About St Margarets Church
Clergy | Tradition | Discipleship | History | Churchyard
Clergy
Fr Tommy Merry
Fr Tommy Merry joined St. Margaret’s in May 2022 as the Priest-in-charge.
If you need to contact Fr Tommy Merry for any reason, he can be contacted at the Vicarage on: 01782 624450 or email frtommymerry@gmail.com
Fr Tommy was born in Lincoln and went to University in Norwich to study Catering and Hospitality Management. He travelled around Asia and worked in Hong Kong as a teacher and then returned to England to work in a church in West Bromwich.
Fr Tommy trained for the priesthood at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield which included various placements in South Africa. He served as a curate in Hanley, Vicar of Fenton and now as Priest-in-charge of St Margaret’s Wolstanton and Vicar of St Mark’s Basford.
He enjoys cooking, travelling, theatre, walking and reading.
Dai Elias – Church Warden
Catherine Plumb – PCC Member
Tradition
St. Margaret’s stands in the ‘high church’ tradition and our corporate worship is centred around the Mass (also known as Holy Communion or the Eucharist). The priest wears vestments and we make use of incense and candles.
The emphasis on liturgy within our worship is intended to appeal to one’s whole person – to heart as well as head, to senses as well as to intellect. The way we worship is our attempt to maintain the beauty of holiness. The themes of our services are organised according to the traditional liturgical year and the calendar of saints.
If you are unfamiliar with such a traditional setting, don’t worry! Each act of worship has a service sheet which makes things easy to follow and we are always aware that not everyone worshipping is well-versed in our particular tradition.
After the worship there is an opportunity to chat and get to know people over a tea or coffee. We are a diverse bunch and look forward to welcoming you!
Discipleship, Vocation and Evangelism
Here at St. Margaret’s, we are committed to playing our part in working towards the vision of our diocese…
“As we follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad, we pray that the two million people in our diocese encounter a church that is confident in the gospel, knows and loves its communities, and is excited to find God already at work in the world. We pray for a church that reflects the richness and variety of those communities. We pray for a church that partners with others in seeking the common good, working for justice as a people of hope.”
Our Mission Action Plan uses the three core principles of DISCIPLESHIP, VOCATION and EVANGELISM in aligning our direction of travel with that of our brothers and sisters throughout the diocese.
We offer opportunities to grow as disciples of Jesus through worship, study, pilgrimage, and prayer.
History of St Margarets
Christians have probably worshipped on this site since the 7th or 8th century, and the presence of a priest here is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of AD 1080.
After falling into disrepair, the church was substantially rebuilt in the 16th century, and again in the 19th century. Parts of an early stone church from the 10th or 11th century were still visible in 1840s, and it is said that this building replaced an even earlier structure on this site.
The church has a long history of association with local families and dignitaries, including the Syneds, the Moretons, and the Adams, and there are several noteworthy 16th and 17th century tombs and monuments to them in the church.
The tower, built on the old medieval foundations, contains a peal of eight bells, six of which date from 1714, when they were installed in Trentham church, before being moved to St Margaret’s in 1767.
For more information on the history of St Margaret’s, download our guidebook by clicking on the following link…. <<to be added>>
St Margarets Churchyard
Current Position
We are grateful to the work of the Community Payback team who look after the grounds on a weekly basis.
We do encourage all mourners to comply with the rules of the church yard when it comes to flowers and objects left on church yards.
Many Thanks,
Fr Tommy Merry
Vicar and the PCC
The Churchyard
St Margaret’s churchyard is an oasis of calm in the middle of Wolstanton, and has been in use for over 500 years. It contains many graves of local and historical interest, including the notorious ‘poison’ grave (where the gravestone names the victim’s suspected murderer), and the grave of Dr Henry Faulds, medical missionary and the pioneer of fingerprinting.
The upkeep of the whole churchyard is shared between the church and the local authority. Maintenance of the church’s section of the churchyard (mainly the newer area further away from the church) is overseen by a small committee from St. Margaret’s and other local churches. Finances are always tight, and we value the annual contributions made by the ‘Friends of Wolstanton Churchyard’.
The erection of memorial stones and the adornment of graves in the churchyard is governed by strict rules. There are fees payable for a memorial stone application.
The current Churchyard Policy can be read by clicking the button below