Stoke Minster

Minster Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Stoke-on-Trent
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Broad Church
Website www.stokeminster.com
History
Dedication St Peter ad Vincula
Administration
Parish Stoke on Trent
Diocese Lichfield
Province Canterbury
Clergy
Rector Revd Preb. David Lingwood
Laity
Organist/Director of music Jonathan Hill

Stoke Minster is the town centre and civic church in Stoke-upon-Trent in England.

Contents

Background

Legally known as the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, it was informally renamed Stoke Minster in 2005 in recognition of the important role it plays in the Civic life of Stoke on Trent and north Staffordshire. The dedication to St. Peter ad Vincula ("Saint Peter in Chains") is an ancient and unusual one derived from the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.

History

The first church on the site was built in wood in 670. This was replaced by a stone building in 805 and this was further extended over the years. The remains of this old Anglo-Saxon and former collegiate church can still be seen in the churchyard although the prominent re-erected arches date from the 13th century when the chancel was rebuilt. Saxon evidence survives in the baptismal font rescued from use as a garden ornament and restored in 1932 for baptismal use in the church.[1]

Architecture

The present parish church was designed by James Trubshaw and Johnson[2] and built from 1826 and consecrated on 6 October 1830. There are ceramic memorials in the church to many of the great potters of the district and there is a fine modern memorial to the great football player Sir Stanley Matthews. The title of "Stoke Minster" was conferred on this parish church by The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield, at a ceremony on 17 May 2005. [1]

Organ

The organ was built in 1899 by Binns. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Notes

  1. ^ Richard Talbot; The Church and Ancient Parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, Webberley Ltd, Hanley, 1969 (page 41)
  2. ^ Nikolaus Pevsner; The Buildings of England - Staffordshire, Penguin Books Ltd, 1974. ISBN (page 262)