rel 20 Penkhull Marriages. 1845 – 1891

The baptism register for St Peter ad Vincula – Stoke Church

in Excel format 1813 – 1835

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

Shortly after Stoke was conveyed with the title of City in 1925, there was a move to create a Potteries Cathedral. It was Rector Crick of St. Peters in Stoke (1924) who expired such enthusiasm for a new parish church in Stoke, to become the Cathedral of the Potteries. It was his wish to lay the foundation stone on October 6th 1930, the centenary of the present parish church dedicated in 1830. The pictures here of the proposed new cathedral were published in the Sentinel in March 1928. Rector Crick was convinced that if our city could catch a vision of the possi¬bilities of our great church, the dream could be realised.
The plans for the cathedral were prepared by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, R.A. The estimated cost was £150,000 (less than the cost of two old, terraced houses in Penkhull today) £50,000 was needed in five years. The Free Churches of the Potteries also offered their support in the campaign.

However, the war followed on following the depression which finally ended any hope of a Potteries Cathedral. The 1834 parish church of Gothic architecture still stands but sadly creates a huge financial burden to every subsequent generation that comes along.

Two pages with pictures of the original design by Sir Giles