Church History

St Paul’s Church is a Grade II* listed building.

It is believed that a church existed here as early as 1230, during the reign of Henry III . A remnant of this is the old doorway built into the west wing wall of the church (facing the iron gates to Caton green road) It is of a 12th century date. Built of gritstone, three feet seven inches wide and 6 feet high, with circular angular shafts and square inner jambs supporting a sculptured arch, apparently mutilated at some time. This depicts the temptation of Eden and it is possible to discern the top of the tree and the heads of Adam and Eve, together with the serpent and the figure of an animal.

The doorway is built up with a number of sculptured stones discovered in the masonry of the former building in 1865. One of the stones is of early 14 century date, carrying a cross and sword, emblems of the crusaders. Probably it once marked the grave of one of the knights of St John, who at one time held land in Caton.

A Reformation Church

The church was rebuilt towards the end of the 15th or at the beginning of the 16th century, and certainly during the reign of Henry VIII, and the fine tower dates from then.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth century the inside of the church was dominated by a three-decker pulpit at the east end

Old interior showing the three-decker pulpit

Nineteenth Century revival

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the incumbents of Caton did not live in the parish. One of them lived in the Isle of Wight, receiving income of the living and paying a curate to say the services. In 1841 the new incumbent Edward Thurtell, a hard-working Evangelical priest decided he must live in the parish and minister to the mill workers and owners (the farming community tended to be Methodist). He insisted a parsonage be built (between Caton and Brookhouse where it remains and is still used as the vicarage today) and a new school built (Moorside road, now part of Caton St Pauls C of E primary school). It may have been at this time that plans were devised to rebuild the church itself. After Thurtells death in 1852 parishioners erected a plaque in the sanctuary in his memory.

The view from near Kirk Beck bridge in 1858

This painting done from near Kirk Beck bridge shows the old church from an interesting angle. The now demolished properties beyond the tower can be clearly seen as can a building partly hidden by the trees in the foreground. This now demolished building (possibly a terrace of cottages) would have been opposite what is now 9 to 15 Caton Green Road,

All these demolished buildings can be clearly seen on the 1847 Ordnance Survey map of the area.

1863 photograph of the church from New Street

The new building designed by Edward Graham Paley of Lancaster, was consecrated in 1865.  Its proportions and decorations perfectly match the existing tower and church yard.

1920's photograph of the church interior

The Sanctuary

An altar was built to replace the three-decker pulpit at the east end. The east end was completed with the addition of a finely carved reredos in 1904. It contains a centre piece an excellent copy in oils of ‘The Annunciation’ by Fra Flippo Lippi. This copy was painted by Miss M. Greg of Escowbeck house at Caton and depicts the angel Gabriel bringing news of Jesus’s forthcoming birth to his mother Mary. Its gilded frame was made by Shrigley and Hunt. 

The Font

The font, carved from solid stone, is a reminder of the tomb in which Christ was laid after his death.  It is placed by the main door as a reminder that baptism is the sign of entry into Christian assembly.

St Paul's Today