St. Peter's Church

Church Hill, Hednesford, Staffordshire

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The Churches on Church Hill.

There have been two churches on Church Hill, Hednesford. The first St.Peter's was constructed in 1868. The site was given by the Marquis of Anglesey of nearby Beaudesert Hall. He also gave the stone for the building from his quarry at Etching Hill. At this time Hednesford was within the Parish of Cannock.

In 1870 a separate Parish of Hednesford was formed from parts of Rugeley and Cannock. As more mining families moved into the area, six mission or daughter churches were created. Two of them, St Saviour's at High Mount Street, and St.Michael's on Littleworth Road, are still in use.

The life of the first church was always linked to the local coal industry. The church was built in 1868 to provide for the growing mining community. Subsidence was always a problem. A settlement was reached with the NCB at around the time that the last pit in the parish, West Cannock Fives, was closed. The last service in the building was in January 1986.

The modern church was built in 1987 following the demolition of the earlier church on the same site.

Vicars of Hednesford.

John Pauli	1864-1874
Charles Bullivant	1874-1887
Preb. Richard M. Grier, M.A.	1887-1894
Byrom Holland	1894-1899
William Quibell	1899-1916
Henry C. Thursby-Pelham, BA.	1917-1919
John Reay, M.C., B.Sc,	1919-1933
Harry H. Goodin	1933-1946
Francis E. Lafford	1946-1957
Charles C. D. Lewis, BA.	1957-1967
John J. Davies, BA.	1967-1977
J. Michael Waters, MA.	1977-1993
David J. Ditch, MA.	1994-2002
David A. Buck,	2003-

The new Church.

The new St.Peter's was consecrated on 19th December 1987. Modern construction methods, including rafts of concrete in the foundations, have been employed to withstand subsidence. The building is mainly of brick, with a steel frame. This does away with the need for pillars and gives an unobstructed view of the sanctuary and altar.

Some features from the earlier building have been incorporated into the new church. As you come into the church, you pass between four stone pillars from the old north aisle. In the narthex is the vestry screen with the symbols from each of the daughter churches, and the keys of St.Peter. Here too can he seen the list of Vicars of the Parish. On the wall is the carved and painted wooden pulpit crucifix which was presented in 1965 in memory of a former church warden, Frederick John Godwin.

Outside the east end the curved stone wall of the original apse still stands. It has been lowered to create an area for outdoor worship and is especially used for celebrations of St. Peter's Day each June.

The Interior.

The colour scheme and design of the interior contribute to the worshipful atmosphere of our church. The central focus is the sanctuary, lit by the great lantern above. Many features in the church are memorials to past members of the congregation.
The Eskrett window in the south wall was originally installed in 1879 in memory of Thomas Eskrett. He had been one of the first wardens of the church and died in 1876.
The Banner with the symbols of St. Peter was created from an altar frontal that had been presented to the church in 1970 by Miss Sherriff in memory of her sister Margaret. The frontal was made into a banner for the new church on behalf of Jean Collingwood in memory of her husband, Peter.

Gifts to the new church are recorded in a book in the display case at the back of the church. Some of the furniture and fittings have details of their donation engraved on them.
On the organ is the following inscription- THIS ORGAN WAS PROVIDED BY THE GENEROSITY OF FREDERICK AND HANNAGH COOPE DESIGNED & BUILT BY ROGER PULHAM, CHARSFIELD AND DEDICATED ON 13TH SEPTEMBER 1990 The pipework for 9 stops was saved from the Wadsworth organ previously on this site.

The Font.

The lower part of the new font was made from the base of an old stone pillar and the top was made from the capital of the pillar, hollowed out to hold the specially made bowl.

The large Cross.

This is made of American oak, with an adzed finish and was installed under the Lantern in 1997.

A letter from the Rev'd David Ditch (1997).

Dear Friends,
How many of us remember these words?
"Bishop: Will you who are members of this parish pledge yourselves to rebuild this church: as a house dedicated to the worship of Almighty Cod; as a witness to the love of Jesus; as a place where the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may be known as a present reality?
Parishioners: We pledge ourselves to rebuild this parish church to the glory of God."
They are taken from the last service held in the old church, on January 5th, 1986. As we pause 11 years later, we need to ask whether that pledge has been kept. Do those words express what St.Peter's new church means to Hednesford?
A word from Scripture recently challenged me: "See, I have placed before you an open door that no-one can shut." The Lord moves us on in our relationship with Him both as individuals and as a church, to reach out to others in the community. We need to see where that 'open door' is and go through it in faith, recommitting ourselves to that former pledge of 1986.
Yours in the service of our faithful Lord,

The information contained on this page is taken from a leaflet compiled and printed by Joyce Sullivan, in 1997.