Hello

Does anyone know if there is a church yard called St John the Evangelist somewhere in Eton which was in use before the 1840's ?  while looking for monumental inscriptions for this place on an LDS film the notes say the foundation stone for the church was laid by Prince Albert , in 1852 , yet I have records of family being buried there in 1817 , are there two st John the Evangelist churches in Eton ??    Are there any monumental inscriptions available for the earlier church yard ?   I am looking in particular for any monumental inscription  for a Richard Woolhouse , died 1817 aged 33 , and Avice Woolhouse died 1828 aged 19.   

Dean ( New Zealand )

[behindthefrogs]

There are three churches that you need to consider.

Eton Parish Church, The college chapel
St John the Evangelist Eton
St John the Baptist Eton Wick

However the last two of these were built in the 1850 and 1860s and so in the 1840s you are really only looking at Eton parish church.
There is said to be an earlier medieval church of St John the Evangelist which is buried somewhere under Eton College but it is unlikely to have been in existence in the 1840s and no remains exist to common knowledge. 

If you were interested in this latter church I am sure that an approach to the archivist (he could be called something different) at Eton College could yield information.  It has even been known for requests relating closely to the college to have been taken on as a project by college students in the past.

David

[Little Nell]

See here:

http://www.stjohnstjamesed.org.uk/page12.html

and here:

http://www.stjohnstjamesed.org.uk/page15.html

The original parish church was pulled down when the college chapel was completed and the chapel then acted as the parish church until the new building was built in the 19th century.

Nell

[behindthefrogs]

Eton parish church which stands in the High Street is a completely separate church from St John the Evangelist and is a much older building.

See below

David

[turtle]

Hello , many thanks for this , now is there a church yard in existence in Eton which would have been in use around 1800 - 1820's ? I'm confused. The parish records I have seen are headed 'Burials in the Parish (spelt with long 's' ) of Eton in the County of Bucks in the year 1817'.    So which church yard is this likely to have been ?    This record is for Richard Woolhouse , buried July 27th 1817, age 33 yrs, abode, Eton.

The NBI gives this as St John the Evangelist.  I was hoping to locate any kind of memorial inscription for him.   Are there any monumental inscriptions available for Eton prior to the 1830's ?

[Little Nell]

Hi turtle,

The Genuki entry for Eton is here:

http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/BKM/Eton/Index.html

The parish history page that I linked to previously implies that burials were certainly occurring at the time you are interested in at the chapel of ease.

I have looked at Google Earth, some old maps and thought hard about what I know of Eton High Street.  There is a graveyard next to the College chapel - you can see the gravestones quite clearly.  As far as the other church building on the High Street is concerned, I can't remember - it was well screened and stood back from the road.  Neither of the Bucks societies list any MI publications so I can't help you on that one.  I think an e-mail to the local library in Eton may help you - it does apparently have a local history section.  (see this link:  http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/eton_library.htm )

Most libraries in the area have some excellent assistants, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Nell

[behindthefrogs]

I am going to retract my original statements and admit that St John the Evangelist is Eton Parish Church despite having a book on my bookshelf which shows the locations of three churches.

Perhaps the confusion arises because the college chapel was not rebuilt in the same position as the original church but I am confused.

David

[Hambye]

Dean in New Zealand- I am also researching the Woolhouse Family tree as I am a Woolhouse.  I have been to the churches in Eton Wick and an unknown name church between Eton & Eton Wick on the Eton Wick road yesterday and the Gravestones do date from the early 1800's, please can you contact me  *to discuss further.
Regards Elaine

 * Moderator comment: e-mail address removed to prevent spamming and other abuse.  Please contact by PM where possible.  Thanks!

[turtle]

Hello Elaine   

Thank you for the contact, I have sent you an e.mail, hopefully you may have received this.


I have also received an e.mail from Rev. Lucy Holt at Eton :

The old cemetery is now closed in Eton. We do not hold records of burials that far back. I have copied in this reply to Joan Ballhatchet who is a local historian and has records of gravestones and may be able to help you.



So I am still none the wiser which church yard was in use in 1817.

If you have received my e.mail , I'd certainly be interested to hear from you.

Regards

Dean   ( New Zealand )