St. Leonards Church, Dunston in Staffordshire

Sunday, 29th July saw much celebration at St. Leonard's Church, Dunston.
In the morning, there was the special communion service with baptism. It was lovely to see the church so full, and with so many young families and children present. It was a great delight to use the font in its new position.
In the evening was the big service of thanksgiving. It was good to see the church so full - with people from the 4 village churches and from Penkridge; with people from the Dunston community; with clergy old and new - all friends of Dunston church, all come to celebrate the opening of the church for worship. It was a glorious service of thanksgiving and celebration. And the celebrations continued after the service, as formal thanks were given to all those who had worked so hard over these last 6 months, especially to Bill and Peter. And still the celebrations went on as wine was supped and goodies were nibbled and people talked and talked and talked.
A golden evening of which memories are made.
This church is situated in the lovely hamlet of Dunston in south Staffordshire. It is easily accessible from Junction 13 of the M6 Motorway, by taking the A449 towards Wolverhampton. The village of Dunston starts just after you leave the motorway junction, and the church is approximately 1/2 mile on your right.
The Ordnance Survey Grid Reference for the Church is SJ 928177

About the Church:
This church, a chapel-of-ease to Penkridge until the 19th Century, is first mentioned in 1445, and was probably first erected about that time. It was rebuilt in the 18th century except a small west tower with the low stage double stepped on the north and south sides. An account of 1843 indicates that there was no access to the tower except by means of its west doorway and that the church contained no monuments. The existing church is entirely of 1876-8, with a vestry address in 1907.

In 1876 the ancient chapel of Dunston dedicated to St. Leonard, was demolished in favour of a larger building. The chapel was erected in the early fifteenth century, at which time Dunston parish was under the control of Penkridge, who maintained their right to appoint a curate until 1849, when the chapelry of Dunston became united with that of St. Lawrence, Coppenhall.
The original building was a small brick edifice, with a stone tower and a Georgian doorway in the west wall. In the eighteenth century, the main body of the chapel was completely refaced with brickwork, although the tower was left untouched. At this time, the chapel contained two bells. By the middle of the nineteenth century, it was evident that the little chapel was unable to cope with the increasing population and between the years of 1876 and 1878 a new church was built. It was designed by a Wolverhampton architect, Mr W. D. Griffin and constructed by the Perry family. The cost of the erection was £5000, which was borne solely by Frederick C. Perry and his family. The family began their arduous task with the hope that, upon completion the church would stand as a memorial to Frederick Perry's father, Thomas Perry. Consequently, the new church of St. Leonard was licensed in 1878.

The church is a cruciform building of stone in the early Decorated Style with aspired west tower. In 1889, the church contained one bell. When the chapel was demolished, the stone from the tower was used to construct the road parallel to the church, leading to three private cottages.
When the new church was first constructed, burials were still being performed in Penkridge Church, owing to the lack of ground for a churchyard at Dunston, but in 1887 the family owning the land surrounding the church left the district, and donated their land to the Church. The land, which had previously been used for arable farming, was converted by the parishioners and the new churchyard was consecrated in 1887.
In 1997, the churchyard was extended when a strip of land, south of the church, was added to provide additional burial space.

The church was without a vestry until 1907/8, when a new room was added, on a section of the graveyard on the north side of the church, at a cost of approximately two hundred and eighty pounds. A new organ was also installed at a cost of three hundred and twenty pounds. the organ had to be hand blown - indeed one of the choir boys was required to pump the bellows at the rear of the mechanism.
Now the bellows are pumped electrically.

The patronage of the chapel was held in 1752 by the Littleton family, but in 1897, it passed to Frederick C. Perry of the newly erected Dunston Hall. In 1900, along with the rest of her estate, Helen Perry passed the patronage to George Benjamin Thorneycroft. In 1902 Helen Perry augmented the vicar's salary on condition that he performed two services in both Coppenhall and Dunston every Sunday. Another of Mrs Perry's gifts to the church was a carrillion of bells, rung from a keyboard. during the second world war, the brass lectern and altar railings were melted down in aid of the war effort. The lectern was later replaced with a wooden version. In the 1980's Dunston Parish took a step back in history. Owing to low attendances at many of the services, it was decided that Dunston and Coppenhall no longer warranted a Vicar. Consequently, Dunston's religious interests again became controlled from Penkridge, under a group practice.

