Smallthorne
Encyclopedia
Smallthorne is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent
in Staffordshire
, England
. It is in the north-east of the city, near Burslem
. Smallthorne borders Bradeley
in the north, Norton-in-the-Moors in the east, Sneyd Green
in the south, and Burslem in the west.
of the same name. The Burslem North part of Smallthorne also has an active residents association and has chosen to call itself Smallthorne Village Residents Association who Paul Reed is chair of.
In 2011 Smallthorne was united and became a single ward, with one Councillor elected (The labour party candidate Matt Wilcox who previously came from the East Valley ward).
This was due to the Boundaries Commission mandate to reduce the amount of councilors governing Stoke On Trent.
For 115 years Smallthorne was administratively separate from Stoke-on-Trent. From 1807 to 1894, Smallthorne (and Ford Green), along with Bemersley, Norton, Norton Green, and Milton, was part of the Norton-on-the-Moors Parish. An Act of Parliament , entitled 'An Act for separating the Chapelries and Chapels of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Burslem, Whitmore, Bucknall-cum-Bagnall and Norton-in-the-Moors, from the Rectory and Parish Church of Stoke-upon-Trent, and for making them five district rectories', was passed in 1807. For Poor Law purposes, the parish became part of Leek
Union in 1834. A visitor in the 1850s observed that "the whole parish is a cold and hilly country, abounding in coal, which is got at various depths, in beds from four to seven feet thick".
Smallthorne was from 1894 to 1922 part of the Smallthorne Urban District
. In 1922 the urban district was wound up, with the bulk of it becoming part of the county borough
of Stoke-on-Trent.
The building that once served as the council HQ is still in existence and can be found near Smallthorne Cemetery. The HQ became a public library before that closed in the early 1990s. It now serves as an undertakers' premises.
One interesting side effect of the fact that the Potteries' six towns and Smallthorne were administratively separate was the duplication of many street names. This led to significant confusion after unification. Thus, in the early 1950s a large number of streets had to be renamed. In Smallthorne twenty streets were given new names, including Ford Green Road (formerly Leek Road), Coseley Street (formerly Edward Street) and Preston Street (formerly Wedgwood Street).
, itself a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal
, fell into complete disuse with the arrival of the railways and its remains have almost all been obliterated over time.
The Biddulph Valley Line, later part of the North Staffordshire Railway
, was opened in 1859 and a passenger station called ‘Ford Green and Smallthorne’ began service in 1864. Passenger services between Stoke and Biddulph ceased in 1927 but some special excursion trains continued until 1962. With the decline of the heavy industries all along the route, the line was gradually downgraded until the last section between Ford Green and Milton Junction closed in 1977 (when Norton Colliery closed).
Thus, until the late 1970s Smallthorne was very much a coal mining area. In the mid 1960s there were still three large collieries - Norton (Ford Green), Sneyd (Burslem) and Hanley Deep Pit - within a mile or less of 'Smallthorne Bank' (the main shopping area today) and a number of others were within an easy commuting distance. One of the many workingmen's clubs scattered throughout the surrounding district is still called the Norton Miners Welfare Institute and Cricket Club and can be located off Community Drive in Smallthorne. (The semi-pro football club Norton United F.C.
are also based at the Institute, although, being only a mile and a half from Vale Park, home of League Two Port Vale F.C.
, crowds are rarely large).
‘Primitive Street’ is named after Primitive Methodism
, which, in the mid nineteenth century, was an influential Protestant Christian movement. There was a Primitive Methodist Chapel close by in Sangster Lane, as well as Victoria Methodist (recently demolished after a fire) and Salem Methodist. There were numerous such chapels throughout the North Staffordshire coalfield until, in 1932, the three main Methodist groups in Britain, the Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists and United Methodists came together to form the present Methodist Church
. In recent years many have closed and now only one, Salem, remains in Smallthorne and its future is currently threatened by the need to comply with the latest disabled access laws.
