Church of St. Mark, Shelton

Church of St. Mark, Shelton

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Church. 1831-1834 by John Oates of Halifax, built as a Commissioners Church.

 Ashlar faced. West Tower, nave with 2 aisles, chancel added in 1866 by R.Scrivener. 3-stage tower with western doorway with chamfered arch with hood moulds and foliated crocketed decoration. Simple lancets, blind arcading and clock in second stage, paired bell chamber lights with central pilaster above. Angle buttresses form crocketed pinnacles, embattled parapet.

Lancets with shafted responds to aisles, divided into 7 bays by buttresses, the angle buttresses forming polygonal turrets with pinnacles.

North doorway in porch to west of aisles. Chancel has foiled lancets and 2-light decorated windows with fretted parapet over.

 

(The Victoria History of the Counties of England:
R.B.Pugh: Staffordshire: Oxford: 1963-;
The Buildings of England: N.Pevsner: Staffordshire).

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The 120 foot west tower is a landmark for miles around.

photos - Steve Birks  2000

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St. Mark's church stands on a prominent site in Shelton and its 120 foot (36.5 metre) tower is a landmark for miles around.

The largest church in the city measuring 151 feet by 75 feet (46 x 23 m). Designed by J. Oates, erected in 1833 of freestone ashlars (i.e. faced with thin slabs of masonry) in the Early English style at a cost of £10,000.

Most of the money came from the Church Commissioners, whose national brief was to finance new centres of Church of England worship in the rapidly expanding areas of population, and Shelton was one of these. Designed to hold a congregation of 2,100.

In 1868 the original chancel was replaced with the polygonal one seen in the top photograph above. In the 1970's the church was cleaned to remove the grime from over a 100 years of Potteries air.

on St. Marks

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