Description:In 1830 Miss Sarah Hopkins of the Stone House, established 'Cannock Chase Cottage School', around 1830, for up to 25 poor children, aged 2 to 10, of cottagers on the borders of Cannock Chase. This was a 'Dame' School. Her charity leased a cottage (renegotiated for 99 years from the Marquis of Anglesey in 1843) to home the school and accommodation for its teacher. This cottage was the forerunner of the building attached to the left which was rebuilt partly on its foundations in 1970.
Part of the cottage was also utilised for church services but insufficient capacity for worshipers necessitated enlargement resulting in a single-story extension to the original cottage in 1871 to be known as St John the Baptist's School-Church.
The bell 'tower' and bell were installed in 1972, the bell having been previously donated by the owner of Rugeley's Hagley Hall, Mr C. J. Whieldon where it had originally been the Hall's stables bell. The final Service was taken by the Bishop of Wolverhampton on 18th May, 2025.
It may possibly be the only semi-detached church building attached to a residential house. It is situated at the end of Church Lane, Slitting Mill, a footpath right-of-way continues down to Jones Lane.
On the front exterior wall of the church there are memorial plaques in memory of: David Idiens 1944-2012; Jan Stone 1948-2014; Alan Keith Simpson 1940-2014 and Raymond Denis Freeman 1934-2008.
The village was originally known as ‘Stone house’, named after the large building on Penkridge Bank Road. The current name of Slitting Mill derives from the water-driven iron slitting mill that was once located nearby.