Primitive Methodism was founded by two Stoke-on-Trent Christian converts: Bucknall-born Hugh Bourne
(1772-1852) and Burslem-born William Clowes
(1780-1851). Bourne, and his supporters, were originally known as 'Camp Meeting Methodists' because they organised large open-air meetings for preaching, prayer and the public declaration of sin. From a vantage point on Chetwynd Street, outside Smallthorne Primary School, you can see three important places in the early history of the movement: Mow Cop
, the site of the first two Camp Meetings on Sunday 31 May 1807 and 19 July; Norton-in-the-Moors, the location of the third Camp Meeting on 23 August 1807; and Chatterley Whitfield Colliery winding gear and spoil heap behind which can be found the small former mining village of Bemersley, where Hugh Bourne lived and died. In 1907 the Primitive Methodists celebrated their centenary with a new Camp Meeting at Mow Cop that attracted around 100,000 people.
Primitive Methodists were popularly nicknamed ‘Ranters’ because of their tendency to sing hymns in the street. Before the age of state education, many of Smallthorne’s children would have received their elementary education from ‘Ranters’ in Primitive Methodist Sunday Schools.
The hub of the community is around the junction of Ford Green Road, known locally as ‘Smallthorne Bank’, and Community Drive. Here can be found a community hall, an NHS
health centre, a chemist, a sub-post office, a number of other shops, a restaurant, an Oatcake
shop and take-aways.
Smallthorne’s community hall was one of only twelve council-owned, community-run halls in the city. Today, many of these Halls are social enterprise
s owned by local Trusts. In addition to its community hall, Smallthorne has two churches [Saint Saviours Church of England Parish and Salem Methodist Chapel - part of the Stoke on Trent (Burslem) Circuit of the Methodist Church] and two primary schools (Smallthorne and New Ford). Both primary schools are 'feeder schools' for Haywood Engineering College in Burslem, with a significant minority of former New Ford pupils attending Holden Lane High School
in Sneyd Green.
There are six public houses in Smallthorne (Last Orders, the Barrel, the Ford (now closed), the Green Star, the Kings Head, and the Swan Inn) and three Workingmen's Clubs (Norton Miners Institute, the Pioneer WMC and Institute on Chetwynd Street and the Victory WMC and Institute on Hanley Road - a member of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union
).
Ford Green Hall
is a farmhouse originally built in 1624. It stands on land adjacent to the B5051 minor road in the east of Smallthorne. It is the only timber-framed yeoman farmer's house still surviving in Stoke-on-Trent. Originally, it stood in 36 acres (145,687 m²) of farmland, but this has been gradually encroached upon over the years so that now it is surrounded by comparatively small grounds. Beyond its grounds there is now housing, a busy minor road, and a nature reserve
. The house functions as a 17th century period historic house museum, managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
was a strong advocate of Esperanto
(gaining the nickname Mr. Esperanto). So when 'The Green Star', a Smallthorne pub, was being built Barks naturally requested that the brewery add the words 'la verda stelo' (the pub's name in Esperanto) onto the side of the building. The brewer agreed.
The Green Star can still be found on the corner of Esperanto Way, a stones throw from Zamenhof Grove (named for the creator of Esperanto) though from some time in 2005 the sign saying 'la verda stelo' is no longer displayed.
The office and administrative centre of 'Esperanto-Asocio de Britio' (Esperanto Association of Britain
) is just outside Stoke-on-Trent in the Wedgwood Memorial College
, Barlaston
. Horace Barks helped set up the first courses there in 1960.
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...
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is in the north-east of the city, near Burslem
Burslem
The town of Burslem, known as the Mother Town, is one of the six towns that amalgamated to form the current city of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England.-Topography:...
. Smallthorne borders Bradeley
Bradeley
Bradeley is a village in Staffordshire, England, in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but became more established as a mining community for the local coal pits in Norton and Chatterley Whitfield...
in the north, Norton-in-the-Moors in the east, Sneyd Green
Sneyd Green
Sneyd Green is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is in the north-east of the city, approx. from Hanley...
in the south, and Burslem in the west.
