Stoke-on-Trent
Encyclopedia
Stoke-on-Trent also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire
, England, which forms a linear conurbation
almost 12 miles (19 km) long, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km²). Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area
. This, together with the rural Staffordshire Moorlands
area, forms North Staffordshire
, which in 2001, had a population of 457,165.
The conurbation continues to be polycentric
, having been formed by the federation of six originally separate towns and numerous villages in the early-20th century. The settlement from which the federated town (not a city until 1925) took its name was Stoke-upon-Trent
, because this was where the administration (and chief mainline railway station
) was located. After the union, Hanley emerged as the primary commercial centre in the city, despite the efforts of its rival, Burslem
. The three other component towns are Tunstall
, Longton
, and Fenton
.
Stoke-on-Trent is considered to be the home of the pottery
industry in England and is commonly known as The Potteries
. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres
.
, with other settlements being chapelries
. 'Stoke' derives from the Old English stoc, a word that at first meant little more than a 'place', but which subsequently gained more specific – but divergent – connotations. These variant meanings included 'dairy farm', 'secondary or dependent place or farm', 'summer pasture', 'crossing place', 'meeting place' and 'place of worship'. It is not known which of these was intended here, and all are feasible. The most frequently suggested interpretations derive from a crossing point on the Roman road that ran from present-day Derby
to Chesterton
or the early presence of a church
, said to have been founded in 670 AD. Because 'Stoke' was such a common name for a settlement, some kind of distinguishing affix
was usually added later, in this case the name of the river
.
The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior which can be translated as: United Strength is Stronger, or Strength United is the More Powerful or A United Force is Stronger.
which would have made the six towns districts within a county of 'Staffordshire Potteries'. It was not until 1 April 1910 that the Six Towns were brought together. The county borough
of Hanley, the municipal borough
s of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban district
s of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. The combined borough took the name of town of Stoke.
The borough proposed in 1919 to expand further and annexe the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Wolstanton United Urban District
, both to the west of Stoke: this met strong objections from Newcastle Corporation and never took place. A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill. Ultimately, Wolstanton was added to Newcastle-under-Lyme instead in 1932. Although attempts to take Newcastle, Wolstanton and Kidsgrove
(north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did however expand in 1922, taking in Smallthorne Urban District
, and parts of other parishes from Stoke upon Trent Rural District
. The borough was officially granted city status
in 1925 with a Lord Mayor
from 1928. When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent applied for city status due to having outstanding importance as the centre of the pottery industry in 1925, it was initially refused by the Home Office
as it had less than 300,000 inhabitants. The Home Office decision was overturned, however, when a direct approach was made to King George V and the king agreed that the borough ought to be a city. The public announcement of the elevation to a city was made by the King during a visit to Stoke on 4 June 1925.
The city's county borough status was abolished in 1974, and it became a non-metropolitan district
of Staffordshire. Its status as a local government unitary authority was restored as Stoke-on-Trent City Council on 1 April 1997 whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county
of Staffordshire. For Eurostat
purposes, it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23).
Since the 17th century, the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing, with such world renowned names as Royal Doulton
, Dudson
Ltd, Spode
(founded by Josiah Spode
), Wedgwood
(founded by Josiah Wedgwood
) and Minton (founded by Thomas Minton
) being born and based there. The presence locally of abundant supplies of coal and of suitable clay for earthenware production led to the early but at first limited development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal
enabled the import of china clay
from Cornwall
together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware
and bone china
.
However, many other production centres elsewhere in Britain, Europe and worldwide had a considerable lead in the production of high quality wares. It was largely the methodical and highly detailed research and a willingness to experiment carried out over many years, initially by one man, Josiah Wedgwood
, and later by other local potters such as Thomas Whieldon
, along with scientists and engineers, that nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries
. With the industry also came a large number of notable ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff
, Susie Cooper
, Charlotte Rhead
, Frederick Hurten Rhead
and Jabez Vodrey
.
On nationalisation of the industry in 1947, around 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke on Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton
. The industry developed greatly and even new investments in mining projects were planned within the City boundaries as recently as the 1990s. However, 1994 saw the last pit to close as the Trentham Superpit was shut.
The Stoke mining industry set several national and international records. Wolstanton Colliery, when modernised had the deepest mining shafts in Europe. In 1933, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery became the first Colliery in the country to mine 1 million tons of coal. In the 1980s Florence Colliery in Longton
repeatedly set regional and national production records and in 1992 the combined Trentham Superpit (Hem Heath and Florence) was the first Mine in Europe to produce 2.5 million saleable tonnes of coal.
Today the mines are all closed, though the scars of mining still remain on the landscape. Slag heaps are still visible on the skyline, now covered with flora and fauna. The abandoned mines underground are inaccessible, though still add complications to many building projects and occasionally cause minor tremors, detectable only by specialised equipment.
below the hill towns of Tunstall
, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks
production of steel ended in 1978 and instead of producing crude Steel concentrated on rolling Steel Billet train loaded in from Scunthorpe
. The Rolling Plant finally closed in 2002. From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the repair shops
of the North Staffordshire Railway
and was also the home from 1881 to 1930 of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd.
Shelton Steel Works as well as the mining operations were heavily involved in the World War II industrial effort. Central to the RAF
's success was the Supermarine Spitfire
designed by Reginald Mitchell
who, whilst born at 115 Congleton Road in the nearby village of Butt Lane
, Kidsgrove had his apprenticeship
at Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd's railway works.
tyre company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. As recently as the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant. Nowadays around 1,200 are employed at the site.
Stoke-on-Trent is situated approximately half-way between Manchester
and Birmingham
and the city adjoins the town and borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
, which is administered separately and situated to the west. To the east is the Peak District
, which includes part of the Staffordshire Moorlands District, as well as parts of Derbyshire
, Greater Manchester and West and South Yorkshire
.
For Eurostat
purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23) and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region
.
Stoke-on-Trent is often known as "the city of five towns", because of the name given to it by local novelist Arnold Bennett
. In his novels, Bennett used mostly recognisable aliases for five of the six towns (although he called Stoke "Knype"). However, Bennett said that he believed "Five Towns" was more euphonious than "Six Towns", so he omitted Fenton (now sometimes referred to as "the forgotten town").
A city like Stoke made up of multiple towns is known as a conurbation (although in this case the conurbation is bigger than Stoke itself, because the urban area of Stoke is now continuous with that of administratively-separate Newcastle).
The six towns run in a rough line from north to south along the A50 road
– Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. Although the city is named after the original town of Stoke, and the City Council offices are located there, the city centre is usually regarded as being in Hanley, which had earlier developed into a major commercial centre.
, Adderley Green
, Baddeley Green, Bentilee
, Birches Head
, Blurton
, Bucknall
, Bradeley, Cliffe Vale
, Etruria
, Fegg Hayes, Hartshill
, Heron Cross, Meir, Meir Park, Meir Hay, Middleport
, Milton
, Penkhull
, Shelton
, Smallthorne
, Sneyd Green
, Trentham
and Trent Vale.
The absolute high temperature is 32.9 °C (91.2 °F), recorded in August 1990, although more typically the average warmest day of the year should be 27.0 °C (80.6 °F). In total, just under six days should report a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.
The absolute minimum temperature stands at −13.3 °C (8.1 °F), recorded during January 1963. In an average year, a total of 48.3 air frosts will be registered.
Rainfall averages around 785 mm a year, with 1 mm or more falling on just over 139 days. All averages refer to the 1971–2000 observation period.
The city's world-class ceramics collection is housed in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
in Hanley. Etruria Industrial Museum on the Caldon Canal
and Gladstone Pottery Museum
in a former potbank in Longton are dedicated to the city's industrial heritage. Ceramica
in Burslem used to be an interactive ceramics museum, but it closed in 2011 due to council funding cuts.
Most of the major pottery companies based in Stoke-on-Trent have factory shops and visitor centres. The £10-million Wedgwood Museum
visitor centre opened in the firm's factory in Barlaston
in October 2008. The Dudson Centre in Hanley is a museum of the family ceramics business that's partly housed in a Grade II listed bottle kiln. It is also a volunteer centre. Burleigh in Middleport
is the world's oldest working Victorian
pottery. There are also smaller factory shops, such as Royal Stafford in Burslem, Moorcroft
in Cobridge and Emma Bridgewater
in Hanley. And there are ambitious plans to open the huge Chatterley Whitfield
Colliery as a mining museum, since it has been given Ancient Monument status.
The Elizabethan
Ford Green Hall
is a 17th Century farmhouse which is now a historic house museum in Smallthorne
.
Trentham Gardens
Many local people consider Trentham Gardens to be in Stoke on Trent but it is actually in the Borough of Stafford, it is just to the south of the city and a £100 million refurbishment was completed in 2005. Next door is Trentham Monkey Forest, which houses 140 Barbary Macaque
s in a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) enclosure that visitors can walk through.
The Alton Towers Resort
is 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent and is one of the United Kingdom's best known attractions. The Waterworld
indoor swimming complex on Festival Park
near Hanley is also a significant children's attraction.
Each of the six towns in Stoke-on-Trent has at least one park. At nine hectares, Burslem Park is one of the largest registered Victorian parks in the UK. Park Hall Country Park in Weston Coyney is a National Nature Reserve
, and its sandstone canyons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest
. Hartshill Park in Stoke is also a nature reserve, and Bucknall Park is home to the City Farm. Westport Lake in Longport is the largest body of water in Stoke-on-Trent and has a nature reserve.
North Staffordshire is a world centre for fine ceramics – a skilled design trade established in the area since at least the 12th century. But in the late-1980s & 1990s Stoke-on-Trent was hit hard by the general decline in the British manufacturing sector. Numerous factories, steelworks
, collieries
, and potteries
were closed, including the renowned Shelton Bar
steelworks. This resulted in a sharp rise in unemployment in the 'high-skilled but low-paid' workforce. However, by 2004 the unemployment rate had recovered to almost the same as in the wider West Midlands.
Pottery firm Wedgwood
and its subsidiary Royal Doulton
are based in nearby Barlaston
, although much production now takes place in the firm's Indonesia
n factory. Portmeirion
is based in Stoke town, and now owns the Spode
and Royal Worcester
ceramics brands. Ceramics firm Emma Bridgewater
is based in Hanley, Burleigh Pottery is in Middleport, Wade Ceramics
is in Etruria, Moorcroft
and Royal Stafford are based in Burslem, Aynsley China
is in Longton, and is one of the last remaining manufacturers of bone china in the city. Fine china manufacturer Dudson
have premises in Hanley and Burslem. Churchill China
have their main factory in Tunstall, while hotelware manufacturer Steelite is based in Middleport.
About 9,000 firms are based in the city. Amongst the more notable are bet365
, founded by local businessman and Stoke City
chairman Peter Coates
, and Phones4U a large retailer of mobile phones started by John Caudwell
.
The Michelin
tyre company has a complex in the city housing its commercial head office, training centre and a factory re-treading truck tyres. Sainsbury's supermarket and The Co-operative Pharmacy
have large warehouses in the city. The Co-operative Travel
has its head office in Burslem, Vodafone
has a large call centre on Festival Park and the UK subsidisary of the lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Petrolub
has its head office at its factory in Hanley. There is a steel foundry owned by Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd
in Joiner's Square.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the city's largest single employer. Another major employer is the University Hospital of North Staffordshire
, with over 7,000 staff.
KPMG's 'Competitive Alternatives
2004' report declared Stoke-on-Trent to be the most cost-effective place to set up a new UK business. The city currently has the advantage of offering affordable business property – while being surrounded by a belt of affluent areas such as The Peak District
, Stone
, south Cheshire
, and having excellent road links via the A500 and nearby M6
and rail links.
Tourism to the city was kick-started by the National Garden Festival
in 1986, and is now sustained by the many pottery factory-shops/tours and by the improved canal network.
The main shopping centre is Hanley; location of the Potteries Shopping Centre
(housing many well known national retail outlets), many well-known high street shops and some unique specialist retailers. The Potteries Shopping Centre has recently opened chain coffee shops including Starbucks
and Costa Coffee
. And with the Peak District just ten miles (16 km) away, Hanley naturally boasts five outdoors clothing & equipment shops.
Other notable business people from the city includes Reginald H. Jones
(Chairman of General Electric
), venture capitalist Jon Moulton
and John Madejski
, chairman of Reading F.C.
and former owner of Auto Trader.
Night-time industry has boomed in recent years, with Hanley becoming increasingly popular for its nightclubs, theatres, pubs, bars and restaurants.
European Parliament
constituency.
A local referendum approved a directly elected mayor system on 3 May 2002 by 28,601 votes to 20,578 (turnout of 27.8%).
Mike Wolfe, an independent candidate, became the first directly elected mayor after an election on 17 October 2002, narrowly beating Labour Party candidate George Stevenson by just 300 votes. The elected Mayor from 5 May 2005 – 5 June 2009 was Mark Meredith
(Labour Party). The 2005 election was notable because approximately 10% of the ballot papers were either spoiled or ineligible. Meredith's election platform included a pledge to have another referendum on the post of elected mayor. This was scheduled for May 2007 and passed in favour of retaining the current political system.
