Stoke Minster

Pilgrims have been visiting Stoke Minster since the Saxon age. It is a point of visitation on the Two Saints Way- a 92 mile long pilgrimage route between Chester and Lichfield.

The first ever church on the grounds were built in 670. The early Anglo-Saxon collegiate church that was built on the grounds in 805 has since been resurrected at a folly and still exists within the grounds as the two arches.

A relic of the Saxon era also resides in the church yard, a Mercian cross dating from the 10th century AD (potentially even earlier). Standing 4 feet high, it displays wonderful masonry skills with knot-work and interlacing patterns displayed along the edges and made in honour of ST Peter in chains.

Another saint from the Mercian era that is tied to the area is St Werburgh. The kings daughter and member of the Mercian household. Even though she was of royal blood she remained humble, caring not for luxury but for her dedication to the church, asking her father multiple times if she can join the Abbey at Ely. She was well known for reforming the Mercian monasteries and building new ones from Trentham and Hanbury, to Staffordshire and Northampton.

The church is known for being the final resting ground of the Potteries most famous industry leaders, with several generations of Josiah Spode's family and Josiah Wedgwood himself being buried there.