IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Stockton, SHIFNAL, TF11 9EF

Very early 18th century (1702) and built as a rectory to the nearby parish church, this attracted a Grade II* listing https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101367597-rectory-stockton#.XaQeuuhKhPY & https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1367597 in 1974. During WWII, it was the home of the Rev Thomas Coupe and his wife, Eve. She was a lady who enjoyed her personal grooming, and insisted on washing in nothing but the finest, purest rainwater. None of this piped Welsh, Elan Valley stuff for her, oh no; it had to be the rainwater from the rectory roof apparently. The rectory also served as a lookout post for the local Home Guard, who would fortify themselves with a couple of ciders at The Hundred House at Norton, then head for the roof with a bottle or two of mild for the night. Well, time inevitably passed, and it was obviously easier to 'relieve the pressure' into the gutters than to climb down to the ground and do it in the conventional way. Job done, night watch could then resume. This went on for many months without a problem, until the day that a bit of a drought began to empty the water butts that were supplying the lady of the house with her bathwater; she asked her husband one morning whether he thought her hair was maybe a little less tidy than usual - straw-like, even? "Oh, no, dear, it's perfectly alright, it looks lovely" he replied, wisely avoiding her glance. The Revd was also a Home Guard Captain, and he probably knew something of the unsavoury habits of the crew on the roof. Best to keep quiet on that front. (This tale is courtesy of Graham Jones, local historian)

This cross in Stockton churchyard surprisingly doesn't appear to be listed.

The grazing land in the foreground is part of the Apley Country Park; the track is not a right of way.

The view of St Chad's Church, Stockton.

The view of St Chad's Church, Stockton.

The tower and main part of St Chad's, Stockton, built in their different stones.

The west elevation of the church tower built in the local sandstone.

Described in their 1974 Grade II listing https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101053744-churchyard-walls-on-south-and-east-sides-of-st-chads-stockton & https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1053744 as being 18th century random sandstone rubble, and topped in places by crocketed finials removed from the church. Some of those finials have fallen off, although a few remain.

The colourful sandstone tower was built in the fifteenth century, and contrasts with the rest of the church which uses a more consistently red stone.

The church dates from the 12th century little remains from this time. The tower is from the C15 in the lower stages, which the upper stages were completed by the middle of the 17th century. The contrasting nave and chancel were rebuilt in 1858-59 for T.C. Whitmore of Apley Park by Richard Yates, a local builder. The church is Grade II* listed, see: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1053743