On 23 October 2008, voters returned to the polls to choose between modifying the system (to Mayor and Cabinet) or abolishing the position of elected Mayor. Votes were 21,231 for abolition and 14,592 for modification on a turnout of 19.23%.
system was adopted on 5 June 2009. The Leader of the Council is elected by councillors. Each cabinet members makes the decisions on their portfolio area and explains the decisions at the monthly cabinet meetings.
The current Leader of the Council is Cllr Mohammed Pervez who is also leader of the City's Labour Group, the the majority group on the council.
on 10 July 1928. The role of Lord Mayor is decided upon by a vote amongst the elected councillors, the candidates are also selected from the councillors. The current Lord Mayor is Councillor Terry Follows.
The political composition of Stoke-on-Trent city council as of 2011
is as follows:
. It is currently based over two sites (the Royal Infirmary and the City General). The hospital is being re-built on to the City General site which is located on London Road, the A34.
The city's primary care trust, NHS Stoke-on-Trent manages Haywood Hospital in Burslem, which prodives intermediate care, and Longton Cottage Hospital, which provides inpatient and outpatient clinics. North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare is the trust providing mental health services locally, based at Harplands Hospital in Penkhull and Bucknall Hospital.
Policing in Stoke-on-Trent is provided by Staffordshire Police
, which has police stations in Hanley, Bucknall, Burslem, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court
and County Court
share a building in Hanley. There is a Magistrates' Court in Fenton.
Statutory emergency fire and rescue service
is provided by the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
, which has fire stations in Hanley, Longton, Burslem and Sandyford.
Severn Trent
manages Stoke-on-Trent's drinking and waste water.
The city's main library is the City Central Library in Hanley, which is also home to the city's archives. The city council operates eight smaller libraries throughout the city. The council also operates sixteen children's centres, nine local service centres and five 'one stop shops' for council services.
Stoke-on-Trent does not have a cathedral, but the city's main civic church is Stoke Minster
.
Primitive Methodism
was founded by Hugh Bourne
, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the nearby village of Mow Cop
. He originally followed the Wesleyan
form of Methodism
but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first chapel in Tunstall. He promoted Sunday school
s as a method of improving children's education as well as treating women as equals. He also was involved in the temperance movement
. It was from the Primitive Methodists that many early trade unions found their early leaders. Also of note is John Lightfoot
a 17th century churchman and rabbi
nical scholar.
The city's first purpose-built mosque is due to be completed in 2011. The city's only synagogue closed in 2006, and was replaced with a smaller one in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme.
is D. The A50
cuts through the city, providing an East-West link between the M6 and M1 motorway
s. Improvements to the road network have led to a number of companies building distribution centres in the area.
Stoke-on-Trent railway station
is a mainline station on the Stafford-Manchester Line, which is a part of the West Coast Main Line
between Manchester and London, as well as the Crewe-Derby Line. Virgin
Pendolino
train 390029 is named after Stoke-on-Trent. Other railway stations in the city include Longport
and Longton
stations. Etruria station
was closed in September 2005.
, now owned by FirstGroup under the name First Potteries. There are also several smaller companies operating bus services in the city. There are central bus stations in Hanley and Longton
. National Express
operate long distance coach services from Hanley Bus Station. As part of the city's regeneration, a new bus station is being built in Hanley, allowing the current one to be demolished, making room for further redevelopment. Starting in 2011 new low cost coach operator Gorilla Bus started to serve Hanley, giving new direct services to Liverpool
, Manchester Airport, Knutsford
and East Midlands Airport.
The city is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal
, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. Additionally, the Caldon Canal
branches off from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to Leek
. Recently numerous improvements to the canal system have been made.
off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting the city to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are now over 100 miles (160.9 km) of cycle paths in the urban conurbation. A further £10-million of funding has now been secured for the city's cycling network, to be spent in 2009–2011 through Cycling England's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.
There are four higher education institutions in the local area, the two further education colleges being City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and Stoke-on-Trent College
. Formerly of Fenton, now located in a newly built structure on Leek Road, the Sixth Form college provides A-level
teaching for around 1,800 students. Stoke-on-Trent College is much larger and less specialised, offering apprenticeships and adult education, and has a main campus (Cauldon Campus) in Shelton, and a secondary campus in Burslem.
The city is also home to Staffordshire University
(formerly North Staffordshire Polytechnic), with its main site in Shelton, near Stoke-on-Trent railway station. It gained its university status in 1992 as one of the post-1992 universities
. Keele University School of Medicine
uses facilities at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire
in Hartshill
. Keele University
itself was founded as the University College of North Staffordshire in 1949 with major involvement by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and is located in the nearby village of Keele
.
The Community schools are: Berry Hill High
, Birches Head High, Blurton High
, The Co-operative Academy at Brownhills, Edensor Technology College, Haywood High
, Holden Lane High
, James Brindley Science College
, Longton High
, Mitchell High, Sandon High
, Thistley Hough High
and Trentham High.
A major re-structure of Stoke-on-Trent's High School system is currently under proposal. As part of these plans Longton High School is to close in 2010. Trentham High, Berry Hill High, and Mitchell Business and Enterprise College are also expected to close.
In terms of results, the city's top school is St. Joseph's College
. In September 2007, the school was threatened with closure as part of the education re-shuffle. The school led a very high profile campaign and eventually (after speaking with Gordon Brown
) the school was saved.
. Although more well known in industrial Lancashire, the Stoke week is known locally as the Potters' Holidays or Potters' Fortnight and occurred as the last week in June and the first week in July and then a further week in August. This gave what appears to be strange school holidays, with the summer term having a two-week break at the end of June, then children returning to school for three weeks before taking a five-week summer holiday. With the decreased emphasis on the traditional industries this oddity has disappeared from the local schools.
Stoke-on-Trent is home to two professional Football League teams, and is one of the smaller cities in England that boasts two league clubs. The club bearing the area's name is Stoke City
, who were formed in 1863 and are the second oldest professional football club in England. They currently play at the Britannia Stadium
in Trentham
, which has been their home since 1997 when they relocated from the Victoria Ground
in Stoke after 119 years. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League
in 1888, but did not win their first (and, to date, only) major trophy until 1972
, when they lifted the Football League Cup
. In 1985, they were relegated from the First Division
and began a 23-year exile from the top flight of English football which did not end until they won promotion in 2008, by which time the First Division had become the Premier League. Stoke City reached the final of the F.A. Cup for the first time in their history in 2011 but were defeated by Manchester City. Arguably the club's most famous player of all time was Stanley Matthews
, who is perhaps the best known sportsperson from the city. He played football for Stoke City and Blackpool
where he played in what became known as the Matthews Final. He also managed Port Vale from 1965–1968. He was the first active footballer to receive a Knighthood. The "wizard of dribble", as he became known, made 54 appearances for his country
, scoring 11 times. There are two statues of Matthews in the city; one in Hanley, and one at the Britannia Stadium.
The city's other professional football club are Port Vale
, who were formed in 1876 and play at Vale Park
in the Burslem
area. Previous stadiums include the Athletic Ground
in Cobridge (1886–1913), and The Old Recreation Ground
in Hanley (1913–1950). They joined the Football League
in 1892 but were forced to resign from it in 1907
due to financial problems, only to return in 1919
. Their highest league position came in 1931
when they finished fifth in the Football League Second Division
. Unlike Stoke City, their local rivals in the Potteries derby
, they have never played top division football. They currently play in League Two
(fourth tier). Individuals of note include: John Rudge
(who managed the club for 16 years from 1983–1999), and Roy Sproson
, (who made a record 837 appearances for the club from 1950 until 1972, and was later their manager).
In the past there existed Dresden United
, a club which was disestablished before the city was federated; amateur clubs Meir KA
and Eastwood Hanley
operated between 1972–2010, and 1946–1997 respectively. Smallthorne based Norton United
still compete in the North West Counties Football League
, as do Hanley Town
in the Staffordshire County Senior League
.
team is the Stoke Potters
. Speedway was staged at the Greyhound Stadium in Sun Street, Hanley intermittently between 1929 and 1939. In 1947 the Potters were part of the post war boom rising from Division Three of the National League to Division Two before closing in the early-1950s. The Potters were revived in 1960 and they raced in the Provincial League until the end of 1963 when the stadium was closed and the site redeveloped. Speedway was revived at Loomer Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme, initially as Chesterton, before it reverted to the Stoke name. For many years the Potters raced in the Premier League
, the sports second division but as of November 2010 have dropped a division and in 2011 will race in the National League
.
The ski
race team based at the artificial ski slope in Festival Park compete in national Snowsport England and international FIS Fédération Internationale de Ski events.
The city has a number of amateur sports clubs, including rugby union
and cricket
, the latter competing in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Cricket League. The cricket ground in Longton
is one of the venues used by Staffordshire County Cricket Club
. As well as the Longton club, Meir Heath Cricket Club
are also active, though the County Ground
and the Michelin Ground
are no longer used for cricket.
Stoke Spitfires was the name of the city's American football
team. The team eventually folded in 1992 after a record of 35-34-1. In 1994 the Staffordshire Surge was formed and played their matches in and around Stoke-on-Trent. Currently the team play at Longton Rugby Club in Division One North of the British American Football League
.
and Phil Taylor, legends of football and darts respectively, were the first names to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. They were quickly followed by Port Vale legend Roy Sproson
, and England's World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks
(who spent five years with Stoke City).
Phil Taylor has won the World Championship a record 15 times, winning the championship in both the Professional Darts Corporation
(PDC) and British Darts Organisation
(BDO). Other former World Champions from Stoke include current PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis
and two-time BDO World Champion Ted Hankey
. Other well-known players from or based in Stoke include Chris Mason
and Andy Hamilton
.
World champion squash
player, Great Britain and England international Angela Smith
– who was largely responsible for the ladies game going open was born in the city, she is regarded as one of the sports greats. Wicket-keeper
Bob Taylor
, who played for Derbyshire
and England was born and still lives in the area. He represented England 58 times and still holds the world record for the most number of dismissals in the first class game (1649). In golf, Trenthams' David Lynn (born 1973) is the KLM Open Champion 2004. David has been a member of European Tour since 1996 and he has been in Top 30 of European Tour Order of Merit twice in last three seasons.
Other notable sports people from the area include footballers turned BBC pundits Mark Bright
and Garth Crooks
; UFC fighter Ross Pointon
; tennis player Andrew Foster
; snooker
players Dave Harold
and Jamie Cope
; field hockey
player Imran Sherwani
; and wrestler Peter Thornley
(better known as Kendo Nagasaki
).
, located in Hanley. It contains a collection of fine ceramics, a rotating programme of exhibitions and a permanent collection. In 2010, it became one of the permanent homes of the Staffordshire Hoard
, the most important collection of Anglo-Saxon
gold yet found.
The city's Cultural Quarter in Hanley contains the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, the Regent Theatre
and the Victoria Hall. But there are also smaller elements, including the independent Dazed Gallery and the subsidised student-run gallery AirSpace. In Fenton the Artbay Gallery has a contemporary range of original works as well as limited editions. It's also the home of many of North Staffordshire's most renowned painters, including "The Potteries Lowry" aka Sid Kirkham, Vicky Mount, Dale Bowen, Kelvin Evans and Harry Davies.
In Burslem the Edwardian School of Art
has been refurbished with £1.2 million, and is now run without a public subsidy. The Hothouse Centre for Ceramic Design, and the Roslyn Works complex of craft studios operate in Longton. Also based in Burslem is the Barewall Gallery, which has a large collection of local artists including mixed media artists Rachel Grant and Nicholas Hudson Paine, painters Paine Proffitt
, Rob Pointon, Ivan Taylor, David Brammeld, Saw Law Webb and in ceramics, fine artist Philip Hardaker and work local potters Hannah Belfield and Kevin Millward and Alex Shimwell.
Stoke-on-Trent is also the birthplace of several artists including Arthur Berry
(also a novelist, playwright & poet), Arnold Machin
(sculptor, coin & stamp designer) and Sidney Tushingham
, A.R.E.
, which is in Hanley. Nearby is the main concert hall, the Victoria Hall. The purpose-built theatre-in-the-round New Vic Theatre
is just outside the city's boundary in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Victorian Kings Hall in Stoke town hall is used for smaller events. In Burslem, the Queens Theatre has been refurbished and restored at private expense. The Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre is based in a ten year old building in Stoke and puts on amateur productions. The previously city council-run Mitchell Memorial Theatre, based in Hanley, completed its £4.3m refurbishment in 2011 and is now known as the Mitchell Arts Centre. It is named in honour of one of the city's most famous sons, Reginald Mitchell, designer of the legendary World War II fighter plane, the Spitfire.
multiplex cinema on Festival Park. The independent volunteer-run art-house cinema, The Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre, is located very near the railway station, and shows art-house and subtitled films, as well as films that have finished their run in larger cinemas.
Originally through the works of Arnold Bennett
, described by some as the greatest realist writer of the 20th century, the 'Six Towns' were also sometimes known as the 'Five Towns'. In his novels Bennett wrote about local events in the 19th century consistently changed all proper names and associations, thus Hanley became Hanbridge and Burslem became Bursley. It is thought that Bennett chose to write about five towns, rather than six, because he refused to acknowledge Fenton as a proper town. The six towns were not federated until 1910 but Fenton was still relatively new by that time, it was also the smallest in terms of population and area. As well as this Bennett changed the name of the towns' newspaper from the Sentinel to the Signal, an identity that was subsequently adopted by the city's commercial radio station.
