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Church History information for Darlaston All Saints and places above it in the hierarchy

Darlaston All Saints

All Saints ecclesiastical parish was formed in October, 1872 from parts of Darlaston and Wednesbury civil parishes. The church itself, situated in All Saints Road, was a brick building in the Early English style, designed by GE Street, RA, and consisted of chancel, nave, aisles, vestry, west porch and a turret at the west end containing two exposed bells. It was consecrated in 1872. It was erected as a memorial to Samuel Mills of Darlaston by his wife and children.
The bomb from the air raid in 1942 which destroyed the church made a crater in the ground 50 feet deep and 40 feet across and also destroyed the parish hall. Services were held in the former All Saints Day School until a new church was built in 1952. The new church was designed by Lavender & Twentyman of Wolverhampton.
The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Simeon Trustees.

Postcard of All Saints Church 1903

Postcard of All Saints Church interior 1903

Postcard of All Saints Church altar 1903

Darlaston

Anglican Church History
For Anglican church history see individual Parishes

Nonconformist Church History
"Here is a large Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1810, and enlarged in 1834, when nearly an acre of land was annexed to it as a burial ground. It will seat about 2000, and has large day and Sunday schools. Here is also a neat Primitive Methodist Chapel, and a small Independent Chapel, but the latter is disused. On The Green is a small Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1850. "
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

The Wesleyan Methodists first preaching room in the town was in Church Street, near the Bell Inn. Their next meeting house was built for the purpose in 1790 in Meeting Street, now called Bilston Street. The first chapel was built in 1810 in Pinfold Street and enlarged in 1834. It was eventually demolished and replaced by dwellings named Wesley Fold. The Wesleyan Chapel on The Green was built in 1844 but following destruction due to mining activity, was rebuilt in 1870 in Perry Street. It closed shortly after celebrating its centenary in 1970 and was eventually demolished in 1983.

The United Methodist Free Church in Great Croft Street was built in 1852 with accommodation for 500 worshipers. It has now been demolished and replaced with a landscaped area.

The Primitive Methodist Chapel in Bell Street was built in 1836 and enlarged in 1879 to seat 900 people. In 1908 the building became unsafe due to a subterranean fire and the Olympia Cinema was established on the site in 1912. The chapel was replaced by Slater Street Methodist Chapel in 1910. This was demolished in 1979 and replaced by a smaller modern building in 1980.

The Independent or Congregational Chapel built in 1793 in Church Street was the first building in Darlaston to be lighted with gas. It eventually fell into disuse and was purchased in 1874 by the Roman Catholic Church to serve as the Saint Joseph's RC Church. This building was replaced in 1933 with a new church opposite St Lawrence, and this in turn was replaced by a new church on the same site built in the shape of a nut to symbolise the nut and bolt industry of the town.

Postcard of Slater Street Primitive Methodist Chapel c1935

Staffordshire

  • "The Old Parish Churches of Staffordshire" by Mike Salter, published by Folly Publications, 1996, ISBN 1-871731-25-8 (2nd Ed) contains descriptions, photographs and plans of many of the old parish churches of the county.
  • "Staffordshire Incumbents and Parochial Records, 1530-1680" by Walter Landor, was published by William Salt Archaeological Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume 1915."
  • "The Registrations of Dissenting Chapels and Meeting Houses in Staffordshire, 1689-1852" by Barbara Donaldson, was published by The Staffordshire Record Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Series, Volume III, 1960."
  • Histories of individual churches may be found on the individual parish pages.
  • Staffordshire Archive Services' Staffordshire Past Track pages include a selection of old photographs, plans and drawings of selected churches in the county.
  • A Listing of the Church Photographs & Images on GENUKI Staffordshire
  • JWB Tomlinson's unpublished PhD Thesis entitled "From Parson to Professional: The Changing Ministry of the Anglican Clergy in Staffordshire, 1830-1960"  examines in great detail the transformation of the parish ministry of the clergy of the Church of England from the gradual abandonment of the parson model to the adoption of the professional model using Staffordshire parishes as a case study.

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