Administration
Although all of Smallthorne falls comfortably within Stoke-on-Trent North parliamentary constituency, for local government purposes it was split between two different electoral wards: Burslem North and East Valley. The part of Smallthorne that falls within East Valley is sometimes referred to as New Ford and has an active Residents AssociationResidents' association
Residents' associations are organisations formed by groups of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community....
of the same name. The Burslem North part of Smallthorne also has an active residents association and has chosen to call itself Smallthorne Village Residents Association who Paul Reed is chair of.
In 2011 Smallthorne was united and became a single ward, with one Councillor elected (The labour party candidate Matt Wilcox who previously came from the East Valley ward).
This was due to the Boundaries Commission mandate to reduce the amount of councilors governing Stoke On Trent.
For 115 years Smallthorne was administratively separate from Stoke-on-Trent. From 1807 to 1894, Smallthorne (and Ford Green), along with Bemersley, Norton, Norton Green, and Milton, was part of the Norton-on-the-Moors Parish. An Act of Parliament , entitled 'An Act for separating the Chapelries and Chapels of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Burslem, Whitmore, Bucknall-cum-Bagnall and Norton-in-the-Moors, from the Rectory and Parish Church of Stoke-upon-Trent, and for making them five district rectories', was passed in 1807. For Poor Law purposes, the parish became part of 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...
Union in 1834. A visitor in the 1850s observed that "the whole parish is a cold and hilly country, abounding in coal, which is got at various depths, in beds from four to seven feet thick".
Smallthorne was from 1894 to 1922 part of the Smallthorne Urban District
Smallthorne Urban District
Smallthorne Urban District was an Urban district in Staffordshire. It was initially formed of the Smallthorne civil parish. In 1904 the Chell and Milton civil parishes were added. It was abolished in 1922 with the bulk of it becoming part of the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.After absorption,...
. In 1922 the urban district was wound up, with the bulk of it becoming part of the county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
of Stoke-on-Trent.
The building that once served as the council HQ is still in existence and can be found near Smallthorne Cemetery. The HQ became a public library before that closed in the early 1990s. It now serves as an undertakers' premises.
One interesting side effect of the fact that the Potteries' six towns and Smallthorne were administratively separate was the duplication of many street names. This led to significant confusion after unification. Thus, in the early 1950s a large number of streets had to be renamed. In Smallthorne twenty streets were given new names, including Ford Green Road (formerly Leek Road), Coseley Street (formerly Edward Street) and Preston Street (formerly Wedgwood Street).
Industry
Today, there is virtually no sign of heavy industry in Smallthorne but this is a relatively recent development. The district used to be criss-crossed by a canal and numerous mineral lines servicing five collieries – Cornhill, Holden Lane, Intake, Norton and Pinfold; the Ford Green Ironworks; a forge; and a chain, cable and anchor works. These lines joined the main Biddulph Valley Line near Ford Green Hall. The Foxley, a branch of the Caldon CanalCaldon 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...
, itself a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
, fell into complete disuse with the arrival of the railways and its remains have almost all been obliterated over time.
The Biddulph Valley Line, later part of 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....
, was opened in 1859 and a passenger station called ‘Ford Green and Smallthorne’ began service in 1864. Passenger services between Stoke and Biddulph ceased in 1927 but some special excursion trains continued until 1962. With the decline of the heavy industries all along the route, the line was gradually downgraded until the last section between Ford Green and Milton Junction closed in 1977 (when Norton Colliery closed).
Thus, until the late 1970s Smallthorne was very much a coal mining area. In the mid 1960s there were still three large collieries - Norton (Ford Green), Sneyd (Burslem) and Hanley Deep Pit - within a mile or less of 'Smallthorne Bank' (the main shopping area today) and a number of others were within an easy commuting distance. One of the many workingmen's clubs scattered throughout the surrounding district is still called the Norton Miners Welfare Institute and Cricket Club and can be located off Community Drive in Smallthorne. (The semi-pro football club Norton United F.C.