Other notable contributors to the world of literature includes Elijah Fenton
(poet), Peter Whelan
(playwright), John Wain
(poet, critic and scholar), Pauline Stainer
(poet), Charles Tomlinson
(poet, graphic artist, translator, editor and critic).
, the commercial Signal 1
and Signal 2
along with a Christian community radio station called Cross Rhythms City Radio
. Max FM
broadcast nationally from Stoke on Trent and Internet Community Radio station 6 Towns Radio is based in Burslem. United Christian Broadcasters
UK headquarters and broadcasting centre for Christian national TV and radio programming is also based in Stoke-on-Trent with sites in Hanchurch and Hanley.
Television news is covered by Birmingham-based BBC Midlands Today
, and ITV Central
.
The city enjoys a considerable on-line presence. The 'Pits n Pots
' website was launched in October 2008, as a site to discuss local news. These sites are in addition to the council, tourism board and local museum websites and those dedicated to different communities across the city.
who has been in Black Hawk Down, Freddie Jones
, Alan Lake
(widower of Diana Dors
), Adrian Rawlins
, Hanley Stafford
(American radio actor, born Alfred John Austin in Hanley), Jonathan Wilkes
and Neil Morrissey
, star of Men Behaving Badly
. Hollyoaks
actress Rachel Shenton
is also from the area.
Several nationally recognised TV presenters have been born in the area including Frank Bough
who presented Nationwide
& Breakfast Time
, Anthea Turner
from Blue Peter
and Nick Hancock who chaired the comedy quiz show They Think It's All Over
and was host on Room 101
. Bruno Brookes
the former BBC Radio 1
disc jockey who hosted the station's breakfast show also presented Top of the Pops
. Master illusionist Andrew Van Buren
was born & is still based in the area, although he is more often found performing out of the country. Vocalist Carl De Marco was born in the area, and also studied at Stoke-On-Trent City Performing Arts College Burslem.
became the centre of the Northern soul
scene in the early-1970s. Shelley's Laserdome
nightclub in Longton played a pivotal role in the house and rave scene of the late-1980s and early-1990s too, helping to launch the career of Sasha
and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox
, until it was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police
. Hanley nightclub 'The Void' developed a sister relationship with Sankey's Soap in Manchester, helping the latter to revive its fortunes during the late-1990s through the promotion of club night 'Golden'.
There are three venues within the city that host regular touring bands, Victoria Hall, The Sugarmill and The Underground.
Robbie Williams
is perhaps the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals" and "The 80's" as well as the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes
of the song "Me and My Shadow", while the song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall.
Slash
, renowned guitarist for Guns N' Roses
and Velvet Revolver
was born in Hampstead
, but his father was originally from the Potteries, and he spent a few of his early childhood years in Stoke before moving to Los Angeles. He did not meet the British side of his family until 1992 when Guns N' Roses played Wembley Stadium
. Slash has recalled in numerous interviews and his autobiography that his Stoke relatives drank all of the bands considerable rider:
"I witnessed one of my uncles, my cousin, and my grandfather, on his very first trip to London from Stoke, down every drop of liquor in our dressing room. Consumed in full, our booze rider in those days would have killed anyone but us."
The Legendary Lonnie is a rock 'n' roll guitarist and local celebrity who played with Screaming Lord Sutch in the 1970s, and is also well remembered in the area for his Radio Stoke show 'Sunday Best', as well as for standing as a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate. In Spring 2010 he started getting airplay on a New York radio station for his 1994 song Knock Me Down, Pick Me Up. This led to the song being released for mp3 download in the USA and the UK.
Other notable individuals and groups from the area include Andy Moor who is a DJ and producer, Havergal Brian
who composed
32 symphonies
and five operas, Gertie Gitana
(music hall star and singer), Lemmy, the founder of the rock band Motörhead, Patricia Leonard
(singer/contralto
), Jem Finer
(banjoist, The Pogues) and Broken Bones, Discharge
(punk band). Post-hardcore band Spy Versus Spy came from Stoke-On Trent. Experimental musician Phil Todd, best known for his Ashtray Navigations
project, grew up in Madeley. Other bands to hail from the city include: This Is Seb Clarke
(soul-punk), Agent Blue
(alternative rock), Epilogue (prog rock), Exhibit A (alternative metal), The Title
(indie), Ghost Trains (alternative acoustic) and indie-soul band Tommy Turbo & The Turbervilles.
In October 2007, Stoke-on-Trent City Council introduced a new theme tune – "Moving Forwards Together". It was described by the council as "part of our drive to help us move the city forward and create a better Stoke-on-Trent for people to live, learn, work and enjoy".
Murdoc Niccals, a member of the fictional group Gorillaz
with the role of bass guitarist is said, in his constructed biography, to have been born in Stoke-on-Trent. Indie rocker Stephen Malkmus
mentions Stoke-on-Trent in "Pink India", released on his self-titled solo album
, singing that the song's protagonist, Mortimer, is a "rook" in The Great Game
, who "came from Stoke-on-Trent." Billy Bragg
also mentions Stoke-on-Trent as one of the places that the character in his song "Rotting On Remand" is sent to.
Peter Wyngarde
as Jason King
in "Flamingos only fly on Tuesdays" makes a quip about a "knicker salesman from Stoke-on-Trent". The cat in Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
once sang a song about Stoke-on-Trent.
Two local culinary specialities are the much loved Staffordshire Oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries), whose fame has yet to travel far outside Staffordshire and neighbouring Derbyshire and Cheshire, and are as popular as ever although no longer the cheap alternative to bread. Oatcakes can be eaten cold or hot with any sweet or savoury fillings. Lobby
, a stew not unlike Lancashire hotpot
, is still made by local people.
community in the city and attracts visitors from elsewhere. There was first talks about such an event in 2003 but the idea was faced by opposition from local BNP and their local supporters. Originally held in Hanley, since 2009 the event has been held at Northwood Park.
. Whilst it contains many non-standard words (for example "Nesh" meaning soft, tender, or to easily get cold, and "Slat" meaning to throw), the best known word is "duck" used as a greeting to either men or women. It is believed to be derived from the Saxon word ‘ducas’ used to indicate respect, which in Middle English
became "duc" or "duk" which denotes a leader, which in turn, became the title Duke
and the Old French
word "ducheé" which indicates the territory ruled by a Duke.
Another common variation on the standard English dialect, is the use of the word "shug", as in short for sugar. This is usually used when closing a sentence as in "Ta Shug" (thank you sugar).
A local cartoon called May un Mar Lady
, published in the newspaper The Sentinel, written in Potteries dialect
, first appeared on 8 July 1986 and ran for over 20 years. Since the cartoonist Dave Follows
' death in 2003 the full twenty-year run (7,000) of May un Mar Lady strips are being republished in The Sentinel, as May un Mar Lady Revisited, keeping the dialect alive for another twenty years.
Also, Alan Povey's Owd Grandad Piggott
stories which have aired on BBC Radio Stoke for a number of years are recited in the Potteries dialect by the author.
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, which forms a linear conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
almost 12 miles (19 km) long, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km²). Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (borough)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England.It is named after its main town of Newcastle-under-Lyme where the council is based, but also includes the town of Kidsgrove, the villages of Silverdale and Keele, and the rural area surrounding Audley...
Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area
The Potteries Urban Area
The Potteries Urban Area is a conurbation in North Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.It includes the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove....
. This, together with the rural Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
area, forms North Staffordshire
North Staffordshire
North Staffordshire describes an area of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It contains the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and the City of Stoke-on-Trent. The Stoke and Newcastle areas make up The Potteries Urban Area, whilst the Moorlands are largely...
, which in 2001, had a population of 457,165.
The conurbation continues to be polycentric
Polycentrism
Polycentrism is the principle of organization of a region around several political, social or financial centres. Examples of polycentric cities include the Ruhr area in Germany, and Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. Today, the former is a large city that grew from a dozen smaller cities, the latter a...
, having been formed by the federation of six originally separate towns and numerous villages in the early-20th century. The settlement from which the federated town (not a city until 1925) took its name was Stoke-upon-Trent
Stoke-upon-Trent
Stoke-upon-Trent, commonly called Stoke or Stoke town, is a component town of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, England....
, because this was where the administration (and chief mainline railway station
Stoke-on-Trent railway station
Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...
) was located. After the union, Hanley emerged as the primary commercial centre in the city, despite the efforts of its rival, 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:...
. The three other component towns are Tunstall
Tunstall, Staffordshire
Tunstall is an area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern town of the city of Stoke-on-Trent....
, Longton
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...
, and Fenton
Fenton, Staffordshire
Fenton is one of the six towns of the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation which were federated in 1910. It is situated in the south-east of the city. Arnold Bennett called his fictionalised version of Stoke on Trent the "Five Towns", and Fenton has been dubbed the town Arnold Bennett...
.
Stoke-on-Trent is considered to be the home of the pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
industry in England and is commonly known as The Potteries
Staffordshire Potteries
The Staffordshire Potteries is a generic term for the industrial area encompassing the six towns that now make up Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire, England....
. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
.
Toponymy
The name Stoke is taken from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent, the original ancient parishCivil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
, with other settlements being chapelries
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
. 'Stoke' derives from the Old English stoc, a word that at first meant little more than a 'place', but which subsequently gained more specific – but divergent – connotations. These variant meanings included 'dairy farm', 'secondary or dependent place or farm', 'summer pasture', 'crossing place', 'meeting place' and 'place of worship'. It is not known which of these was intended here, and all are feasible. The most frequently suggested interpretations derive from a crossing point on the Roman road that ran from present-day 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...
to Chesterton
Chesterton, Staffordshire
Chesterton is a small, former mining village, located in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. It sits near the market town of Newcastle-under-Lyme....
or the early presence of a church
Stoke Minster
Stoke Minster is the town centre and civic church in Stoke-upon-Trent in England.-Background:Legally known as the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, it was informally renamed Stoke Minster in 2005 in recognition of the important role it plays in the Civic life of Stoke on Trent and north...
, said to have been founded in 670 AD. Because 'Stoke' was such a common name for a settlement, some kind of distinguishing affix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
was usually added later, in this case the name of the river
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
.
The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior which can be translated as: United Strength is Stronger, or Strength United is the More Powerful or A United Force is Stronger.
Administration
An early proposal for a federation took place in 1888, when an amendment was raised to the Local Government BillLocal Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
which would have made the six towns districts within a county of 'Staffordshire Potteries'. It was not until 1 April 1910 that the Six Towns were brought together. 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 Hanley, the municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
s of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
s of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. The combined borough took the name of town of Stoke.
The borough proposed in 1919 to expand further and annexe the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Wolstanton United Urban District
Wolstanton United Urban District
Wolstanton United Urban District was an urban district in the county of Staffordshire. It was formed in 1904 with the civil parishes of Chesterton, Silverdale and Wolstanton. It was abolished in 1932, when it was absorbed into the Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough.-References:*...
, both to the west of Stoke: this met strong objections from Newcastle Corporation and never took place. A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill. Ultimately, Wolstanton was added to Newcastle-under-Lyme instead in 1932. Although attempts to take Newcastle, Wolstanton and Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...
(north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did however expand in 1922, taking in 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,...
, and parts of other parishes from Stoke upon Trent Rural District
Stoke upon Trent Rural District
Stoke upon Trent Rural District was a rural district in Staffordshire. It was created in 1894 and consisted of two civil parishes, Bagnall and Stoke Rural. Both parishes and the district were abolished in 1922, being absorbed into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent and the Cheadle Rural District....
. The borough was officially granted city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
in 1925 with a Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
from 1928. When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent applied for city status due to having outstanding importance as the centre of the pottery industry in 1925, it was initially refused by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
as it had less than 300,000 inhabitants. The Home Office decision was overturned, however, when a direct approach was made to King George V and the king agreed that the borough ought to be a city. The public announcement of the elevation to a city was made by the King during a visit to Stoke on 4 June 1925.
The city's county borough status was abolished in 1974, and it became a non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Staffordshire. Its status as a local government unitary authority was restored as Stoke-on-Trent City Council on 1 April 1997 whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Staffordshire. For Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
purposes, it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23).
Pottery
Royal Doulton
The Royal Doulton Company is an English company producing tableware and collectables, dating to 1815. Operating originally in London, its reputation grew in The Potteries, where it was a latecomer compared to Spode, Wedgwood and Minton...
, Dudson
Dudson
Dudson is a British company that sells fine china. It is one of the oldest companies in the world, founded in 1800. It is based in the traditional "Potteries" town of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire....
Ltd, Spode
Spode
Spode is a well-known English brand of pottery and homewares based in Stoke-on-Trent.- The overview :Spode is a Stoke-on-Trent based pottery company that was founded by Josiah Spode in 1770...
(founded by Josiah Spode
Josiah Spode
Josiah Spode was an English potter and the founder of the English Spode pottery works which became very famous for the quality of its wares. He is often credited with the establishment of blue underglaze transfer printing in Staffordshire in 1781–84, and with the definition and introduction in c...
), Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
(founded by Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
) and Minton (founded by Thomas Minton
Thomas Minton
Thomas Minton was an English potter. He founded Thomas Minton & Sons in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which grew into a major ceramic manufacturing company with an international reputation....
