Introduction

Froghall is a village situated approximately ten miles to the east of Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

 and two miles north of Cheadle

Cheadle, Staffordshire

Cheadle is a small market town near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, with a population of 12,158 according to the 2001 census. It is roughly from the city of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Birmingham and south of Manchester...

 in Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, England. Froghall sits in the Churnet Valley, A beautiful and relatively unspoilt part of Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

.
There are some excellent and challenging walks in the area, many of which encompass the area's historic development by the coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

, ironstone

Ironstone

Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...

, copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 industries.

Industry around Froghall

For a relatively small village there has been a lot of historic development in and around Froghall by Industry over the last few hundred years.
The main feature of the village is the historic copper factory of Thomas Bolton and sons, now called Bolton Copper. A lot of the factory stood derelict before being demolished in 2011. However, a last minute intervention saved an orignal chimney which is still standing. A substantial portion is still in use for the production of rotor bars and extruded section.
The Thomas Bolton Copperworks at Froghall (and the closed works in the nearby village of Oakamoor

Oakamoor

Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire, England.Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley....

) are famous for the world's first transatlantic telegraph cable

Transatlantic telegraph cable

The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...

s, which were manufactured and rolled at the plants.

During the Second World War the factories made wiring components for Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

 fighter planes.
The Copper works are the Staffordshire Moorlands' last link to the historic copper-mining industry that was centered on the nearby Manifold Valley and its famous Ecton

Ecton, Staffordshire

For the village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, see EctonEcton is a hamlet in the Staffordshire Peak District . It is on the Manifold Way, an 8 mile walk- and cycle-path which follows the line of the former Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway....

 Copper Mines.

The Limestone Industry was also significant in Froghall. At the nearby Froghall wharf, Limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 was loaded onto Canal narrow boats or burnt in lime kilns and then transported to the Potteries

Potteries

Potteries may refer to:* Pottery, or pottery manufacturing* The Stoke-on-Trent area, known as the Staffordshire Potteries after its once-important ceramics industry...

 or further afield.The Limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 was mined in the huge quarries

Quarries

Quarries - The "Royal Quarries" — not found in Scripture — is the namegiven to the vast caverns stretching far underneath the northern hill, Bezetha, on which Jerusalem is built. Out of these mammoth caverns stones, a hard limestone, have been quarried in ancient times for the buildings in the...

 at Caldon low and then loaded onto an inclined Tramway to Froghall. Four Tramways were built and parts of them are still tracable in the landscape including various bridges and inclines. The final tramway, built by James Trubshaw was the most significant and involved the most engineering. Trubshaw's tunnel near Windy Harbour is an excellent relic of this fourth route.
The Canal basin at Froghall wharf is now a pleasant spot for pleasure craft and walkers,with the huge dormant Lime Kilns dominating the area. It is hard to imagine the scene 100 years ago when loaded dusty wagons came speeding down the incline,with the noise from the crushing plant and the furnaces deafening and dust from the stone and smoke from the furnaces polluting the atmosphere.
As mentioned above the Caldon Canal

Caldon Canal

The Caldon Canal , opened in 1779, runs 18 miles from Etruria, in Stoke-on-Trent where it leaves the Trent and Mersey Canal at the summit level, to Froghall, Staffordshire...

 has played a large part in the development of Industry around Froghall. The basin at Froghall Wharf was originally the terminus of the Caldon Canal

Caldon Canal

The Caldon Canal , opened in 1779, runs 18 miles from Etruria, in Stoke-on-Trent where it leaves the Trent and Mersey Canal at the summit level, to Froghall, Staffordshire...

, and a separate Branch then ran to Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...

. The Uttoxeter Canal

Uttoxeter Canal

The Uttoxeter Canal was a thirteen-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England. It was authorised in 1797, but did not open until 1811. With the exception of the first lock and basin at Froghall, it closed in 1849, in order that the...

 was opened to Traffic in 1811 and after years of heavy losses was closed in 1849. The Branch was then mostly filled in and a Railway was built over most of the Canal bed.

Transport

Froghall was formerly served by Kingsley and Froghall railway station

Kingsley and Froghall railway station

Kingsley and Froghall railway station is a passenger railway station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.-History:Kingsley and Froghall station, situated on the Churnet Valley Line of the North Staffordshire Railway, was opened to both passengers and goods on 1 September...

, on the North Staffordshire Railway

North Staffordshire Railway

The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....

's Churnet Valley Line from North Rode

North Rode

North Rode is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 178....

 to Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...

 via Leek

Leek, Staffordshire

Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...

.The line closed to passenger Trains in the 60's and completely closed to Freight in 1988 with the transfer of the Sand Traffic from nearby Oakamoor

Oakamoor

Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire, England.Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley....

 to road haulage., passenger trains returned to Froghall in the 1990s after preservation of the line by the Churnet Valley Railway

Churnet Valley Railway

The Churnet Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The CVR has two main operational headquarters - Cheddleton station, where the motive power department is based and where the first trains ran, and Kingsley and Froghall station, where...

. At the present time, Kingsley and Froghall is the terminus of the railway.

The A52

A52 road

The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...

, which links Stoke-on-Trent with Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, passes through Froghall.This historic Road was used years ago to transport Coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 mined in Cheadle

Cheadle, Staffordshire

Cheadle is a small market town near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, with a population of 12,158 according to the 2001 census. It is roughly from the city of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Birmingham and south of Manchester...

 to Ashbourne

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...

, and until recently many older residents would refer to the road as the "Old Coal road."