We know that by 1538 the church was in poor repair. We discovered this when the wall paintings were first identified (1996) and it was observed that there were marks of water running down the face of the painting of Thomas à Becket. All images of this type had to be covered with lime wash or destroyed in 1538 on the orders of King Henry VIII. Assuming that this happened in our case it implies that water was pouring down the painting before it was covered - suggesting that there were serious holes in the roof.
From recent (2010) geophysical archaeological surveys we now know that originally the church was about three yards longer (to the west) than at present. So, enough room for a north and south door (the door jamb of the north door can still be seen) and a west wall. Perhaps this had three lancet windows to match those in the east wall. It seems likely that some time in the early 16th century this west wall collapsed and the church fell into serious disrepair. The collapse of the west wall may account for the truss that now supports the east wall. At the apex of this east wall the stonework is very thin so the restorers may have decided to support the roof with three wooden trusses: the one in the east that covers the top of the central lancet window, one in the middle and one that is encased in the brickwork in the brick west wall.
We believe that soon after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the church was roofless and undergoing demolition, this is why five of the six lancet windows in the north and south walls have lost their 'gothic tops'. However after a few years there seems to have been a change of mind and considerable repairs were initiated. The height of the north and south walls were restored and the roof was renewed. The west wall is rather curious. It would seem that at first this wall was a wooden frame with wattle and daub in-fill. The rest of the church (to the west) was demolished and squared off (though it is not in fact square). In 1702 the wattle and daub was replaced with brick and faced with the bricks that we see today.
The ancient font stands in the North West corner of the church. It is made low like this so that the candidate for baptism could climb into the font. It therefore is made for a time when adults or children - rather than babies - were being regularly baptised. This would put its date around the time of King Alfred - circa 900 A.D.
Lancet windows. These are typical of the Early English style. Long, thin but with pointed rather that rounded tops. Only the window in the north east corner and those in the east wall have retained their original arches. It is suggested that the reason for these narrow windows is that they were a security feature - they were too thin for anybody to climb through.
The central truss is Tudor work and is considered to be very fine. Originally it seems to have been painted a grey green. The roof that you see is almost entirely new but notice that some of the original purlins remain - they are significantly smaller than the modern ones.
Niches. On either side of the central lancet in the east wall there are two crudely cut niches. These were for statues and are of considerable interest. They appear to have had three manifestations. Originally their bases were in line and about six inches above the window reveal sill. Later the bases were raised about 15 inches bringing them in line with bottom of the east window - and the sill at this point was blocked up as well. Later still they were bricked in entirely and cemented over. When the church was restored these developments were removed. A reasonable conjecture as to why these developments took place is as follows.
Experts date these paintings to about five years either side of 1380 because of the style of one of the knights' gauntlets. This is of the 'hour glass' type. The brigandines suggest a slightly later date. So we have here depicted four men-at-arms in armour of exactly the type that would have been worn at the battle of Shrewsbury (1403).
The wall paintings are of considerable interest and historic importance. First of all they are a complete scheme, which may in fact be unique, for in most churches there are succeeding layers of paintings as they were renewed over the years. Second the subject of the martyrdom of Thomas à Becket is unusual and nowhere has the cross been cut as it is here. This is the oldest figurative painting in Shrewsbury.[2] Originally the painting would have been very brightly coloured.
The hand painted icons are also painted by Aidan Hart. In the lower tier from left to right there are:
In the upper tier there are (L-R):
These icons are all of the middle Byzantine style found in the 11th century churches of Daphne and Osios Loukas in Greece. This style is serene, confident and optimistic, characteristics so badly needed in our contemporary society but typical of the Orthodox Church today.
The Holy Table is carved in a Byzantine style from three different types of English stone. The design is based on a Holy Table in a Byzantine church in Ravenna.
You will also notice the modern gallery which runs across the church. This serves two functions: to hold the walls together and to provide space used by the choir during services and various other activities. Notice the painting underneath the gallery on the ceiling. This shows a canopy with the cross between the symbols for the four Evangelists. An eagle for St John, an angel for St Matthew, a lion for St Mark and a bull for St Luke. This was painted by a member of the congregation, Derek Simons.
Other icons. Above the bishop's throne there is a Greek icon showing Christ in Bishop's vestments. This subject is normally placed near the throne. On the back wall there is a large icon of St Ninian one of the earliest British saints associated with the Lake District and South West Scotland. On one of the window sills is an icon of the five British saints most closely related to the local area:
Other interesting icons are the icon of St Winifride whose shrine was in Shrewsbury Abbey, St Milburgha of Much Wenlock, and St Melangell from Pennant Melangell. The icon of the Theotokos in the black and gold ornate frame is the oldest in the church. It is Serbian of the early 19th century and donated to the church by the internationally noted local flower arranger Howard Franklin.