) being born and based there. The presence locally of abundant supplies of coal and of suitable clay for earthenware production led to the early but at first limited development of the local pottery industry. The construction 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....
enabled the import of china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
from Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware
Creamware
Creamware is a cream-coloured, refined earthenware created about 1750 by the potters of Staffordshire, England, which proved ideal for domestic ware. It was popular until the 1840s. It was also known as tortoiseshellware or Prattware depending on the colour of glaze used...
and bone china
Bone china
Bone china is a type of soft-paste porcelain that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as ware with a translucent body containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phosphate...
.
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
, and later by other local potters such as Thomas Whieldon
Thomas Whieldon
Thomas Whieldon was one of the most respected and well known English potters of his time. By 1740, he was the master of pottery at Fenton Low...
, along with scientists and engineers, that nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries
Staffordshire Potteries
The Staffordshire Potteries is a generic term for the industrial area encompassing the six towns that now make up Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire, England....
. With the industry also came a large number of notable ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff
Clarice Cliff
Clarice Cliff was an English ceramic industrial artist active from 1922 to 1963.Cliff was born in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.- Early life :...
, Susie Cooper
Susie Cooper
Susie Cooper was a prolific English ceramic designer working in the Stoke-on-Trent pottery industries from the 1920s to the 1980s.-Life and work:Born in Stanfields, Stoke-on-Trent, she was the youngest of seven children...
, Charlotte Rhead
Charlotte Rhead
Charlotte Rhead was an English ceramics designer active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the Potteries area of Staffordshire.Charlotte Rhead was born into an artistic family...
, Frederick Hurten Rhead
Frederick Hurten Rhead
Frederick Hurten Rhead was a native of England who worked as a potter in the United States for most of his career. In addition to teaching pottery techniques, Rhead was highly influential in both studio and commercial pottery...
and Jabez Vodrey
Jabez Vodrey
-Early years:Vodrey was born on January 14, 1795 in Tunstall, an area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. This is the centuries-old centre of the English pottery industry...
.
Coal mining
North Staffordshire was a centre for coal mining. The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th century. Part of the North Staffordshire Coalfield, the Potteries Coalfield covers 100 square miles (259 km²).On nationalisation of the industry in 1947, around 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke on Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton
Wolstanton
Wolstanton is a suburban area on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.-History:Historically, Wolstanton was a place in its own right. It is mentioned in the Domesday book where it is listed amongst the lands belonging to the King. The land consisted of work for 2 ploughs, 14...
. The industry developed greatly and even new investments in mining projects were planned within the City boundaries as recently as the 1990s. However, 1994 saw the last pit to close as the Trentham Superpit was shut.
The Stoke mining industry set several national and international records. Wolstanton Colliery, when modernised had the deepest mining shafts in Europe. In 1933, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery became the first Colliery in the country to mine 1 million tons of coal. In the 1980s Florence Colliery in Longton
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...
repeatedly set regional and national production records and in 1992 the combined Trentham Superpit (Hem Heath and Florence) was the first Mine in Europe to produce 2.5 million saleable tonnes of coal.
Today the mines are all closed, though the scars of mining still remain on the landscape. Slag heaps are still visible on the skyline, now covered with flora and fauna. The abandoned mines underground are inaccessible, though still add complications to many building projects and occasionally cause minor tremors, detectable only by specialised equipment.
Steel
Other industries have also occupied important roles in the development of the city both before and after federation. Notably the iron and steel making industry located in the valley at Goldendale and SheltonShelton, Staffordshire
Shelton is a suburb in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire.-Profile:Shelton's proximity to Staffordshire University has resulted in it having a large student population. Within the grounds of the University is a film theatre which often shows local and art house films...
below the hill towns of Tunstall
Tunstall, Staffordshire
Tunstall is an area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern town of the city of Stoke-on-Trent....
, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks
Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar was a major steelworks in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. In its heyday, Shelton Bar employed 10,000 in the steelworks, had five coal mines, a complete railway system, and a by-products processing factory.-The main site:...
production of steel ended in 1978 and instead of producing crude Steel concentrated on rolling Steel Billet train loaded in from Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
. The Rolling Plant finally closed in 2002. From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the repair shops
Stoke railway works
Stoke railway works was set up in 1864 by the North Staffordshire Railway in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the county of Staffordshire, England....
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....
and was also the home from 1881 to 1930 of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd.
Kerr Stuart
Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner...
Shelton Steel Works as well as the mining operations were heavily involved in the World War II industrial effort. Central to the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
's success was the Supermarine 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...
designed by Reginald Mitchell
R. J. Mitchell
Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire.-Early years:...
who, whilst born at 115 Congleton Road in the nearby village of Butt Lane
Butt Lane
Butt Lane is a suburb of Kidsgrove in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire.It is also the birthplace of Reginald Mitchell designer of the RAF's WW2 fighter the Spitfire....
, Kidsgrove had his apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
at Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd's railway works.
Other
The MichelinMichelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tyre company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. As recently as the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant. Nowadays around 1,200 are employed at the site.
Geography
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and the city adjoins the town and borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
, which is administered separately and situated to the west. To the east is the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, which includes part of the Staffordshire Moorlands District, as well as parts of Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, Greater Manchester and West and South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
.
For Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23) and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom
In the NUTS codes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , there are 38 level 2 statistical regions.-List of NUTS 2 statistical regions:-See also:* NUTS of the United Kingdom...
.
Stoke-on-Trent is often known as "the city of five towns", because of the name given to it by local novelist Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
. In his novels, Bennett used mostly recognisable aliases for five of the six towns (although he called Stoke "Knype"). However, Bennett said that he believed "Five Towns" was more euphonious than "Six Towns", so he omitted Fenton (now sometimes referred to as "the forgotten town").
A city like Stoke made up of multiple towns is known as a conurbation (although in this case the conurbation is bigger than Stoke itself, because the urban area of Stoke is now continuous with that of administratively-separate Newcastle).
The six towns run in a rough line from north to south along the A50 road
A50 road
The A50 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Warrington to Leicester; however, it was once a much longer route.-Current route:...
– Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. Although the city is named after the original town of Stoke, and the City Council offices are located there, the city centre is usually regarded as being in Hanley, which had earlier developed into a major commercial centre.
Suburbs
As well as the Six Towns, there are numerous suburbs including Abbey HultonAbbey Hulton
Abbey Hulton is a village in Staffordshire, England that now forms a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The village was named after the former abbey that existed between the 13th and 16th centuries.- History :...
, Adderley Green
Adderley Green
Adderley Green is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is included in the township of Longton. It was a center for mining activities in the 19th century....
, Baddeley Green, Bentilee
Bentilee
Bentilee is a suburb and housing estate in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire situated between Hanley and Longton, and parallel with Fenton, Staffordshire.-History:...
, Birches Head
Birches Head
Birches Head is an area within Stoke-on-Trent. It lies on the edge of the town of Hanley.Formerly Birches Head Farm the area had new housing built on it to meet modern demands.An old railway line and Canal run across two sides of the estate....
, Blurton
Blurton
Blurton is a small town in Stoke on Trent, North Staffordshire.-Education:Blurton has one secondary school, Blurton High School, a specialist Business and Enterprise College....
, Bucknall
Bucknall, Staffordshire
Bucknall is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent in the county of Staffordshire.It was recorded in the Domesday Book as having a taxable value of 0.3 geld and consisting of three ploughlands....
, Bradeley, Cliffe Vale
Cliffe Vale, Staffordshire
Cliffe Vale is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and lies to the immediate south of Etruria and just west of Basford and Hartshill.Cliffe Vale is in the valley of the Fowlea Brook, now better known as Etruria Valley. There are industrial and employment uses along the A500, and new...
, Etruria
Etruria, Staffordshire
Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.-Home of Wedgwood:Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works in 1769. It was named after the Italian district of Etruria,...
, Fegg Hayes, Hartshill
Hartshill, Staffordshire
Hartshill is a township within Stoke-upon-Trent in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire.Hartshill was developed by Herbert Minton as a dormitory suburb of Stoke. The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1842 when Holy Trinity church was built...
, Heron Cross, Meir, Meir Park, Meir Hay, Middleport
Middleport, Staffordshire
Middleport is a residential and industrial district of the town of Burslem in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Middleport lies to the west of Burslem, between Burslem town centre and the Newcastle-under-Lyme district of Porthill. To the north is Tunstall and to the south Cobridge and Etruria...
, Milton
Milton, Staffordshire
Milton is located in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is mainly situated between the A5009 and A53 roads. It shares its borders with Light Oaks, Baddeley Green, Sneyd Green, and Abbey Hulton....
, Penkhull
Penkhull
Penkhull is a township within Stoke-upon-Trent in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. The Domesday Book records it as two hides of land in the Hundred of Pirehill and that it was held by Earl Algar....
, Shelton
Shelton, Staffordshire
Shelton is a suburb in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire.-Profile:Shelton's proximity to Staffordshire University has resulted in it having a large student population. Within the grounds of the University is a film theatre which often shows local and art house films...
, Smallthorne
Smallthorne
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...
, 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...
, Trentham
Trentham, Staffordshire
Trentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...
and Trent Vale.
Climate
Stoke-on-Trent, as with all of the United Kingdom, experiences a temperate maritime climate type, lacking in weather extremes. The local area is relatively elevated, resulting in cooler temperatures year round compared to the nearby Cheshire plain; although on calm, clear nights this is often reversed as cold air drainage causes a temperature inversion to occur. As such, the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle area are generally not susceptible to severe frosts. The nearest official met office weather station is Keele University, about four miles west of the city centre.The absolute high temperature is 32.9 °C (91.2 °F), recorded in August 1990, although more typically the average warmest day of the year should be 27.0 °C (80.6 °F). In total, just under six days should report a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.
The absolute minimum temperature stands at −13.3 °C (8.1 °F), recorded during January 1963. In an average year, a total of 48.3 air frosts will be registered.
Rainfall averages around 785 mm a year, with 1 mm or more falling on just over 139 days. All averages refer to the 1971–2000 observation period.
Demographics
Based on the 2001 census, the total population of the city is 240,636 in 103,196 households This was a decline of 3.5% since 1991. 51.3% of the population is female. 96.3% of the population of Stoke-on-Trent were born in the UK. 94.8% of the population identified themselves as white, 2.6% as Asian British Pakistani, 0.5% Asian British Indian and 0.3% as Black Afro Caribbean. With religion, 74.7% described themselves as Christian, 3.2% Muslim and 13.4% had no religion. In the same census, 19.9% were identified as under 15 and 21.0% over 60. The average age of residents was 38½. A total of 24.2% of non-pensioner households were recorded as having no working adults.Main sights
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free.One of the four local authority museums in the City, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum, Ford Green Hall and Etruria Industrial Museum, The Potteries Museum & Art...
in Hanley. Etruria Industrial Museum on 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 Gladstone Pottery Museum
Gladstone Pottery Museum
The Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium sized pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century to the mid 20th century....
in a former potbank in Longton are dedicated to the city's industrial heritage. Ceramica
Ceramica
Ceramica was a museum in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, which explored the history of the area's pottery industry. It was located in the former Burslem Town Hall....
in Burslem used to be an interactive ceramics museum, but it closed in 2011 due to council funding cuts.
Most of the major pottery companies based in Stoke-on-Trent have factory shops and visitor centres. The £10-million Wedgwood Museum
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
visitor centre opened in the firm's factory in 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...
in October 2008. The Dudson Centre in Hanley is a museum of the family ceramics business that's partly housed in a Grade II listed bottle kiln. It is also a volunteer centre. Burleigh in Middleport
Middleport, Staffordshire
Middleport is a residential and industrial district of the town of Burslem in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Middleport lies to the west of Burslem, between Burslem town centre and the Newcastle-under-Lyme district of Porthill. To the north is Tunstall and to the south Cobridge and Etruria...
is the world's oldest working Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
pottery. There are also smaller factory shops, such as Royal Stafford in Burslem, Moorcroft
Moorcroft
Moorcroft is a British pottery manufacturer based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which was founded by William Moorcroft.-History:...
in Cobridge and Emma Bridgewater
Emma Bridgewater
Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturer founded in 1985, owned and run by Emma Rice née Bridgewater and Matthew Rice. Noted for their polka dot design among others, Emma Bridgewater specialises in pottery with motifs drawing on expertise and traditional techniques stretching back over...
in Hanley. And there are ambitious plans to open the huge Chatterley Whitfield
Chatterley Whitfield
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal-mine in Stoke-on-Trent. It was the largest in North Staffordshire, and was the first colliery to produce 1,000,000 tons of saleable coal in a year....
Colliery as a mining museum, since it has been given Ancient Monument status.
The Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
Ford Green Hall
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 17th Century farmhouse which is now a historic house museum in Smallthorne
Smallthorne
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...
.
Trentham Gardens
Trentham Gardens
Trentham Gardens are formal Italianate gardens, and an English landscape park in Trentham, Staffordshire on the southern fringes of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. The former house on the site, Trentham Hall, became one of many to be demolished in the 20th century when in 1912, its owner the...