THE PENKRIDGE TEAM MINISTRY
TEAM RECTOR	TEAM VICAR
REV. MICK WILLIAMS The Rectory New Road Penkridge. 01785 712378	REV. CAROLINE PLANT The Vicarage Top Road Acton Trussell 01785 711154
COMMUNITY CONTACTS:
Dunston – Mona Cook on 01785 258087	Coppenhall – Rita Gilbert on 01785 248264
CHURCH SERVICES AT ST. LEONARDS DUNSTON commence at 11.00am

OUR NEW BELL
Every Sunday morning from 10.45 till 11.o’clock, Dunston Church bell rings, to welcome those attending church. For some time it had been showing a distinct note of tiredness, ringing ‘flat.’ An
investigation revealed that it was not a bell, but a chiming tube (one of six) It’s hammer mechanism was heavily rusted and worn, hence it’s sad note. Therefore to commemorate the Millennium, we thought it would be a good idea to try and replace it with a proper bell.

Gailey Church had been closed in 1984, it’s bell withdrawn, dismantled and
deposited in Penkridge Church for safe keeping. Here lay an ideal replacement for Dunston Church, with a bell and not a tube. Permission was given to re-hang in our Church. It was duly transported to Dunston and after much heaving and pulling, the two cwt ‘Gailey’ bell was hung on the second floor of the church tower, with it’s newly manufactured clapper mechanism rewired to replace the original.

It was rung for the first occasion on the 1st January at 12 noon to celebrate the new Millennium.

Many thanks must go to Graham Lawrence, Rob Hamer and Andrew Buzzard, without whose efforts the task would not have been possible.

J. W. Cook,

Who wound the Church Clock?
The Church Clock at St. Leonard's Church, Dunston is almost a hundred years old. It was made in 1898 by Joyce of Whitchurch and is a turret clock with pin wheel escapement. The clock stopped in 1967 and was cleaned out and started up again in 1976 by Dave Pickering, who is a clock expert, Roy Edge and Ian Parrott. Myself, Richard Parrott, has been helping to wind the Church clock for nearly two years.
The earliest known person to take care of the clock was T. Howry in 1909. Since then the clock keepers have signed their names on a wooden beam below the church clock.
A well known man who lived in Dunston, named Paul Bailey, helped to wind the church clock for four years but sadly had to move house so the last tick was tocked. For six months the Church clock only told the right time twice a day and the hard job was retaken by Roy Edge and Co., who originally wound the clock before Paul.

The following people wound the clock and sometimes rung the bells on various dates;
T. Howry (1909), E. Mellor (1918-1927), Frank Smith (1921) C. Jas (1931), B.J.W. (1934), T. Aldridge (1937), W. H. Jelling (1939) Eric Bower & G. M. Samuel (1954), L.R.S. (1963), D. Bailey (1967).
There are plenty more people than listed above but time has distorted the writing and signatures. If anyone knows more names or people that had some connection with the church please contact Richard on 01785 712285
Richard Parrott & Niels Bugge - Dunston 1999

THE CHURCH BELL REPLACED FOR THE MILLENNIUM
Every Sunday morning from 10.45 till 11.o’clock, Dunston Church bell rings, to welcome those attending church. For some time it had been showing a distinct note of tiredness, ringing ‘flat.’
An investigation revealed that it was not a bell, but a chiming tube (one of six) It’s hammer mechanism was heavily rusted and worn, hence it’s sad note. Therefore to commemorate the Millennium, we thought it would be a good idea to try and replace it with a proper bell.

Gailey Church had been closed in 1984, it’s bell withdrawn, dismantled and deposited in Penkridge Church for safe keeping. Here lay an ideal replacement for Dunston Church, with a bell and not a tube. Permission was given to re-hang in our Church. It was duly transported to Dunston and after much heaving and pulling, the two cwt ‘Gailey’ bell was hung on the second floor of the church tower, with it’s newly manufactured clapper mechanism rewired to replace the original.

It was rung for the first occasion on the 1st January at 12 noon to celebrate the new Millennium.

Many thanks must go to Graham Lawrence, Rob Hamer and Andrew Buzzard, without whose efforts the task would not have been possible.

J. W. Cook,
Churchwarden.

Acknowledgement:
All information concerning events, meetings and church business is taken from the Contact Magazine
- a production of community news for Dunston, Hyde Lea & Coppenhall
© Dunston Webmaster 1999-2005


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			Photographs courtesy of South Staffordshire Council Web Site
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