With the withdrawal of the legions at the beginning of the fifth century a period of considerable political instability followed. However Viroconium continued to flourish for some time. For instance St Germanus of Auxerre came to Britain to counter the teachings of the heretic Pelagius in 429 and again in 447. He certainly visited Viroconium. Indeed it seems to have been the base for his mission into what is now mid and north Wales. The last British Archbishop of London, Theonas (Teon) fled to Viroconium in 586 when London fell to the pagan Saxons. The range of hills known now as the Stiperstones is called, in Welsh, Carneddi Teon in memory of him.
There have been important excavations at Wroxeter where a bath house has been revealed. Perhaps more interestingly, it is now known that the city was extensively re-planned in the 5th century and a building has been discovered which some suggest was the house of the bishops of Viroconium. At some point the city was abandoned. Two of the very earliest churches in Britain exist close to Viroconium: St Andrew, Wroxeter and St Eata, Atcham, both dating to at least the 7th century. So as the British migrated westward, abandoning Viroconium, the English moved behind them, being converted in due course following the missionary drive of St Oswald and St Aidan and then St Chad. It was following this period that a monastery for nuns was established at Much Wenlock by St Milburga around 670. The monastery quickly attracted substantial endowments and the land which is now the parish of Sutton was part of that endowment. It is from this time that Sutton (which means 'South Town') begins to be mentioned in recorded history. The church itself may be significantly older however. From excavations in the 1970's we know that Sutton was occupied from prehistoric times and right through the Romano-British period. Amongst a number of interesting finds was a Neolithic watercourse which ran to a stone lined basin a few yards South East of Sutton church. It is suggested that this may have been a pagan site, Christianised to become a baptistery. This might account for the siting of our church.
The manor of Sutton remained in the ownership of the monastery at Much Wenlock until the Hundred Years war when it passed to Shrewsbury Abbey. It is unthinkable that any monastery would own a manor without erecting some kind of church for the enlightenment of their tenants and we may assume this to be the case in Sutton. That it was not mentioned in the Doomsday Book is not odd. Only half of the known Saxon churches are mentioned, simply because the others were not reckoned to have a taxable value. The church was probably a very simple wooden building and about all we have to show for this period is the ancient stone font.
Between 1054 and 1204 the Western half of what had been the Roman Empire split away from the Orthodox Church in the East and became Roman Catholic. This event is referred to as "The Great Schism" and it was towards the end of this period, about 1200, that the church that we now see was built. The present church building was certainly built before 1278 because it is recorded in an inquisition document of that year as St Milburga's. In 1535 the rent from the manor was worth £11 7s 0d to Wenlock Priory. The tithes of Sutton, paid to the vicar of Much Wenlock were worth £3 per annum. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Sutton along with a number of other monastic properties was bought by James Leveson, a Wolverhampton wool merchant, for £2,725 - a vast amount of money. Exactly who was looking after Sutton is not clear but the Rector was also Vicar of Much Wenlock, one Thomas Butler. This man, a University graduate, kept a journal of events in the parish which survived until 1859 when it was burnt in the fire at Wynnstay but not before it had been copied. Amongst the items in the journal is the following:-
"1547 Nov 7th The bones of the blessed virgin Milburga (with four images from neighbouring villages) were burnt at the churchyard entrance." (Perhaps one of these images was one that stood in a niche in the East wall of Sutton church). With the Reformation came another change of Faith for the worshippers in our church - Protestantism (Anglicanism). Judging by nineteenth and twentieth century histories of the period it could be thought that the English were eager and willing to accept the Reformation, the Dissolution of the monasteries and the Protestant faith. In fact this was very far from the truth, the changes were resented and unpopular and there was widespread resistance. In fact Protestantism was imposed by force: fines, imprisonment and, for some, the executioner's axe. Some of this may be gleaned from Thomas Butler's journal.
[1] Brigandine. These were typically padded sleeveless jackets which had strips of plate armour riveted to the padding on the inside. They were developed on the continent and were adopted in England towards the end of the 14th century. They became very popular in the 15th century.
[2] There is another medieval painting in Shrewsbury of the Last Supper in the King's Head pub in Mardol. It is later than ours.
[3] Hide: a land unit reckoned at 120 acres.