Many local people consider Trentham Gardens to be in Stoke on Trent but it is actually in the Borough of Stafford, it is just to the south of the city and a £100 million refurbishment was completed in 2005. Next door is Trentham Monkey Forest, which houses 140 Barbary Macaque
Barbary Macaque
The Barbary Macaque , or Common macaque, is a macaque with no tail. Found in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco with a small population, of unknown origin, in Gibraltar, the Barbary Macaque is one of the best-known Old World monkey species. Besides humans, they are the only primates that...
s in a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) enclosure that visitors can walk through.
The Alton Towers Resort
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
is 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent and is one of the United Kingdom's best known attractions. The Waterworld
Water World, Stoke-on-Trent
WaterWorld attracts 400,000 visitors per year. The park first opened in 1989 and is generally open year round, but is closed for a few days of the week during term time....
indoor swimming complex on Festival Park
Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival
The Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
near Hanley is also a significant children's attraction.
Each of the six towns in Stoke-on-Trent has at least one park. At nine hectares, Burslem Park is one of the largest registered Victorian parks in the UK. Park Hall Country Park in Weston Coyney is a National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
, and its sandstone canyons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. Hartshill Park in Stoke is also a nature reserve, and Bucknall Park is home to the City Farm. Westport Lake in Longport is the largest body of water in Stoke-on-Trent and has a nature reserve.
Economy
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
, collieries
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, and potteries
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
were closed, including the renowned Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar was a major steelworks in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. In its heyday, Shelton Bar employed 10,000 in the steelworks, had five coal mines, a complete railway system, and a by-products processing factory.-The main site:...
steelworks. This resulted in a sharp rise in unemployment in the 'high-skilled but low-paid' workforce. However, by 2004 the unemployment rate had recovered to almost the same as in the wider West Midlands.
Pottery firm Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
and its subsidiary Royal Doulton
Royal Doulton
The Royal Doulton Company is an English company producing tableware and collectables, dating to 1815. Operating originally in London, its reputation grew in The Potteries, where it was a latecomer compared to Spode, Wedgwood and Minton...
are based in nearby 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...
, although much production now takes place in the firm's Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n factory. Portmeirion
Portmeirion Pottery
Portmeirion is a British pottery company based in Stoke-on-Trent.-History:Portmeirion Pottery came into being in 1960 when the pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis took over a small pottery decorating company in Stoke-on-Trent called A. E. Gray Ltd.. Susan...
is based in Stoke town, and now owns the Spode
Spode
Spode is a well-known English brand of pottery and homewares based in Stoke-on-Trent.- The overview :Spode is a Stoke-on-Trent based pottery company that was founded by Josiah Spode in 1770...
and Royal Worcester
Royal Worcester
Royal Worcester is believed to be the oldest remaining English pottery brand still in existence today.-Overview:Royal Worcester is a British brand known for its history, provenance and classically English collections of porcelain...
ceramics brands. Ceramics firm Emma Bridgewater
Emma Bridgewater
Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturer founded in 1985, owned and run by Emma Rice née Bridgewater and Matthew Rice. Noted for their polka dot design among others, Emma Bridgewater specialises in pottery with motifs drawing on expertise and traditional techniques stretching back over...
is based in Hanley, Burleigh Pottery is in Middleport, Wade Ceramics
Wade Ceramics
Wade Ceramics Ltd. are manufacturers of porcelain and earthenware, including animal figures for their Collectors Club, whisky flagons, and a variety of industrial ceramics....
is in Etruria, Moorcroft
Moorcroft
Moorcroft is a British pottery manufacturer based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which was founded by William Moorcroft.-History:...
and Royal Stafford are based in Burslem, Aynsley China
Aynsley China
Aynsley China Ltd. is a British manufacturer of bone china tableware, giftware and commemorative items. The company was founded in 1775 by John Aynsley in Lane End, Longton, Staffordshire. In 1861 his grandson John Aynsley built the historic Portland Works on Sutherland Road, Longton. The company...
is in Longton, and is one of the last remaining manufacturers of bone china in the city. Fine china manufacturer Dudson
Dudson
Dudson is a British company that sells fine china. It is one of the oldest companies in the world, founded in 1800. It is based in the traditional "Potteries" town of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire....
have premises in Hanley and Burslem. Churchill China
Churchill china
Churchill China PLC is a British pottery manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom.-History of the Company:Churchill China can trace its origins back to 1795 and the foundation of its first factory in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.The Company also markets...
have their main factory in Tunstall, while hotelware manufacturer Steelite is based in Middleport.
About 9,000 firms are based in the city. Amongst the more notable are bet365
Bet365
bet365 Group Limited, is a United Kingdom based gambling company. bet365 is one of the world’s leading online gambling groups with over 6 million customers in 200 different countries...
, founded by local businessman and Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
chairman Peter Coates
Peter Coates
Peter Coates is a businessman and current owner of the Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th richest person in British football. He founded Bet365 in 2000, as well as Signal Radio in 1983....
, and Phones4U a large retailer of mobile phones started by John Caudwell
John Caudwell
John Caudwell is an English businessman who has made most of his money in the mobile phone business. In 2005, the Sunday Times estimated Caudwell's wealth at £1.28 billion .-Early life:...
.
The Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tyre company has a complex in the city housing its commercial head office, training centre and a factory re-treading truck tyres. Sainsbury's supermarket and The Co-operative Pharmacy
The Co-operative Pharmacy
The Co-operative Pharmacy is the trading name of National Co-operative Chemists Ltd., a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group. Established in 1945, it is the third largest chemist in the United Kingdom and the largest in Wales...
have large warehouses in the city. The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel is the trading name of Co-op Group Travel 1 Ltd., a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group. The largest independent travel agent in the United Kingdom; it is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group and is both ABTA and ATOL bonded...
has its head office in Burslem, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
has a large call centre on Festival Park and the UK subsidisary of the lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Petrolub
Fuchs Petrolub
Fuchs Petrolub AG is the world's largest independent manufacturer of lubricants, and related speciality products. The company's headquarters are at Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1931.-Fuchs products:...
has its head office at its factory in Hanley. There is a steel foundry owned by Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd
Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd
Goodwin Steel Castings Limited is a heavy engineering firm located in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. The company specialises in the production of large, bespoke, machined steel castings.-History:...
in Joiner's Square.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the city's largest single employer. Another major employer is the University Hospital of North Staffordshire
University Hospital of North Staffordshire
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire is a major teaching & research hospital in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, England, near the border with Newcastle-under-Lyme...
, with over 7,000 staff.
KPMG's 'Competitive Alternatives
Competitive Alternatives
KPMG's Competitive Alternatives is a biennial guide to comparing international business site locations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The primary focus of the study is international business costs. The study measures the impact of significant costs that vary by location, as applied to...
2004' report declared Stoke-on-Trent to be the most cost-effective place to set up a new UK business. The city currently has the advantage of offering affordable business property – while being surrounded by a belt of affluent areas such as The Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, Stone
Stone, Staffordshire
Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...
, south Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and having excellent road links via the A500 and nearby M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
and rail links.
Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival
The Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
in 1986, and is now sustained by the many pottery factory-shops/tours and by the improved canal network.
Potteries Shopping Centre
The Potteries Shopping Centre is an indoor shopping centre in Hanley, Stoke on Trent. It is the major indoor shopping centre in the city. The town of Hanley is generally regarded as the commercial city centre of Stoke-on-Trent....
(housing many well known national retail outlets), many well-known high street shops and some unique specialist retailers. The Potteries Shopping Centre has recently opened chain coffee shops including Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
and Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
. And with the Peak District just ten miles (16 km) away, Hanley naturally boasts five outdoors clothing & equipment shops.
Other notable business people from the city includes Reginald H. Jones
Reginald H. Jones
Reginald H. Jones was the chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1972 to 1981.-Biography:Jones was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom....
(Chairman of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
), venture capitalist Jon Moulton
Jon Moulton
Jon Moulton is a British venture capitalist. He is the founder and managing partner of the private equity firm Better Capital, and is the former managing partner of the private equity firm Alchemy Partners...
and John Madejski
John Madejski
Sir John Robert Madejski OBE DL is an English businessman, with commercial interests, spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football...
, chairman of Reading F.C.
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
and former owner of Auto Trader.
Night-time industry has boomed in recent years, with Hanley becoming increasingly popular for its nightclubs, theatres, pubs, bars and restaurants.
Government
The city is covered by three House of Commons constituencies: Stoke-on-Trent North, Stoke-on-Trent Central and Stoke-on-Trent South. All three have returned Labour MPs without interruption since their creation in 1950. The city is within the West MidlandsWest Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
West Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elected 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency will also elect a "virtual MEP" who will be able to sit in the Parliament if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect...
European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
constituency.
Mayoral system
The city was only one of the twelve English districts with elected mayors to use the mayor and council manager system rather than the mayor and cabinet system, although it was removed following a local referendum on 23 October 2008.A local referendum approved a directly elected mayor system on 3 May 2002 by 28,601 votes to 20,578 (turnout of 27.8%).
Mike Wolfe, an independent candidate, became the first directly elected mayor after an election on 17 October 2002, narrowly beating Labour Party candidate George Stevenson by just 300 votes. The elected Mayor from 5 May 2005 – 5 June 2009 was Mark Meredith
Mark Meredith
Mark Joseph Meredith was the second and last directly elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in England. An openly gay man and former amateur boxer he was elected on 5 May 2005, for the Labour Party, and defeated incumbent independent Mike Wolfe. In March 2009, Meredith was arrested on suspicion of...
(Labour Party). The 2005 election was notable because approximately 10% of the ballot papers were either spoiled or ineligible. Meredith's election platform included a pledge to have another referendum on the post of elected mayor. This was scheduled for May 2007 and passed in favour of retaining the current political system.
On 23 October 2008, voters returned to the polls to choose between modifying the system (to Mayor and Cabinet) or abolishing the position of elected Mayor. Votes were 21,231 for abolition and 14,592 for modification on a turnout of 19.23%.
Leader and Cabinet system
Following a city wide referendum abolishing the position of elected mayor a Leader and CabinetCabinet-style council
A Cabinet-style Council is a type of local government which has been introduced in the United Kingdom for Local Councils following the introduction of the Local Government Act 2000....
system was adopted on 5 June 2009. The Leader of the Council is elected by councillors. Each cabinet members makes the decisions on their portfolio area and explains the decisions at the monthly cabinet meetings.
The current Leader of the Council is Cllr Mohammed Pervez who is also leader of the City's Labour Group, the the majority group on the council.
Lord Mayor
The position of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial. The title of Lord Mayor was first conferred on the City of Stoke-on-Trent by King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
on 10 July 1928. The role of Lord Mayor is decided upon by a vote amongst the elected councillors, the candidates are also selected from the councillors. The current Lord Mayor is Councillor Terry Follows.
Council
In May 2011 the electoral map of the city changed. From a council of 60 members representing 20 wards with 3 councillors each, the size of the council was reduced to 44 councillors representing 37 wards (31 single member wards, 5 two member wards and 1 three member ward). The change followed a 2008 report by the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission to the Secretary of State for Local Government that was highly crtitical of the political system then in use in the city.The political composition of Stoke-on-Trent city council as of 2011
United Kingdom local elections, 2011
The 2011 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 Metropolitan boroughs, 194 Second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place in all parts of England with...
is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
|---|---|
| Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
34 |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
7 |
| Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
2 |
| Unaffiliated | 1 |
Public services
The city's acute hospital is the University Hospital of North StaffordshireUniversity Hospital of North Staffordshire
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire is a major teaching & research hospital in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, England, near the border with Newcastle-under-Lyme...
. It is currently based over two sites (the Royal Infirmary and the City General). The hospital is being re-built on to the City General site which is located on London Road, the A34.
The city's primary care trust, NHS Stoke-on-Trent manages Haywood Hospital in Burslem, which prodives intermediate care, and Longton Cottage Hospital, which provides inpatient and outpatient clinics. North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare is the trust providing mental health services locally, based at Harplands Hospital in Penkhull and Bucknall Hospital.
Policing in Stoke-on-Trent is provided by Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England...
, which has police stations in Hanley, Bucknall, Burslem, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
and County Court
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...
share a building in Hanley. There is a Magistrates' Court in Fenton.
Statutory emergency fire and rescue service
Fire service in the United Kingdom
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
is provided by the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of Staffordshire and unitary area of Stoke on Trent....
, which has fire stations in Hanley, Longton, Burslem and Sandyford.
Severn Trent
Severn Trent
Severn Trent plc is a British public utility. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.Severn Trent is a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.The main...
manages Stoke-on-Trent's drinking and waste water.
The city's main library is the City Central Library in Hanley, which is also home to the city's archives. The city council operates eight smaller libraries throughout the city. The council also operates sixteen children's centres, nine local service centres and five 'one stop shops' for council services.
Religion
Stoke Minster
Stoke Minster is the town centre and civic church in Stoke-upon-Trent in England.-Background:Legally known as the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, it was informally renamed Stoke Minster in 2005 in recognition of the important role it plays in the Civic life of Stoke on Trent and north...
.
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:...
was founded by 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 :...
, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the nearby village of 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...
. He originally followed the Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
form of Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first chapel in Tunstall. He promoted Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
s as a method of improving children's education as well as treating women as equals. He also was involved in the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. It was from the Primitive Methodists that many early trade unions found their early leaders. Also of note is John Lightfoot
John Lightfoot
John Lightfoot was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.-Life:...
a 17th century churchman and rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical scholar.
