rel 20 Penkhull Marriages. 1845 – 1891

The 1840s witnessed a huge growth in Anglican church building within industrial towns, Stoke being just one of them in an attempt to increase the number attending Church of England rather than the Methodist Church whose growth continued undiminished. As a result in districts of Penkhull and Trentvale more people moved into the area and raised the necessary funds two churches before their consecration in October 1842.
For Hartshill, Herbert Minton had already undertaken at its own expense the building of Holy Trinity. At Penkhull, it had been proposed to erect a church by subscription which the Rev Thomas Webb Minton, the son of Thomas Minton the potter consented to endow the church with £1,000 (later to become £2,000) the interest of which would help to pay for a permanent priest and so another step would be made towards the completion of the building. Both were consecrated in October 1842 and still remain an active witness to the worship of God.

Two pages packed with information

This fact points to the situation of Church as being a site for early Pagan worship and chosen clearly for its direct location adjacent to a ford across the River Trent. It is from this period that this short account commences which include notes re the first Saxon Church, its dates, history, description followed by the Norman Church which hand in 1876 the two Norman arches re-erected from their remains were found in the water flow to the Rectory Mills.
It continues to describe the churchyard and its history of important graves, the ancient parish registers and Stoke Hall the first rectory with a moat around it and loads more. Nine Pages A4 with lots of photographs.

The history of St. Peter’s Church, Stoke-upon-Trent dates from at least the sixth century as a Saxon Cross still stand high in the churchyard. In fact, it was the wealthiest parish in the UK in 1296 because of all the glebe land it owned. Not only was there a Saxon church but also a Norman Church, the arches of which were rebuilt in the late 19th century exactly on the spot of the original Norman Church.
By the late 17th century, the population of the pottery towns started to expand with workers coming in from the countryside. Slowly it became impossible for the church at Stoke to serve such a large parish. As a consequence, the church was divided into a number of separate Rectories with Glebe to support the Rector of the new parishes.
By the early 19th century, the old church in Stoke became totally inadequate to accommodate the demand, and the decision was taken to erect a new church on glebe land to the north of the existing churchyard. It was dedicated in 1834 with a capacity to seat over 2,000 worshippers.
This essay continues to expand on the churches origins near to the Trent and Fowlhey Brook and covers subject like the Rectory water Mills on the Trent, the list of rectors from the 12th century although the church was listed at the time of Domesday in 1086. A number of rectors were appointed by the Crown for services rendered, in fact, one never set foot in England but was in receipt of the church tithes. Interesting facts are also discussed from the church registers and the In Memory of tiles that surround the church interior walls which make fascinating reading.
Thirteen pages packed full of information and photos