Norton United F.C.
Norton United F.C. is a football club based in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. They were established in 1989 and joined the Staffordshire Senior League in the same year...
are also based at the Institute, although, being only a mile and a half from Vale Park, home of League Two Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
, crowds are rarely large).
Ranters
One of the Smallthorne streets off Ford Green Road is called ‘Primitive Street’. For a hundred years or more, it contained two complete rows of unspectacular terraced housing. Those houses are now demolished and the area has been partially redeveloped. The street’s significance lies in its name.‘Primitive Street’ is named after Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
, which, in the mid nineteenth century, was an influential Protestant Christian movement. There was a Primitive Methodist Chapel close by in Sangster Lane, as well as Victoria Methodist (recently demolished after a fire) and Salem Methodist. There were numerous such chapels throughout the North Staffordshire coalfield until, in 1932, the three main Methodist groups in Britain, the Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists and United Methodists came together to form the present Methodist Church
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
. In recent years many have closed and now only one, Salem, remains in Smallthorne and its future is currently threatened by the need to comply with the latest disabled access laws.
Primitive Methodism was founded by two Stoke-on-Trent Christian converts: Bucknall-born Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne was the joint founder of Primitive Methodism, the largest offshoot of Wesleyan Methodism and, in the mid nineteenth century, an influential Protestant Christian movement in its own right.- Early life :...
(1772-1852) and Burslem-born William Clowes
William Clowes (Primitive Methodist)
William Clowes was one of the founders of Primitive Methodism.He was born at Burslem, Staffordshire, on 12 March 1780,son of William Clowes, potter, and of Ann, daughter of Aaron Wedgwood, grandson of Gilbert Wedgwood. He was employed during his early years as a working potter.For many years...
(1780-1851). Bourne, and his supporters, were originally known as 'Camp Meeting Methodists' because they organised large open-air meetings for preaching, prayer and the public declaration of sin. From a vantage point on Chetwynd Street, outside Smallthorne Primary School, you can see three important places in the early history of the movement: Mow Cop
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is an isolated village which straddles the Cheshire–Staffordshire border, and is thus divided between the North West and West Midlands regions of England...
, the site of the first two Camp Meetings on Sunday 31 May 1807 and 19 July; Norton-in-the-Moors, the location of the third Camp Meeting on 23 August 1807; and Chatterley Whitfield Colliery winding gear and spoil heap behind which can be found the small former mining village of Bemersley, where Hugh Bourne lived and died. In 1907 the Primitive Methodists celebrated their centenary with a new Camp Meeting at Mow Cop that attracted around 100,000 people.
Primitive Methodists were popularly nicknamed ‘Ranters’ because of their tendency to sing hymns in the street. Before the age of state education, many of Smallthorne’s children would have received their elementary education from ‘Ranters’ in Primitive Methodist Sunday Schools.
Demographics
Smallthorne has a large elderly population, twice the City's average. Nearly a third of its residents live in council housing and there is an even larger proportion in terraced housing (Source: 2001 Census). According to the Council’s Neighbourhood Area Profile (July 2006), Smallthorne “is typified by large areas of privately-owned terraced housing and significant areas of semi-detached council-housing”. The average gross household income of Smallthorne residents is lower than the City's average but there are ten other neighbourhoods in the City that are poorer (Source: CACI Ltd). Social housing in the area is usually very sought after and private house prices are buoyant.Present day
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
health centre, a chemist, a sub-post office, a number of other shops, a restaurant, an Oatcake
Oatcake
An oatcake is a type of cracker or pancake, made from oatmeal, and sometimes flour as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle or baked in an oven.- Scottish oatcakes :...
shop and take-aways.
