THE
ARCHITECT
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.
Biography of Charles Lynam
Lynam was a member of the borough council when the decision was made to
proceed with the new cemetery (see introduction). In
February 1882 he resigned from the council: “My principal reason for this is
that the duties of my position on the council interfere with my business
avocations.” Seven months later he was awarded first prize for the design of
the new borough market hall in Church Street, Stoke.
One
observer suggested that all the designs might be publicly exhibited “so
that every competitor might have the opportunity of seeing how fair and
impartial the selection has been.” The suggestion was not taken up. In
September 1882 the borough council invited architects “to furnish designs,
specifications and estimates for two chapels and two lodges proposed to be
erected at the new borough cemetery.” A premium of 30 guineas for the
first and 15 guineas for the second plan was offered to the
competitors.
One
local architect suggested that the council should “avail themselves of the
advice of an architect in no way connected with the district” to assist
them in selected the best design. This proposal was again ignored and in
March 1883 Lynam was awarded the first prize. However, two months later the
council agreed to accept a new set of designs from Lynam as “the committee
has found that the original plans of Mr Lynam for the new cemetery buildings
could not very well be carried out.”
Dispute about number of chapels:
There
was also 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
cemetery chapels at Stoke Borough Cemetery,
Hartshill, c.1900
The cemetery chapels and architect (Charles Lynam)