The city's first purpose-built mosque is due to be completed in 2011. The city's only synagogue closed in 2006, and was replaced with a smaller one in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Major roads
Stoke-on-Trent is linked to the nearby M6 motorway at junctions 15 and 16 by the A500. Locally the A500 is known as the D road as its loop between the two motorway junctions, along with the straight section of the M6 between the junctions, resembles the shape of a capital D. In addition, 500 in Roman numeralsRoman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
is D. The A50
A50 road
The A50 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Warrington to Leicester; however, it was once a much longer route.-Current route:...
cuts through the city, providing an East-West link between the M6 and M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
s. Improvements to the road network have led to a number of companies building distribution centres in the area.
Rail
Stoke-on-Trent railway station
Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...
is a mainline station on the Stafford-Manchester Line, which is a part of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
between Manchester and London, as well as the Crewe-Derby Line. Virgin
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
Pendolino
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
train 390029 is named after Stoke-on-Trent. Other railway stations in the city include Longport
Longport railway station
Longport railway station is a station serving the areas of Longport, Middleport and Burslem, all districts in the northern part of Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. The station is served by trains on the Crewe to Derby Line which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line...
and Longton
Longton railway station
Longton railway station is a railway station in the United Kingdom at Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. The station is served by trains on the Crewe to Derby Line which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands...
stations. Etruria station
Etruria railway station
Etruria station is a closed station in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which served the areas of Etruria and the larger district of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It closed on 30 September 2005....
was closed in September 2005.
Bus
Local public transport is almost exclusively by bus. Bus services are mainly operated by Potteries Motor TractionFirst Potteries
First Potteries Limited is a company based in Stoke-on-Trent that operates buses in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Crewe, and in Chester and The Wirral through its sub-brand First Chester & The Wirral.-History:The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction or PMT...
, now owned by FirstGroup under the name First Potteries. There are also several smaller companies operating bus services in the city. There are central bus stations in Hanley and Longton
Longton Interchange
Longton Transport Interchange serves the town of Longton, Staffordshire, England.The bus station is situated in Longton Town Centre off Baths Road adjacent to the Longton railway station.A brand new station with 9 stands was opened in 2003...
. National Express
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
operate long distance coach services from Hanley Bus Station. As part of the city's regeneration, a new bus station is being built in Hanley, allowing the current one to be demolished, making room for further redevelopment. Starting in 2011 new low cost coach operator Gorilla Bus started to serve Hanley, giving new direct services to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Manchester Airport, Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
and East Midlands Airport.
Canals
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....
, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. Additionally, 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...
branches off from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to 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...
. Recently numerous improvements to the canal system have been made.
Cycling
At November 2009 there are 77 miles (124 km) of new National Cycle NetworkNational Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting the city to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are now over 100 miles (160.9 km) of cycle paths in the urban conurbation. A further £10-million of funding has now been secured for the city's cycling network, to be spent in 2009–2011 through Cycling England's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.
Higher Education
Stoke-on-Trent College
Stoke-on-Trent College is a provider of further and higher education based in Stoke-on-Trent. According to www.stoke.net the college has more than 30,000 students and over 1000 staff. The college's main campus, known as Cauldon Campus, is in Shelton and it has a second campus in Burslem.Stoke on...
. Formerly of Fenton, now located in a newly built structure on Leek Road, the Sixth Form college provides A-level
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
teaching for around 1,800 students. Stoke-on-Trent College is much larger and less specialised, offering apprenticeships and adult education, and has a main campus (Cauldon Campus) in Shelton, and a secondary campus in Burslem.
The city is also home to Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
(formerly North Staffordshire Polytechnic), with its main site in Shelton, near Stoke-on-Trent railway station. It gained its university status in 1992 as one of the post-1992 universities
New Universities
The term new universities has been used informally to refer to several different waves of new universities created or renamed as such in the United Kingdom. As early as 1928, the term was used to describe the then-new civic universities, such as Bristol University and the other "red brick...
. Keele University School of Medicine
Keele University Medical School
Keele University School of Medicine based at Keele University in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, England, was established in 2002. The first two years of the school's MBChB course are taught on Keele University campus...
uses facilities at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire
University Hospital of North Staffordshire
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire is a major teaching & research hospital in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, England, near the border with Newcastle-under-Lyme...
in Hartshill
Hartshill
Hartshill is a village in the borough of North Warwickshire, England.Hartshill is three miles from Nuneaton town centre but is still regarded as a suburb of the town despite being in the North Warwickshire borough....
. Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
itself was founded as the University College of North Staffordshire in 1949 with major involvement by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and is located in the nearby village of Keele
Keele
Keele is a village and civil parish in northern Staffordshire, England. It is approximately three miles west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and is close to the village of Silverdale...
.
Secondary Education
The city currently has thirteen 'Community' schools, four 'Church' schools, and five 'Special' schools.The Community schools are: Berry Hill High
Berry Hill High School and Sports College
Berry Hill High School and Sports College was a mixed, secondary school located on Arbourfield Drive, Berry Hill, Stoke-on-Trent. The school was awarded specialist Sports College status, though was usually just referred to as Berry Hill High School....
, Birches Head High, Blurton High
Blurton High School
Blurton High School is a mixed, secondary school in Blurton, Staffordshire. The school has been awarded specialist Business and Enterprise College status.-Feeder Schools:...
, The Co-operative Academy at Brownhills, Edensor Technology College, Haywood High
Haywood Engineering College
Haywood Engineering College is a British High School for 11 to 16 year-olds located on High Lane in the Stoke On Trent town of Burslem. It is a specialist school as an Engineering College. The six houses are named after famous space expeditions....
, Holden Lane High
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...
, James Brindley Science College
James Brindley Science College
Ormiston Horizon Academy, formerly know as James Brindley High School/James Brindley Science College, is an 11-16 mixed school located at the top most point of St Michaels Road in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Most students are from the surrounding areas such as Chell Heath, Fegg Hayes,...
, Longton High
Longton High School
-History:Before the school moved to a new site in Sandon Road, it was situated in Trentham Road and also used part of the Sutherland Institute.-Grammar school:...
, Mitchell High, Sandon High
Sandon High School
Sandon Business & Enterprise College is a co-educational comprehensive for ages 11-16, situated on the South Eastern outskirts of the City of Stoke-on-Trent...
, Thistley Hough High
Thistley Hough High School
Thistley Hough High School is a secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. It was built in 1938 as a school for girls. It is a classical art deco building which retains its original features.The current headteacher is Mr R Haines.-External links:...
and Trentham High.
A major re-structure of Stoke-on-Trent's High School system is currently under proposal. As part of these plans Longton High School is to close in 2010. Trentham High, Berry Hill High, and Mitchell Business and Enterprise College are also expected to close.
In terms of results, the city's top school is St. Joseph's College
St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent
St. Joseph’s College is a mixed Roman Catholic 11–18 school in Trent Vale, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. The school is based around a Grade II listed building which was previously a residential property before it was bought by the Christian Brothers in 1931.-History:The school was founded by...
. In September 2007, the school was threatened with closure as part of the education re-shuffle. The school led a very high profile campaign and eventually (after speaking with Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
) the school was saved.
Potters' Holidays
One of the legacies of, especially, the pottery industry was that Stoke had its own version of the Wakes weekWakes week
The wakes week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland.- History :Wakes were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications...
. Although more well known in industrial Lancashire, the Stoke week is known locally as the Potters' Holidays or Potters' Fortnight and occurred as the last week in June and the first week in July and then a further week in August. This gave what appears to be strange school holidays, with the summer term having a two-week break at the end of June, then children returning to school for three weeks before taking a five-week summer holiday. With the decreased emphasis on the traditional industries this oddity has disappeared from the local schools.
Football
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
, who were formed in 1863 and are the second oldest professional football club in England. They currently play at the Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...
in Trentham
Trentham, Staffordshire
Trentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...
, which has been their home since 1997 when they relocated from the Victoria Ground
Victoria Ground
Victoria Ground may refer to:*Victoria Ground, the former name of Hartlepool United’s ground Victoria Park.*Victoria Ground, Stoke City’s ground from 1878 to 1997.*Victoria Ground, current home of Bromsgrove Rovers...
in Stoke after 119 years. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
in 1888, but did not win their first (and, to date, only) major trophy until 1972
1972 Football League Cup Final
The 1972 Football League Cup Final took place on 4 March 1972 at Wembley Stadium and was contested by Chelsea and Stoke City. Chelsea went into the match as strong favourites having won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the previous two seasons, whereas Stoke were attempting to win their...
, when they lifted the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. In 1985, they were relegated from the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
and began a 23-year exile from the top flight of English football which did not end until they won promotion in 2008, by which time the First Division had become the Premier League. Stoke City reached the final of the F.A. Cup for the first time in their history in 2011 but were defeated by Manchester City. Arguably the club's most famous player of all time was Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
, who is perhaps the best known sportsperson from the city. He played football for Stoke City and Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
where he played in what became known as the Matthews Final. He also managed Port Vale from 1965–1968. He was the first active footballer to receive a Knighthood. The "wizard of dribble", as he became known, made 54 appearances for his country
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, scoring 11 times. There are two statues of Matthews in the city; one in Hanley, and one at the Britannia Stadium.
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...
, who were formed in 1876 and play at Vale Park
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the home ground of Port Vale F.C., who have played at the ground since 1950....
in the 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:...
area. Previous stadiums include the Athletic Ground
Athletic Ground (Cobridge)
The Athletic Ground was a football stadium, located in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent and home to Port Vale for 27 years, hosting twelve Football League seasons....
in Cobridge (1886–1913), and The Old Recreation Ground
The Old Recreation Ground
The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium, located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and home to Port Vale for almost 40 years. The Rec had been Vale's home between 1913 and 1950 and was the sixth ground the club used.-Structure and facilities:...
in Hanley (1913–1950). They joined the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
in 1892 but were forced to resign from it in 1907
1906–07 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season
The 1906–07 season was Burslem Port Vale's ninth consecutive season of football in the Football League. The club resigned from the league on 14 June 1907....
due to financial problems, only to return in 1919
1919–20 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1919–20 season was Port Vale's first season of football back in the Football League . It was their first Football League season at The Old Recreation Ground, and their first season in which they were in the same division as rivals Stoke...
. Their highest league position came in 1931
1930–31 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1930–31 season was Port Vale's twenty-fifth season of football in the Football League, and their twenty-fourth in the Second Division following their promotion from the Third Division North the previous season. They finished fifth with 47 points, making it the most successful season in the...
when they finished fifth in the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. Unlike Stoke City, their local rivals in the Potteries derby
Potteries derby
The Potteries derby is the football local derby in Stoke-on-Trent between Port Vale and Stoke City. The fans of each club both consider the other to be their main rivals; this has led to a heated atmosphere at these matches, especially with the rise of football hooliganism and the 'Naughty Forty'...
, they have never played top division football. They currently play in League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
(fourth tier). Individuals of note include: John Rudge
John Rudge
John Robert Rudge is an English former football player and football manager. He is currently working as the director of football at Stoke City....
(who managed the club for 16 years from 1983–1999), and Roy Sproson
Roy Sproson
Roy Sproson was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts for Vale between 1950 and 1972. This includes a run of 128 consecutive appearances between April 1954 and March 1957...
, (who made a record 837 appearances for the club from 1950 until 1972, and was later their manager).
In the past there existed Dresden United
Dresden United F.C.
Dresden United Football Club were a football club based in the Dresden area of Stoke-on-Trent who were active at the end of the nineteenth century....
, a club which was disestablished before the city was federated; amateur clubs Meir KA
Meir KA F.C.
Meir KA F.C. was a football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, England, established in 1972. Originally formed as the Sunday league team of the King's Arms pub in the Meir district, the club was later based in the neighbouring area of Meir Heath...
and Eastwood Hanley
Eastwood Hanley F.C.
Eastwood Hanley F.C. were a football club based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Situated in the Joiners Square area of the city, Eastwood played their home games at the Trentmill Road ground for the majority of their history. The club was established in 1946...
operated between 1972–2010, and 1946–1997 respectively. Smallthorne based Norton United
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...
still compete in the North West Counties Football League
North West Counties Football League
The North West Counties Football League is a football league in North west of England. As of 2011, the league covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Southern Cumbria, Northern Staffordshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire, and the far west of West Yorkshire. In the past, the...
, as do Hanley Town
Hanley Town F.C.
Hanley Town Football Club play in the Staffordshire County Senior League which is part of step 7 of the non-league football pyramid. The club take their name from the largest of the six towns in Stoke-on-Trent, which is Hanley...
in the Staffordshire County Senior League
Staffordshire County Senior League
The Staffordshire County Senior League is a football competition based in Staffordshire, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of the Midland League and the Staffordshire County League....
.
Other sports teams
The city speedwayMotorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
team is the Stoke Potters
Stoke Potters
The Stoke Potters are a British Speedway team currently competing in the National League. The team races at Loomer Road Stadium.In the late 1940s, early 1950s and the early 1960s, the club was based in Sun Street in Hanley, and were originally known as the Hanley Potters when crowds of over 12,000...
