This painting was done sometime in the early 1900’s by John H Dickson. It shows the font in Holy Trinity church. Courtesy of the Trinty Green Project.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
This painting was done sometime in the early 1900’s by John H Dickson. It shows the font in Holy Trinity church. Courtesy of the Trinty Green Project.
John H Dickson was born in Lynmouth, Devon in 1882 and then moved to Stockton with his parents c1906.
He married Ethel Boys from Cambridgeshire at Holy Trinity Church in 1908 and set up home initially in Newtown and then to Trinity Street. In 1909 they moved to Westcott Street where they stayed until 1924 when they moved to Lightfoot Grove until 1947, when they moved to Eaglescliffe Green, where he sadly passed away in 1953. They had two girls, Dorothy born in 1908 and Evelyn Born in 1909.
He was by trade a coach painter, although the family cannot remember the local firm, which he worked for in Stockton. Initially he painted heraldry on coaches but as time went on he began to paint signage on vans and lorries etc. He also painted the birthday cards for the Crown Prince of Bavaria for many years. In his latter years he worked for the local bicycle manufacturer, Taylors.
When the church began to go into decline some of the interior work of the church was removed and the panels/wood carvings close to the alter which are shown on the painting and have been re-sited in St Peters Church, Yarm Road.
This painting is incredibly intricate and shows how beautiful the interior of the church was before its sad decline.
The finding of this painting and the history behind it is as a result of a history research project being carried out by the Friends of Parkfield/Mill Lane Resident group and the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder, who would like to thank immensely the family of the late Mr Dickson for all their help and information over the past few months.
I wonder if this was the font in which I was baptised by Canon Salter in November 1953?
I am sure it is. My Grandma who was a church goer here talked of Canon Salter.