| Old
Town Road, Hanley
This is the 'proper'
section of Old Town Road, it was cut off from Town Road when the
Potteries Way ring round was built in 1986 and the route of Town Road
altered.
Courtland Fireplaces
Ltd
on the site of the
"Upper Hanley Works" - an earthenware factory
The Golden Cup
pub:
Previously a tied pub of
the now defunct Bass & Co Ltd - Burton-upon-Trent, as shown by the
'BASS ONLY' in huge relief letters on excellent green exterior tile
work
The Golden Cup
Inn
the pub name in a stone panel
the magnificent doorway with the green
glaze tile surround
From Methodist
chapel to Spiritualist church to restaurant:
The church was built in 1860 as a
Methodist place of worship.
It is shown on the 1898 map on the first page
The church was well attended and formed an important part of the
surrounding community for many years. Old Town Road was originally the
main road in Hanley until subsequent development changed the structure
of the town.
In 1926 it was converted to a
Spiritualist Church and
is reputed to be one of the oldest in the country.
In November 2000 due to the ill health
of the former president Muriel Shelley the Church was closed and
remained so for a year.
The officers of the Spiritualist's
National Union's West Midlands District Council found that the
administration of the Church had been inadequate with too few meetings
being held. A sustained effort was made by the parties involved to
keep the Church open, with new officers being appointed and a new
acting committee put in place to attempt to ensure the future of the
Church.
A decision was made in 2003 to close the
Church and seek accommodation elsewhere. The fabric of the Church was
left in a state of disrepair due to lack of use and lack of funds to
carry out essential works.
An agent was appointed to handle the sale of the former Church in the
early part of 2006.
The church was converted into a
restaurant - it's wooden vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows,
being left intact along with the historic restoration of it's
exterior.
The exterior was renovated
incorporating sandblasting/cleaning of the stone and brick work to
restore the front, side and rear elevations.
Windows that were previously boarded
and bricked up were replaced or repaired.
Doorways and doors were refurbished
to reflect the historic impact of the building.
Internally the upper level hall of
worship was left intact excluding pews and the pulpit to retain the
grandeur of the timber vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. This
area was refurbished to form functional leisure space.
|
