StaffordshireBUSLEMStJoseph(garysheldonPERMISSIONBYNCT)1 GarySheldon

St Joseph

St Joseph’s was founded as a Mission from nearby Cobridge in 1895 and in 1925 work started on the present church designed in the north Italian Lombardic or Romanesque style by the young architect JS Brocklesby.

Burslem, Staffordshire

Opening times

Visitors can be accommodated by contacting the Parish Administrator.

Address

Hall Street
Burslem
Staffordshire
ST6 4BB

In 1908 Fr William Browne came to Burslem, one of the six towns that make up The Potteries and referred to as Bursley by Anold Bennett’s Five Towns.

In 1925 he started to build the present church of St Joseph's. Parishioners and men of Burslem demolished an old factory and prepared the foundations for the new church which was designed by the architect, JS Brocklesby. The church is built in red and purple brick manufactured at the brickworks at Fenton Colliery (another of the six towns).

There are two west towers; one square in plan and one smaller and round.

Much of the interior decoration, including the stained glass windows was the work of younger members of the parish under the direction of Gordon Forsyth, then Superintendent of the Burslem School of Art. Forsyth also painted some of the murals, whilst his daughter Moira was starting to produce other artwork for the church including the huge ceiling painting 'Christ in Glory'.

  • Spectacular stained glass

  • Social heritage stories

  • National heritage here

  • Glorious furnishings

  • Famous connections

  • Captivating architecture

  • Walkers & cyclists welcome

  • On street parking at church

  • Level access to the main areas

  • Accessible toilets in church

  • Catholic Church

  • Cornerstone Grant, £40,000, 2015

  • Our Cornerstone Grants fund urgent repairs and essential community facilities such as toilets and kitchens to help keep churches open.

  • Repair Grant, £10,000, 2010

  • Our Repair Grants funded urgent repair work to help keep churches open.

Contact information

Other nearby churches

Sacred Heart

Tunstall, Staffordshire

Opened in 1930 by Archbishop Downey of Liverpool, who described the building as ‘a miracle of beauty’.

Bethesda Methodist Chapel

Hanley, Staffordshire

This huge 19th century chapel was once the most popular place of worship in what was to become the city of Stoke on Trent, a federation of the six towns of the Potteries.