St.Bartholomews | History
"there be three belles in ye steepul"
Introduction
The first written evidence of a church at Norton is from 1180. The church was then dedicated to St. Nicholas.
The old building, probably Saxon; was replaced in the Fifteenth Century. In about 1609 the dedication was changed to St. Bartholomew, an apostle, considered more suitable in Puritan times to St. Nicholas, a pope who died in 867. Many dedications changed at this time.
The church of 1737 forms the western end of the present building. The building was doubled in size when the eastern half was added in 1915.
Below is the visitors guide:
Altar
From the entrance porch walk up the aisle until you are level with the third pillar, where the banner hangs. This is where the altar was from 1737 to 1915.
Turn around and face the door.
Windows
This square space with six tall windows is the body of the 1737 church; the windows were all of clear glass. There would have been pews but not the ones you see now.
Turn around again. top
Pulpit
The old pulpit was to your left. A wooden rail protected the altar. Behind the altar was a simple apse. Ahead of you is the extension completed in 1915. It was intended to be in the same style as the original half. Few extra seats were added. Most of the new space is behind the screens. A Puritan church became an Anglo-Catholic one.
Now turn around and walk back to the door.top
The Font
To the right of the door is a stone font. This is probably the oldest object in the building. It has seven sides, representing the seven sacraments of the Mediaeval Church. In 1643 Parliament ordered that such fonts be destroyed or thrown out.
Our font lay buried in the Churchyard for over two hundred years. It was restored to its proper place in 1882. In the alcove behind the font is a painting of a Virgin and Child. It was painted in 1990 by a local artist, Maurice Curwen.top
The Coat of Arms
The Royal Arms began to appear in churches in 1547, on the accession of Edward VI. They were made compulsory after the Restoration of Charles 11 in 1660. The arms were to be amended at each accession, but the practice was not maintained. By the end of the 19th Century most had been removed. Our Coat of Arms was found in the coal-hole and re-erected in 1949.top
The Chest
In 1538 it was ordered that every parson must enter in a book every wedding, christening and burial in his parish. The parish was to provide a 'sure coffer' with two locks, the parson having custody of one key, the wardens the other.
In 1598 it was ordered that there be three locks, with the wardens each having a key. The books were to be entered after Sunday service, in the presence of the wardens. The chest you see by the Vestry screen is the original 'sure coffer' of 1538.
It is no longer used. More recent church books are kept in the church safe. Older books are at the Diocesan Library.top
The Memorial Chapel
The stone tablet on the wall lists the 46 men of this parish who fell in the Great War. The Book of Names in the Oak case lists, the men killed in the Second World War. All the names, together with one who died in Korea, are read out aloud every Remembrance Sunday.top
The Eagle Lectern
The ornate lectern was made and presented in 1935 by a local joiner, Sidney Turner, a descendant of a former incumbent, Daniel Turner. Why an eagle? In the King James Bible, Revelation 8:13 we read of 'an angel flying through the midst of Heaven'. The translation is wrong. For 'angel' read 'eagle'. An eagle carried the word of God. And an eagle is the greatest enemy of the serpent, symbol of the Devil.top
The Bishops Thrones
Most churches have a throne for use by the Bishop when he visits the parish. Norton has two thrones. Why? The answer is mundane. They were not intended to be thrones but chairs to be placed either side of the altar, for servers to sit on. However, the chairs are so grand that they came to be used by the Bishop! All we need is for 2 Bishops to visit at the same time.top
The Pews
The present pews were made in 1853 but it is obvious that many of the original ones survive especially those that are attached to the walls. One pew has a brass plate ' W Adams, Bagnall' but it is the plate that is old not the pew. More pews were added in 1915 and the difference in detail is clear. Pews at the front and rear were removed in 1995 to create space. Some were put in the Lady Chapel but kept movable.top
Sanctuary
There are many artifacts with their own dedications which are self explanatory. The Screen was erected in 1928. There are 3 windows which came from the old church, The Good Shepherd, The Lord in Glory and The Light of the World.top
The Organ
The first organ came from the house of Mr. Josiah Spode of Armitage Hall in 1853 and was installed in a gallery which once stood above the west door. This gallery was demolished in 1875 and the organ moved to where the chest now sits. It was moved to the present site in 1915. The present organ was purchased, second hand, in 1924. It was built by Laycock & Bannister of Keighley, Yorkshire.top
The Lady Chapel
The screen is the old Chancel screen. It was erected in 1902 to mark the coronation of Edward VII. Look behind the curtain and see where the organ used to be pumped before electricity came.top
The Rectors Board
To the left of the door is a board listing the incumbents of the parish. From the earliest days Norton was a chapel of ease of the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent. The Rector of Stoke received all the income of Norton and paid a Curate to do all his pastoral work here.
We do not know much about early Curates because many records were destroyed on the orders of Henry Viii. Curates were very poorly paid. To make a living a man would have several curacies at the same time. Others were the sons of local landowners, such as the Reptons who kept the curacies of Norton for 5 generations.
Norton became a parish in its own right in 1807 and all the income of the parish became payable to its new Rector. As a Curate Daniel Turner was paid £50 a year. As a Rector he received £457 a year. At that time Norton included the present parishes of Milton, Smallthorne and Brown Edge.top
The Bells
The original bells came from Hulton Abbey which was dissolved in 1538. In the Ecclesiastical Survey of 1553 it is recorded that at Norton ' there be three belles in ye steepul'. These were moved to the new church but not hung until 1752. In 1826 they were replaced by a new ring of six.
The ring was augmented to eight in 1949 when the old wooden frame was replaced by a steel one. The Tenor bell weighs 625 KGs (12 cwt) and is tuned to 'f sharp. The Ringing Chamber is locked for reasons of safety but bell number 6 can be rung from the porch, try it!top
Churchyard & Lych-gate
Outside we have 7 acres of graveyard. It is now closed to new burials and maintained by the City of Stoke On Trent. The Lime trees were planted in 1859. The original purpose of a Lych-gate was to store a corpse overnight prior to a funeral. Ours has never been used for that. It was built in 1920 as a memorial to the men of Norton who fell in the Great War. The name of the joiner can be found by the agile. The gates were made in 1988 by Frank Hancock and the railings in 1995 by John Mulliner, both local men.top
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