The project focused on St. Peter ad Vincula Stoke Minster church (rebuilt in 1830).
A church has stood on the Minster site since Saxon times and from this, the town of Stoke-upon-Trent grew. The remains of this old Anglo-Saxon and former collegiate church can still be seen in the churchyard. There is a Saxon preaching cross in the churchyard and inside, a Saxon stone font, which is still used for baptisms.
St Peter's has strong links with the industrial heritage of the city as the churchyard is the last resting place of Josiah Wedgwood and the Spode family (two of the famous Stoke potters.)
In the mid to late 1700's both Josiah Wedgwood and Josiah Spode made important contributions to the Pottery Industry and to the industrial wealth of Stoke-on-Trent. This continued well into the 19th and 20th century giving the area its nickname 'The Potteries'. Unfortunately, since the last half of the 20th century, almost all of the bottle-shaped kilns have been taken down, due to regulations from the Clean Air Act.
Stoke-upon-Trent is often shortened to Stoke and is a town in the City of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire. Confusion can arise over the similarity of the town's name to that of its parent city and the reasons again reflect the importance of Stoke-upon-Trent's history and how it grew from the site of the first church (St. Peter's) in the area.
The relevance of The Church Minster to the creation of the town of Stoke-upon-Trent is not widely known, therefore, by involving local schools and the community, its importance is made available to this new, wider audience.
The Rector states that 'St. Peter's ad Vincula Church is a not only a building, but the home of a living community which continues an unbroken tradition of worship, service and education that has existed there for over 1300 years.' Educating young people through active engagement, will ensure continuance and conservation of this important heritage’.
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Groundwork Enterprise Centre
Albany Works
Moorland Road
Burslem
Stoke on Trent ST6 1EB
T : 01782 829900
F : 01782
829901
E : stokeontrent@
groundwork.org.uk