Smallthorne’s community hall was one of only twelve council-owned, community-run halls in the city. Today, many of these Halls are social enterprise
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
s owned by local Trusts. In addition to its community hall, Smallthorne has two churches [Saint Saviours Church of England Parish and Salem Methodist Chapel - part of the Stoke on Trent (Burslem) Circuit of the Methodist Church] and two primary schools (Smallthorne and New Ford). Both primary schools are 'feeder schools' for Haywood Engineering College in Burslem, with a significant minority of former New Ford pupils attending Holden Lane High School
Holden Lane High School
Holden Lane High School is a comprehensive / community school located in Sneyd Green, Stoke on Trent, England. It was established in 1963 and educates pupils of ages 11–16. It became a specialist Sports College in 2001 and is the hub for the development of P.E...
in Sneyd Green.
There are six public houses in Smallthorne (Last Orders, the Barrel, the Ford (now closed), the Green Star, the Kings Head, and the Swan Inn) and three Workingmen's Clubs (Norton Miners Institute, the Pioneer WMC and Institute on Chetwynd Street and the Victory WMC and Institute on Hanley Road - a member of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union
Working Men's Club and Institute Union
The Working Men's Club and Institute Union is a voluntary association of private members' clubs in Great Britain & Northern Ireland, with about 3,000 associate clubs. One club in the Republic of Ireland, the City of Dublin Working Men's Club is also affiliated. Most social clubs are affiliated to...
).
Landmarks
Ford Green Hall
Ford Green Hall is a Grade II* listed farmhouse and historic house museum, originally built in 1624, located in Smallthorne, area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England....
is a farmhouse originally built in 1624. It stands on land adjacent to the B5051 minor road in the east of Smallthorne. It is the only timber-framed yeoman farmer's house still surviving in Stoke-on-Trent. Originally, it stood in 36 acres (145,687 m²) of farmland, but this has been gradually encroached upon over the years so that now it is surrounded by comparatively small grounds. Beyond its grounds there is now housing, a busy minor road, and a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. The house functions as a 17th century period historic house museum, managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
Green Star public house and Esperanto
A former Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in the 1950s, Horace BarksHorace Barks
Horace Barks, OBE was Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in 1951–1952.Barks was born in the countryside near Stoke-on-Trent and came from a working class background. His experiences in World War I left him with pacifist beliefs...
was a strong advocate of Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
(gaining the nickname Mr. Esperanto). So when 'The Green Star', a Smallthorne pub, was being built Barks naturally requested that the brewery add the words 'la verda stelo' (the pub's name in Esperanto) onto the side of the building. The brewer agreed.
The Green Star can still be found on the corner of Esperanto Way, a stones throw from Zamenhof Grove (named for the creator of Esperanto) though from some time in 2005 the sign saying 'la verda stelo' is no longer displayed.
The office and administrative centre of 'Esperanto-Asocio de Britio' (Esperanto Association of Britain
Esperanto Association of Britain
The Esperanto Association of Britain is a registered educational charity whose objective is to advance the education of the public in the international language Esperanto....
) is just outside Stoke-on-Trent in the Wedgwood Memorial College
Wedgwood Memorial College
Wedgwood Memorial College is a small residential college in Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. The college is owned and operated by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and is nationally important as a centre of Esperanto education....
, Barlaston
Barlaston
Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 2,659.-History:The old parish church of...
. Horace Barks helped set up the first courses there in 1960.
Notable people
- Arthur BerryArthur BerryArthur Berry was an English playwright, poet, teacher and artist, born in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent.Berry was the son of a publican and grew up during the Depression. At the age of 14 he enrolled at Burslem School of Art...
, playwright, poet, teacher and artist - Mark BrightMark BrightMark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....
, professional footballer and BBC sports pundit - Albert LeakeAlbert LeakeAlbert George Leake was an English former football half-back.He spent the entire 1950s with Port Vale, as the club enjoyed an exciting period of their history. After a total of 43 goals in 293 games, Leake left the club in 1961 for non-league Macclesfield Town, a club he later managed...
, professional footballer - Alan Martin, professional footballer