. Speedway was staged at the Greyhound Stadium in Sun Street, Hanley intermittently between 1929 and 1939. In 1947 the Potters were part of the post war boom rising from Division Three of the National League to Division Two before closing in the early-1950s. The Potters were revived in 1960 and they raced in the Provincial League until the end of 1963 when the stadium was closed and the site redeveloped. Speedway was revived at Loomer Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme, initially as Chesterton, before it reverted to the Stoke name. For many years the Potters raced in the Premier League
Speedway Premier League
The Premier League is the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom and goverened by the Speedway Control Board , in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association . The Premier League was founded in 1995 when it replaced the British League as the first division...
, the sports second division but as of November 2010 have dropped a division and in 2011 will race in the National League
Speedway National League
The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...
.
The ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
race team based at the artificial ski slope in Festival Park compete in national Snowsport England and international FIS Fédération Internationale de Ski events.
The city has a number of amateur sports clubs, including rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, the latter competing in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Cricket League. The cricket ground in Longton
Longton Cricket Club Ground
Longton Cricket Club Ground is a cricket ground in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1954, when Staffordshire played Northumberland in the grounds first Minor Counties Championship match...
is one of the venues used by Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
. As well as the Longton club, Meir Heath Cricket Club
Meir Heath Cricket Club
Meir Heath Cricket Club is a cricket club and ground in Meir Heath, Staffordshire. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1991, when Staffordshire played Shropshire in the grounds only MCCA Knockout Trophy match. In 1992, it held its first Minor Counties Championship match which saw...
are also active, though the County Ground
County Ground, Stoke-on-Trent
The County Ground was a cricket ground in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1885, when Staffordshire played Derbyshire in a non first-class match....
and the Michelin Ground
Michelin Ground
Michelin Ground was a cricket ground in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The ground was built and owned by the Michelin Tyre Company.The first recorded match on the ground was in 1928, when Staffordshire played Lincolnshire in the grounds first Minor Counties Championship match...
are no longer used for cricket.
Stoke Spitfires was the name of the city's American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. The team eventually folded in 1992 after a record of 35-34-1. In 1994 the Staffordshire Surge was formed and played their matches in and around Stoke-on-Trent. Currently the team play at Longton Rugby Club in Division One North of the British American Football League
British American Football League
The British American Football League was the United Kingdom's primary American Football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football League Ltd incorporated as a Company limited by guarantee....
.
Individual sports persons
The city has a sporting Hall of Fame, opened in 2011 to honour sporting legends from the city. As of March 2011, it holds four names. Stanley MatthewsStanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
and Phil Taylor, legends of football and darts respectively, were the first names to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. They were quickly followed by Port Vale legend Roy Sproson
Roy Sproson
Roy Sproson was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts for Vale between 1950 and 1972. This includes a run of 128 consecutive appearances between April 1954 and March 1957...
, and England's World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....
(who spent five years with Stoke City).
Phil Taylor has won the World Championship a record 15 times, winning the championship in both the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
(PDC) and British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
(BDO). Other former World Champions from Stoke include current PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
and two-time BDO World Champion Ted Hankey
Ted Hankey
Edward "Ted" Hankey is an English darts player who is a two-time BDO World Professional Darts Champion. His nickname is The Count and his walk on music is Be On Your Way by DJ Zany. Hankey built up a large following due to his obsession with and resemblance to Dracula...
. Other well-known players from or based in Stoke include Chris Mason
Chris Mason
Christopher Robert Mason is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League .-Nashville Predators:...
and Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton (darts player)
Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit....
.
World champion squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
player, Great Britain and England international Angela Smith
Angela Smith (squash)
Angela Smith is a retired professional English squash player: Smith was one of the world's top ranked squash players from 1979 to 1990...
– who was largely responsible for the ladies game going open was born in the city, she is regarded as one of the sports greats. Wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor (cricketer)
Robert William Taylor , known as Bob Taylor, is a former English cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his...
, who played for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
and England was born and still lives in the area. He represented England 58 times and still holds the world record for the most number of dismissals in the first class game (1649). In golf, Trenthams' David Lynn (born 1973) is the KLM Open Champion 2004. David has been a member of European Tour since 1996 and he has been in Top 30 of European Tour Order of Merit twice in last three seasons.
Other notable sports people from the area include footballers turned BBC pundits Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark 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....
and Garth Crooks
Garth Crooks
Garth Anthony Crooks OBE is a retired English football player of Jamaican ancestry. He played principally for Stoke City and Tottenham, with whom he was a prolific goal scorer and an FA Cup winner at Wembley in 1981...
; UFC fighter Ross Pointon
Ross Pointon
Ross Pointon is an English mixed martial artist who holds a record of 6 wins and 12 losses. He was a competitor in season three of The Ultimate Fighter, fighting in the Light Heavyweight division after premiering in the Middleweight division under Ken Shamrock...
; tennis player Andrew Foster
Andrew Foster (tennis)
Andrew Foster is a former tennis player from Great Britain.Foster did not won any single titles in his professional career...
; snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
players Dave Harold
Dave Harold
David 'Dave' Harold is an English professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter"...
and Jamie Cope
Jamie Cope
-External links:***...
; field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player Imran Sherwani
Imran Sherwani
Imran Sherwani is a former English field hockey player, who was a member of the gold medal winning Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul....
; and wrestler Peter Thornley
Peter Thornley
Peter Thornley is a British professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki. He was one of the biggest draws of all time in British Wrestling, especially in the mid-1970s and the turn of the 1980s/1990s....
(better known as Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis...
).
Visual Art
The major art gallery is The Potteries Museum & Art GalleryPotteries Museum & Art Gallery
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free.One of the four local authority museums in the City, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum, Ford Green Hall and Etruria Industrial Museum, The Potteries Museum & Art...
, located in Hanley. It contains a collection of fine ceramics, a rotating programme of exhibitions and a permanent collection. In 2010, it became one of the permanent homes of the Staffordshire Hoard
Staffordshire Hoard
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork . Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England on 5 July 2009, it consists of some 3,500 items that are nearly all martial in character...
, the most important collection of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
gold yet found.
The city's Cultural Quarter in Hanley contains the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, the Regent Theatre
Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It opened originally in 1929 as a super cinema and continued to be used as a cinema in various incarnations, originally as the Regent, under the ownership of Provincial Cinema Theatres, then as the Gaumont which was...
and the Victoria Hall. But there are also smaller elements, including the independent Dazed Gallery and the subsidised student-run gallery AirSpace. In Fenton the Artbay Gallery has a contemporary range of original works as well as limited editions. It's also the home of many of North Staffordshire's most renowned painters, including "The Potteries Lowry" aka Sid Kirkham, Vicky Mount, Dale Bowen, Kelvin Evans and Harry Davies.
In Burslem the Edwardian School of Art
Burslem School of Art
Burslem School of Art was an art school in Burslem in the Potteries district of England. Students from the school played an important role in the local pottery industry....
has been refurbished with £1.2 million, and is now run without a public subsidy. The Hothouse Centre for Ceramic Design, and the Roslyn Works complex of craft studios operate in Longton. Also based in Burslem is the Barewall Gallery, which has a large collection of local artists including mixed media artists Rachel Grant and Nicholas Hudson Paine, painters Paine Proffitt
Paine Proffitt
Paine Proffitt is an American-born artist living in England, best known for his sporting works and for his depiction of the "working man's life" most recently in North Staffordshire....
, Rob Pointon, Ivan Taylor, David Brammeld, Saw Law Webb and in ceramics, fine artist Philip Hardaker and work local potters Hannah Belfield and Kevin Millward and Alex Shimwell.
Stoke-on-Trent is also the birthplace of several artists including Arthur Berry
Arthur Berry
Arthur 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...
(also a novelist, playwright & poet), Arnold Machin
Arnold Machin
Arnold Machin O.B.E, R.A. was a British artist, sculptor, coin and stamp designer.Machin was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china painter at the Minton Pottery. During the Depression he learnt to sculpt at Stoke-on-Trent's Art School, which was...
(sculptor, coin & stamp designer) and Sidney Tushingham
Sidney Tushingham
Sidney Tushingham was a painter and etcher who specialised in rustic scenes of villages and small town life.He was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, where he started his artistic career as a china painter. He attended Burslem School of Art and progressed to the Royal College of Art...
, A.R.E.
Theatre
The city's main theatre is the 1603 capacity Regent TheatreRegent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It opened originally in 1929 as a super cinema and continued to be used as a cinema in various incarnations, originally as the Regent, under the ownership of Provincial Cinema Theatres, then as the Gaumont which was...
, which is in Hanley. Nearby is the main concert hall, the Victoria Hall. The purpose-built theatre-in-the-round New Vic Theatre
New Vic Theatre
The New Vic Theatre is situated in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. It was purpose-built as a theatre in the round and opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.-History:...
is just outside the city's boundary in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Victorian Kings Hall in Stoke town hall is used for smaller events. In Burslem, the Queens Theatre has been refurbished and restored at private expense. The Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre is based in a ten year old building in Stoke and puts on amateur productions. The previously city council-run Mitchell Memorial Theatre, based in Hanley, completed its £4.3m refurbishment in 2011 and is now known as the Mitchell Arts Centre. It is named in honour of one of the city's most famous sons, Reginald Mitchell, designer of the legendary World War II fighter plane, the Spitfire.
Cinema
There is an OdeonOdeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
multiplex cinema on Festival Park. The independent volunteer-run art-house cinema, The Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre, is located very near the railway station, and shows art-house and subtitled films, as well as films that have finished their run in larger cinemas.
Literature
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
, described by some as the greatest realist writer of the 20th century, the 'Six Towns' were also sometimes known as the 'Five Towns'. In his novels Bennett wrote about local events in the 19th century consistently changed all proper names and associations, thus Hanley became Hanbridge and Burslem became Bursley. It is thought that Bennett chose to write about five towns, rather than six, because he refused to acknowledge Fenton as a proper town. The six towns were not federated until 1910 but Fenton was still relatively new by that time, it was also the smallest in terms of population and area. As well as this Bennett changed the name of the towns' newspaper from the Sentinel to the Signal, an identity that was subsequently adopted by the city's commercial radio station.
Other notable contributors to the world of literature includes Elijah Fenton
Elijah Fenton
-Life:Born in Shelton , and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery in Flanders, and was then Master of Sevenoaks Grammar School.In 1707, Fenton published a book of poems...
(poet), Peter Whelan
Peter Whelan
Peter Whelan is a British playwright.Whelan was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, England. His works includes seven plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the first of which was Captain Swing, in 1979...
(playwright), John Wain
John Wain
John Barrington Wain was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group "The Movement". For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio. He seems to have married in 1947, since C. S...
(poet, critic and scholar), Pauline Stainer
Pauline Stainer
Pauline Stainer is an acclaimed English poet. She was born in the industrial district of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. She later left the city to attend St Anne's College, Oxford, where she took a degree in English...
(poet), Charles Tomlinson
Charles Tomlinson
Alfred Charles Tomlinson, CBE is a British poet and translator, and also an academic and artist. He was born and raised in Penkhull in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.-Life:...
(poet, graphic artist, translator, editor and critic).
Media
The city's main daily newspaper is The Sentinel, based in Etruria. Local radio stations are BBC Radio StokeBBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke is a BBC Local Radio station in England, for the area of North and Mid Staffordshire, north east Shropshire and South Cheshire. The station began broadcasting programmes on 14 March 1968 as BBC Radio Stoke-on-Trent....
, the commercial Signal 1
Signal 1
Signal One is a British Independent Local Radio station broadcasting from studios in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent to Staffordshire and Cheshire on 96.4 , 96.9 and 102.6 MHz FM for Cheshire, Stafford and North Staffordshire respectively. It also broadcasts on the Stoke "UTV-EMAP Stoke-on-Trent"...
and Signal 2
Signal 2
Signal 2 is a British Independent Local Radio station broadcasting from studios in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent to Staffordshire and Cheshire. The station is owned by UTV Radio and runs a "gold format" playlist. It is the sister station of Signal 1....
along with a Christian community radio station called Cross Rhythms City Radio
Cross Rhythms City Radio
Cross Rhythms City Radio is a UK community radio station broadcasting toStoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The station was one of the original 15 to be granted pilot licences for a new form of local radio, then known as Access Radio. Following several extensions of the pilot...
. Max FM
Max FM
Max FM was a dance radio station in the UK broadcasting from Stoke on Trent. Max FM came back on air in 2008 and is streams continuously in MP3 and aacPlus on Shoutcast and Icecast from its studios in Staffordshire, its owned by Ashley Scrivens also known as "DJ Scrivo", Max FM is operated by MMG...
broadcast nationally from Stoke on Trent and Internet Community Radio station 6 Towns Radio is based in Burslem. United Christian Broadcasters
United Christian Broadcasters
United Christian Broadcasters is an international Christian broadcasting and media group. Through affiliates in twenty five countries, it operates radio and television stations and publishes and broadcasts Bob Gass's free daily devotionals The Word for You Today and word4u2day...
UK headquarters and broadcasting centre for Christian national TV and radio programming is also based in Stoke-on-Trent with sites in Hanchurch and Hanley.
Television news is covered by Birmingham-based BBC Midlands Today
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
, and ITV Central
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
.
The city enjoys a considerable on-line presence. The 'Pits n Pots
Pits n Pots
Pits n Pots is an independent news site which focusses on the Stoke-on-Trent political scene. The site promotes and actively encourages comment and debate on the political stories it publishes...
' website was launched in October 2008, as a site to discuss local news. These sites are in addition to the council, tourism board and local museum websites and those dedicated to different communities across the city.
