Stanton Hill

Skegby Colliery, owned by the Dodsley family, was originally located on Wharf Road, which is now in the area known as Stanton Hill, but in the first half of the 19th century was just part of Skegby. It was situated near a triangular piece of land known as Gore Field.

Stanton Hill was first mentioned in the census in 1871, and then only as a street within Skegby. It  probably took its name from the Stanton Ironworks Company, which started sinking the Teversal (Butcher Wood) Colliery in 1867, and later the Silverhill Colliery in 1878. Many of the workers for these new collieries moved from other coalmining areas including Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

Skegby Colliery was replaced by New Skegby (later changed to Sutton) Colliery in 1873. It was also known as Brierley Colliery, possibly renamed by the many Staffordshire colliers moving from the Brierley Hill area. This was later taken over by the Blackwell Colliery Company.

There is no doubt that the huge increase in population of Skegby - from 805 in 1869 to over 3,000 in 1884 - meant that new housing was required in the immediate area. One hundred and thirty-two houses were initially built on Cooperative Street, Institute Street and Cross Row by the Stanton Ironworks Company, beginning in 1877. However, these street names only developed later, because in 1881 they were all recorded as Stanton Hill. By 1881 Stanton Hill was described as a hamlet within the parish of Skegby.

Two years after the sinking of Silverhill Colliery the Stanton Ironworks Company acquired more land at Meden Bank, which provided a further one hundred and twenty cottages and allotments for the workforce.

The Blackwell Colliery Company also contributed to the housing in the Stanton Hill area, building the terraces of houses named Longden, Bainbridge, Marshall,Gardiner, Cochrane and Scott's. These streets were named after some of the Directors of the Blackwell Company at the time of construction.

  Map of Stanton Hill

All Saints Church

"Crucifix in form and modelled on Early English style, the church seats over three hundred people and cost £1,400 to build, of which the Countess of Carnarvon donated £460, Mr Longdon £200, and the shareholders of the Stanton Ironworks Company £261."

[From The story of Skegby and Stanton Hill, by W Clay-Dove.]

As Stanton Hill was part of Skegby parish, St Andrews Church was used for worship, and for baptisms, marriages and burials. In Wright's 1888 directory it was noted that a Mission Room had been erected.

All Saint's Church was built in 1899 on arable land at Fackley Road, owned and donated by Mr R. Dodsley. The foundation stone for the church was laid on 5^th August 1899, by the Dowager Dutchess of Carvarvon. The first Curate was Rev.Walter Hanwell Williams, who served until 1903.

The Primitive Methodists built their chapel at New Lane, Stanton Hill in 1876, at a cost of £338. The foundation stones were laid by John Pickard and Robert Fletcher. It was replaced by a larger Chapel on Albert Street.

The foundation stone was laid for the new chapel on May 30th 1908, by Lady A. B. Markham. Many additional foundation stones were laid by members of the congregation, and bricks were laid by the children. The new chapel was opened on 4th October 1908 at a cost of £1,200. At that time, church membership was 60, with 250 scholars attending the Sunday School.

Original Primitive Methodist Chapel in New Lane                              Albert Street Primitive Methodist Chapel    

The United Methodist Church, in Victoria Street, was founded in 1884. A new building was opened in April 1908 on the same site. After the joining of the Primitive and United Methodists in 1969, the Victoria Street chapel became redundant. It has since been demolished.

The Baptist Church in Albert Street is dated 1877, and minutes of meetings survive from 1882. The land to build the chapel had been purchased  in 1875, at a cost of just over £91.  Some of the original congregation had been members of the General Baptist Church at Sutton, and had withdrawn from that group to form the congregation at Stanton Hill.

Stanton Hill Baptist Church

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Created 27^th January 1998 by Heather Faulkes - last updated 5th June 2001