Churches Of Stoke-on-Trent

St. Peters, Stoke

The old parish church of Stoke was situated in the close vicinity of Rykenield Street. The present church, which was rebuilt in 1826-29, stands on glebe land, which was formerly attached to the old churchyard. It is a very fine-looking s tructure in stone, in the Early English style, built from designs by Messrs. Trubshaw and Johnson, of Haywood. It consists of chancel with vestries, rectangular nave, with quasi aisles, and has a western tower of four stages, with crocheted pinnacles, and containing a superior peal of eight bells. There are porches on either side of the tower and galleries surround the interior on three sides. The east window and four others in the chancel are delightfully stained.

The interior of the church is interesting from its many monuments, many of which were removed from the old church, and re-erected to the memory of notable people connected with district. Most important among these, is the monument to the memory of Josiah Wedgwood, with a bust by his friend, and former employee, Flaxman. Others commemorate the Very Rev. John C. Woodhouse, D.D., Dean of Lichfield, seventeen years rector of Stoke, and a great patron to the town and the church, Josiah Spode, and his son, with symbolic sculptures by William Behnes. In the churchyard are two stones, which bear testimony to the longevity of the Potteries folk. They are to the memory of Sibil Clarke, died. 1684, aged 112 years, and Henry Clark, also 112 years old. The registers of the church date back to 1630. Throughout the area there are other attractive churches, which have been made heads of ecclesiastical parishes by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Josiah Wedgewood is buried in this churchyard.

St. Mark's church Shelton

This splendid looking church stands on a prominent site in Shelton and its 120-foot (36.5 metre) tower is a landmark for miles around. The tower has four marked stories; the upper, or bell loft, rising from a plinth, the angles of which are decorated with crocketted pinnacles, and having a large double lancet window on each face of the tower. A splendid battlement with el aborate pinnacles at each corner and four transitional ones of smaller size cap the summit. It is the largest church in the city measuring 151 feet by 75 feet (46 x 23 m) and was designed by J. Oates. The church was erected in 1833 of freestone ashlars (i.e. faced with thin slabs of masonry) in the Early English style at a cost of £10,000 towards which £250 was granted, by King George IV. The rest of the money came from the Church Commissioners, whose instructions were to finance new centres of Church of England worship in the fast expanding areas of population, and Shelton was one of these. It was designed to hold a congregation of 2,100.

In 1868 the original chancel was replaced with a polygonal one. In the 1970's the church was cleaned to remove the gr ime from over a 100 years of Potteries air. The principle entrance to the church is through a small balanced Gothic arch, in the west front of the tower, over which is a carved dripstone, resting on corbel heads, and finished in a stylish finial. Th e porches, which flank the tower, lead to the side-aisles, and contain geometrical stone-stairs to the galleries. The body of the church has seven lofty lancet windows on each side, divided by plain capped buttresses, with a bold underpinning parapet all r ound, and at the angles octagon piers crowned with massive gothic canopies and pinnacles can be seen. Matching pinnacles edge the gable of the chancel end. The chancel has a vestry on the north, and an entrance porch on the south.

The interior displays a triple lancet east window, glazed with painted glass, the centre light having a whole-length figure of Saint Mark, the north compartment representing the Nativity and the south the Resurrection. Also combined in to these windows are the arms of the patron and rector of Stoke, at whose joint cost, as appears by an inscription underneath. The interior reflects, in most respects, to its elegant exterior. Seven loft octagon pillars, on each side, d ivide the nave from the aisles, their capitals being ornamented with carved masks, and supporting plain gothic arches. The ceilings of the nave and aisles are in panels, divided by moulded ribs; the nave having bosses of flowered work at the angles of con n ection. The galleries are supported by cast-iron brackets, and are fronted with gothic panels. The western gallery is furnished with an organ that was the gift of John Tomlinson. The handsome pulpit is elevated on a pedestal shaft, and has a canopied soun ding board. The pews are of good panelled work, painted of dark oak.

The tower is equipped with a single bell and a clock. The venerated Bishop Ryder, who generously donated a service of communion plate, consecrated St Marks on The 19th June 1834. Th e churchyard contains more than two acres of land, and is enclosed with a low wall. The national schools on the south side of the churchyard were erected in 1835. They are one story high, in the gabled style, forming two rooms, they are designed to hold a bout 400 pupils, and 600 Sunday school children, and cost nearly £1000. The township of Shelton contains 995 acres, of which Sir Thomas Fenton Boughey, Lawrence Armitstead Esq, and Josiah Wedgwood, Esq., were the largest land owners.

St. James the Less, Longton.

This is a large church provided by the Church Commissioners to cater for the rapidly growing population. The cost when built was £10,000. The church is a very good example of plain Gothic architecture of the perpendicular style, built from a design of Trubshaw, the architect of Stoke church, of Hollington stone. It covers an area of 120 feet in interior length by 64 feet in breadth. It has a lofty clerestory which is supported by pointed arches, resting on eight pillars on either side the nave, and beleaguered side aisles; a small chancel forms five unequal sides of an octagon, to which are attached a Vestry on one side and a Sacristy on the other. There are side galleries, with five rows of pews, and a deep western gallery, in which you would find a small organ.

The interior is arranged for a large congregation of 2000+. The tower of St James rises to the height of 90 feet and has massive circular turrets at the angles, and is crowned with pinnacles and battlements. The main entrances are through projecting porches on each side of the tower. This church bears the name of Saint James the Less, and was consecrated by the late venerated Bishop Ryder, on the same day as that of Shelton (June 20th, 1834). The sacramental vessels of both churches were the gift of the exemplary Bishop.

St. John the Baptist parish church - Burslem

The short and stocky west tower on St Johns dates from 1536 and is Stoke-on- Trent's oldest structure still in service. The original roof was thatched and after a serious fire the nave was rebuilt in brick and tile in 1717.The church was extended in 1788 by the addition of a vaulted chancel to create more seating capacity. The east-facing window is of the typical Venetian style. In the churchyard lay's Molley Leigh, Stoke-on-Trent's very own witch.