Famous entertainers
Stoke has been the birthplace of many actors, including Hugh DancyHugh Dancy
- Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...
who has been in Black Hawk Down, Freddie Jones
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
, Alan Lake
Alan Lake
Alan Lake was an English actor, best known as the third husband of Diana Dors.-Biography:Lake was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire on 24 November 1940...
(widower of Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
), Adrian Rawlins
Adrian Rawlins
Adrian Rawlins is an English actor who is probably best known for playing Author Kidd in the woman in black .-Early life:Rawlins was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Mavis and Edward Rawlins.-Education:...
, Hanley Stafford
Hanley Stafford
Hanley Stafford . An actor principally on radio, he is remembered best for playing Lancelot Higgins on The Baby Snooks Show. He is commemorated by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-External links:...
(American radio actor, born Alfred John Austin in Hanley), Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes is an English television presenter, actor and musician. Jonny Wilkes is currently performing as Billy Flynn in Chicago at The Cambridge Theatre, London. He is also the best friend of singer Robbie Williams...
and Neil Morrissey
Neil Morrissey
Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
, star of Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
. Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
actress Rachel Shenton
Rachel Shenton
Rachel Shenton, , is an English actress, who has appeared in a number of British television series, commercials, films and has also done voice overs. She is currently portraying Mitzeee on Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.-Career:Shenton was born in Stoke-on-Trent on the 6 November 1987 and has lived...
is also from the area.
Several nationally recognised TV presenters have been born in the area including Frank Bough
Frank Bough
Frank Bough is a retired British television presenter who is best known as the former host of BBC sports and current affairs shows including Grandstand, Nationwide and Breakfast Time, which he fronted alongside Selina Scott.-Early life:...
who presented Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
& Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time was British television's first national breakfast show, beating TV-am's flagship programme Good Morning Britain to the air by two weeks.The show was revolutionary for the time...
, Anthea Turner
Anthea Turner
Anthea Millicent Turner is an English television presenter and media personality.-Education:Turner was educated at the independent St. Dominic's High School in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent....
from Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
and Nick Hancock who chaired the comedy quiz show They Think It's All Over
They Think It's All Over (TV series)
They Think It's All Over was a British comedy panel game with a sporting theme produced by Talkback Thames and shown on BBC One. The show's name is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous 1966 World Cup commentary quotation, "they think it's all over...it is now!" and the show used the phrase as...
and was host on Room 101
Room 101
Room 101 is a place introduced in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It is a torture chamber in the Ministry of Love in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst nightmare, fear or phobia....
. Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes is a British radio presenter who became prominent in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
the former BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
disc jockey who hosted the station's breakfast show also presented Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. Master illusionist Andrew Van Buren
Andrew Van Buren
Andrew Van Buren is a British performer who specialises in magic, large scale illusions, juggling and plate spinning.-Biography:Master Illusionist Andrew Van Buren spent his childhood touring the world with his parents' Van Buren and Greta’s magic and illusion show. He learned his trade in...
was born & is still based in the area, although he is more often found performing out of the country. Vocalist Carl De Marco was born in the area, and also studied at Stoke-On-Trent City Performing Arts College Burslem.
Music
Stoke has a vibrant music scene. Local nightclub the Golden TorchGolden Torch
The Golden Torch, more commonly known as The Torch, was a mod nightclub in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, England. The club opened on January 30, 1965 with the headline act of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas...
became the centre of the Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
scene in the early-1970s. Shelley's Laserdome
Shelley's Laserdome
Shelley's Laserdome was a night club in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. It was at the heart of the house and rave scene of the late 1980s and early 90s too, helping to launch the career of Sasha and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox, until it was eventually shut down by...
nightclub in Longton played a pivotal role in the house and rave scene of the late-1980s and early-1990s too, helping to launch the career of Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox
Carl Cox
Carl Cox is a British techno and house music DJ.-Biography:Cox grew up in Oldham, Lancashire, before attending Glastonbury High Boys secondary modern school on Glastonbury Road in Morden. Cox began his career as a hardcore and rave DJ in the mid 1980s...
, until it was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England...
. Hanley nightclub 'The Void' developed a sister relationship with Sankey's Soap in Manchester, helping the latter to revive its fortunes during the late-1990s through the promotion of club night 'Golden'.
There are three venues within the city that host regular touring bands, Victoria Hall, The Sugarmill and The Underground.
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
is perhaps the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals" and "The 80's" as well as the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes is an English television presenter, actor and musician. Jonny Wilkes is currently performing as Billy Flynn in Chicago at The Cambridge Theatre, London. He is also the best friend of singer Robbie Williams...
of the song "Me and My Shadow", while the song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall.
Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, renowned guitarist for Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
and Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
was born in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, but his father was originally from the Potteries, and he spent a few of his early childhood years in Stoke before moving to Los Angeles. He did not meet the British side of his family until 1992 when Guns N' Roses played Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. Slash has recalled in numerous interviews and his autobiography that his Stoke relatives drank all of the bands considerable rider:
"I witnessed one of my uncles, my cousin, and my grandfather, on his very first trip to London from Stoke, down every drop of liquor in our dressing room. Consumed in full, our booze rider in those days would have killed anyone but us."
The Legendary Lonnie is a rock 'n' roll guitarist and local celebrity who played with Screaming Lord Sutch in the 1970s, and is also well remembered in the area for his Radio Stoke show 'Sunday Best', as well as for standing as a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate. In Spring 2010 he started getting airplay on a New York radio station for his 1994 song Knock Me Down, Pick Me Up. This led to the song being released for mp3 download in the USA and the UK.
Other notable individuals and groups from the area include Andy Moor who is a DJ and producer, Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...
who composed
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
32 symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
and five operas, Gertie Gitana
Gertie Gitana
Gertie Gitana , was a British music hall entertainer.She was born Gertrude Mary Astbury in Shirley Street, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent. Her father was a pottery works foreman and her mother Lavinia taught at St Peter's RC school in Cobridge...
(music hall star and singer), Lemmy, the founder of the rock band Motörhead, Patricia Leonard
Patricia Leonard
Patricia Leonard was an English opera singer, best known for her performances in mezzo-soprano and contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
(singer/contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
), Jem Finer
Jem Finer
Jem Finer is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.-Life and career:...
(banjoist, The Pogues) and Broken Bones, Discharge
Discharge (band)
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...
(punk band). Post-hardcore band Spy Versus Spy came from Stoke-On Trent. Experimental musician Phil Todd, best known for his Ashtray Navigations
Ashtray Navigations
Ashtray Navigations is an English psychedelic noise group centered upon Phil Todd, active since 1991.Colloquially referred to as "Ash Nav", The group operate out of Todd's home in Stoke-on-Trent, England, from which he also ran the record labels Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers and, subsequently...
project, grew up in Madeley. Other bands to hail from the city include: This Is Seb Clarke
This Is Seb Clarke
This Is Seb Clarke or ' are a twelve piece soul-punk ensemble from Stoke-On-Trent, North Staffordshire. Their line-up plays Hammond organ, piano, bass, drums, lead guitar, rhythm guitar and has a brass section. The group are named after their frontman and principal songwriter, Sebastian...
(soul-punk), Agent Blue
Agent Blue (band)
Agent Blue were an alternative rock band from Stoke-on-Trent, England.Their songs were featured in various media. "Something Else" and "Snowhill" are on the soundtracks of the racing games, FlatOut and Burnout Paradise, respectively. "Something Else" has also been used on various BBC television...
(alternative rock), Epilogue (prog rock), Exhibit A (alternative metal), The Title
The Title
The Title are a four-piece indie band based in Stoke-on-Trent, signed with Sons Ltd. Their debut single, "Slippin' 'n' Slidin", charted at #15 in the UK indie charts with the follow-up, "Madman" charting at #5.- Singles :...
(indie), Ghost Trains (alternative acoustic) and indie-soul band Tommy Turbo & The Turbervilles.
In October 2007, Stoke-on-Trent City Council introduced a new theme tune – "Moving Forwards Together". It was described by the council as "part of our drive to help us move the city forward and create a better Stoke-on-Trent for people to live, learn, work and enjoy".
Murdoc Niccals, a member of the fictional group Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
with the role of bass guitarist is said, in his constructed biography, to have been born in Stoke-on-Trent. Indie rocker Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
mentions Stoke-on-Trent in "Pink India", released on his self-titled solo album
Stephen Malkmus (album)
Stephen Malkmus is the debut album by the group Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It was released by Matador Records on February 13, 2001. Malkmus had planned to create the record by himself, or through a smaller, local label, but eventually accepted the offer Matador asked, and he released it. It...
, singing that the song's protagonist, Mortimer, is a "rook" in The Great Game
The Great Game
The Great Game or Tournament of Shadows in Russia, were terms for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813...
, who "came from Stoke-on-Trent." Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
also mentions Stoke-on-Trent as one of the places that the character in his song "Rotting On Remand" is sent to.
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two British television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King .-Biography:He was born Cyril Goldbert in Marseilles, France, the...
as Jason King
Jason King (TV series)
Jason King was a British television series produced from 1971 to 1972. Each episode was one hour in duration , and the series had a run of one season of 26 episodes. As well as its native UK, the series was also screened in countries as far afield as Australia, Norway, Argentina and Peru...
in "Flamingos only fly on Tuesdays" makes a quip about a "knicker salesman from Stoke-on-Trent". The cat in Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
Dick and Dom in da Bungalow was a CBBC children's entertainment television series presented by the duo Dick and Dom...
once sang a song about Stoke-on-Trent.
Food
Lobby (food)
Lobby is a traditional beef stew or broth from North Staffordshire, England. It was originally eaten by impoverished potters who lacked the money for fresh ingredients.-Background:...
, a stew not unlike Lancashire hotpot
Lancashire Hotpot
Lancashire hotpot is a dish made traditionally from lamb or mutton and onion, topped with sliced potatoes, left to bake in the oven all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat. Originating in the days of heavy industrialisation in Lancashire in the North West of England, it requires a minimum of...
, is still made by local people.
Stoke Pride
Stoke Pride is the city's annual pride march that has been running since 2005 although it was not officially called Stoke Pride until 2008. It is a celebration of the LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community in the city and attracts visitors from elsewhere. There was first talks about such an event in 2003 but the idea was faced by opposition from local BNP and their local supporters. Originally held in Hanley, since 2009 the event has been held at Northwood Park.
Dialect
The Potteries has a distinctive local dialectPotteries dialect
The Potteries dialect is a dialect found in the northern West Midlands of England, almost exclusively in and around Stoke-on-Trent.-Features:Two noticeable features of the dialect are the vowel sound ow which is used where standard English would use ol as in cowd = cold, 'towd" = told, etc...
. Whilst it contains many non-standard words (for example "Nesh" meaning soft, tender, or to easily get cold, and "Slat" meaning to throw), the best known word is "duck" used as a greeting to either men or women. It is believed to be derived from the Saxon word ‘ducas’ used to indicate respect, which in Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
became "duc" or "duk" which denotes a leader, which in turn, became the title Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
and the Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
word "ducheé" which indicates the territory ruled by a Duke.
Another common variation on the standard English dialect, is the use of the word "shug", as in short for sugar. This is usually used when closing a sentence as in "Ta Shug" (thank you sugar).
A local cartoon called May un Mar Lady
May un Mar Lady
May un Mar lady is a cartoon strip written in Potteries dialect, which first appeared on July 8, 1986 in the North Staffordshire Sentinel and has been a local institution for over 20 years. Now, the full twenty-year run of cartoonist Dave Follows' daily cartoon strip is being republished in the...
, published in the newspaper The Sentinel, written in Potteries dialect
Potteries dialect
The Potteries dialect is a dialect found in the northern West Midlands of England, almost exclusively in and around Stoke-on-Trent.-Features:Two noticeable features of the dialect are the vowel sound ow which is used where standard English would use ol as in cowd = cold, 'towd" = told, etc...
, first appeared on 8 July 1986 and ran for over 20 years. Since the cartoonist Dave Follows
Dave Follows
Dave Follows was a British cartoonist. Follows' cartoons appear in newspapers, comics, and magazines all over the world. The Creature Feature is one of Follows' biggest successes....
' death in 2003 the full twenty-year run (7,000) of May un Mar Lady strips are being republished in The Sentinel, as May un Mar Lady Revisited, keeping the dialect alive for another twenty years.
Also, Alan Povey's Owd Grandad Piggott
Owd Grandad Piggott
Owd Grandad Piggott is a fictional character created by author Alan Povey based on a real life person. The Owd Grandad Piggott stories are best known in Povey's home town of Stoke-on-Trent where they have often been heard on BBC Radio Stoke, read by the author...
stories which have aired on BBC Radio Stoke for a number of years are recited in the Potteries dialect by the author.
External links
- The Potteries The history of the North Staffordshire Potteries
- Creative Stoke creativestoke.org.uk
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service staffordshire.gov.uk
- The Peoples Archive Chronicling the changing face of North Staffordshire
Local Media
- Local Information from The Sentinel newspaper
- Local Information from the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- Local Information from StaffsLive a website run by Staffordshire University journalism students
- Local Information from Pits n PotsPits n PotsPits n Pots is an independent news site which focusses on the Stoke-on-Trent political scene. The site promotes and actively encourages comment and debate on the political stories it publishes...
on-line newspaper