Stoke-upon-Trent

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Stoke-upon-Trent
Coordinates: 53.0066° N 2.1877° W
OS grid reference	SJ875455
Unitary authority	Stoke-on-Trent
Ceremonial county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOKE-ON-TRENT
Postcode district	ST4
Dial code	01782
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	Staffordshire
UK Parliament	Stoke-on-Trent Central
European Parliament	West Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire

This is the town of Stoke-upon-Trent. For the larger local government district, see City of Stoke-on-Trent.

Stoke, or to give it its full name, Stoke-upon-Trent is a town in the City of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. The town, which was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1874, is one of six that federated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Burslem, Longton and Fenton. It is the seat of the city's council.

Contents 1 Name 2 Stoke Minster 3 The King's Hall 4 The Potteries 5 Stoke today 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Name

Confusion can arise over the similarity of this town's name to that of its parent city. The reasons for naming the city after Stoke, rather than one of the other constituent towns, are primarily historical and practical. A Roman road ran through the place during & after the Roman occupation. It was located where the River Trent meets Fowlea Brook. The name given to this ancient place of meeting and worship was "Stoke-upon-Trent" or meeting place ('stoc') on the Trent. It was the site of the first church in the area, built of wood around the year 670. A significant small town grew up around this church. In more recent years, the canals and then the railways came to the area. Stoke-on-Trent railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on October 9, 1848, replacing the temporary station sited at Whieldon road which was constructed for the opening of the first NSR line on April 17, 1848. Travellers to the region would therefore travel first to Stoke where they would change trains before continuing to their ticketed destination. It therefore made sense to name the city after the oldest and most commonly recognised name, even though it was not then the most significant town from a commercial perspective.

[edit] Stoke Minster

The wooden church of 670 was replaced by a stone building in 805 and this was further extended over the years. The remains of this old Anglo-Saxon and former collegiate church can still be seen in the churchyard although the prominent re-erected arches date from the 13th century when the chancel was rebuilt. Saxon evidence survives in the baptismal font rescued from use as a garden ornament and restored in 1932 for baptismal use in the church.^[1] The present parish church was designed by Trubshaw and Johnson^[2] and built from 1826 and consecrated on October 6, 1830. There are ceramic memorials in the church to many of the great potters of the district and there is a fine modern memorial to the great football player Sir Stanley Matthews. Like its predecessor it is dedicated to St. Peter ad Vincula (Saint Peter in Chains). The ancient and unusual dedication of the church comes from San Pietro in Vincoli in the city of Rome and in Britain it shares this name with the Chapel Royal at the Tower of London and with the chapel of Owain Glyndŵr at Pennal in Wales amongst several other ancient churches.

The title of "Stoke Minster" was conferred on the parish church of St. Peter ad Vincula by The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield, at a ceremony on May 17, 2005. [1]

[edit] The King's Hall

Assembly hall, ballroom, exhibition hall and theatre built in 1910-11 at the time of the Federation to the design of T. Wallis and J.A. Bowater and with an impressive nineteen bay dressed stone frontage on Kingsway behind the Town Hall. It has proved itself to be a very useful adjunct to the Town Hall of 1834-50. This was built on Glebe Street, opposite the parish church to the design of Henry Ward.^[3] The entire Town Hall/King's Hall complex serves the City of Stoke-on-Trent well as its chief administrative offices including the Lord Mayor's Parlour combined with all the facilities of the King's Hall for the City's formal entertainment.

[edit] The Potteries

In the 19th century, Stoke had a thriving pottery industry, hence its nickname, "The Potteries". Since the last half of the 20th century, however, almost all of the bottle-shaped kilns have been taken down, due to regulations from the Clean Air Act — an estimated 4,000 bottle kilns in the heyday of the pottery industry, today reduced to a mere 46. Successful Stoke-upon-Trent potters include Spode, Copeland and Minton.

[edit] Stoke today

Stoke itself, despite being the nominal central administrative town, is now far outclassed by its neighbouring town, Hanley; in terms of size, population, shops and business opportunities. Stoke does, however, have:

• the mainline railway station
• Championship Football Team - Stoke City
• the main campus of Staffordshire University, its library and halls of residence (these are actually located on land that was originally part of Hanley)
• The University Hospital of North Staffordshire
• a long-established purpose-built art house cinema
• a purpose-built repertory theatre[2]
• the Irish centre
• the Trent & Mersey canal & National Cycle Network paths
• the main complex of Council offices & chamber - clustered in and around the Town Hall
• the Minster church and Stoke Approach area and the outdoor artworks
• The King's Hall music & events venue
• a free public lending library
• The Spode Copeland pottery factory

Outlying townships within the bounds of Stoke-upon-Trent include Boothen, Hartshill, Mount Pleasant, Penkhull and Trent Vale.

[edit] References

1. ^ Richard Talbot; The Church and Ancient Parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, Webberley Ltd, Hanley, 1969 (page 41)
2. ^ Nikolaus Pevsner; The Buildings of England - Staffordshire, Penguin Books Ltd, 1974. ISBN 0-14-071046-9 (page 262)
3. ^ Nikolaus Pevsner; The Buildings of England - Staffordshire, Penguin Books Ltd, 1974. ISBN 0-14-071046-9 (page 262)

[edit] External links

• Use interactive maps to find historic photographs and artefacts of old Stoke