Stoke Minster
Coordinates: 53°00′15″N 02°10′53″W / 53.00417°N 2.18139°W
| Minster Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Stoke-on-Trent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www.stokeminster.org |
| 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 (officially: The Church of St. Peter ad Vincula) is the town centre and civic church in Stoke-upon-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent in England.
Name and dedication
The church is officially known as "The Church of St. Peter ad Vincula". 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. 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 title "minster" is an honorific, sharing a common etymology with "monastery".[1]
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.[2]
The church is the burial place of several generations of Josiah Spode's family, as well as Josiah Wedgwood, who is also commemorated inside the church by a marble memorial tablet commissioned by his sons.[3]
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.
Architecture
The present parish church was designed by James Trubshaw and Johnson[4] 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.
Organ
The organ was built in 1899 by James Jepson Binns. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Notes
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stoke Minster. |
- ↑ Symington, Martin (2012). Sacred Britain: A Guide to Places that Stir the Soul. Bucks, England: Bradt. p. 137. ISBN 9781841623634.
- ↑ Richard Talbot; The Church and Ancient Parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, Webberley Ltd, Hanley, 1969 (page 41)
- ↑ "History & Heritage". stokeminster.org/. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner 1974, The Buildings of England - Staffordshire, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-09646-0