Hartshill Cemetery (reflecting the values of Victorian Society)

The two cemetery chapels

Location 4 on the index map

There was a dispute about the number of cemetery chapels to be built. 

Letters were printed in the Staffordshire Sentinel advocating one chapel for all religious denominations in order to save public money and a public meeting was held to discuss the subject at Stoke Town Hall. At a subsequent council meeting some councillors proposed that the ratepayers should be balloted on this question. Instead the council accepted a petition from the churchwardens at St Peter’s church that there should be one chapel “for church people” and another for “dissenters” and by 14 votes to 7 agreed to build two chapels without consulting the ratepayers. 

The decision was not unexpected since Colin Minton Campbell, the mayor, and most of the prominent members of the borough council were strong supporters of the Church of England.

The two chapels, Nonconformist on the left and CofE on the right

detail of the left hand chapel

the chapel buildings are listed

The architect of the cemetery buildings was Charles Lynam who lived at “The Quarry” on corner of Hartshill Road and Quarry Road. He had a virtual monopoly of the architectural commissions awarded by local public bodies, including the Stoke-upon-Trent Board of Guardians, the North Staffordshire Infirmary, and Stoke-upon-Trent Borough Council.

 

The chapels c.1900
originally there was a tower on top of
each chapel - these were removed when
they became derelict and unsafe.

 

next: 1st class monuments of local publicans 
previous:  was the centre of the 'first class' graves

questions/comments/contributions? email: Steve Birks