Eaton Chapel

Eaton Chapel stands in Eaton Park, a private estate near Eccleston in Cheshire. It is a small church built of buff sandstone with a grey slate roof, its walls marked by pink and buff stone bands. The chapel has a five-bay nave joined to a three-bay chancel, ending in a three-sided apse that holds the altar. A free-standing tower on the south side is linked to the chapel at two levels and by a bridge above. The tower rises in six stages, with a clock stage carrying four nine-foot enamel faces and a spired top. The chapel was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1884 for Hugh Grosvenor, later the first Duke of Westminster. Waterhouse also rebuilt the nearby Eaton Hall, though the hall was later demolished while the chapel was kept. Inside, the narthex has a groin-vaulted oak roof and black marble paving. The nave and chancel are paved with encaustic tiles, and carved walnut benches line both spaces. An alabaster screen separates nave from chancel, continuing to the pulpit, which stands on Devonshire marble columns. The stained glass on the south side and the mosaics on the north were designed by Frederic Shields and made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. A two-manual organ by Charles Whiteley of Chester, installed in 1870–71, still plays today. The tower houses a carillon of 28 bells that sound 31 tunes. The chapel remains in use for Grosvenor family services and opens to the public on three days each year, including charity carol concerts every December.