Penkhull
| Penkhull | |
  Penkhull Penkhull shown within Staffordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ868448 |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Ceremonial county | Staffordshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOKE-ON-TRENT |
| Postcode district | ST4 |
| Dialling code | 01782 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Stoke-on-Trent Central |
| |
Penkhull is a township within Stoke-upon-Trent in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. The township is part of the Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and the Stoke Central parliamentary constituency.
Penkhull is one of 20 or so conservation areas in Stoke-on-Trent, and includes Grade II listed buildings such as the church and "The Greyhound Inn" public house and restaurant.
History
The authoritative The Victoria history of the county of Stafford: Volume 8 (1965) suggest the origins of the name - that it arises from the British pencet ('end or head of the wood') and the Old English hyll (hill). Ward (1843)[1] also mentioned the possibility of the use of the Celtic British Pen (head) and Kyl (kiln). The idea of a 'head' or 'end' is topographically apt, since the village is sited on the elevated end of a long strip of valley-side woodland which begins at the ancient Bradwell Wood five miles to the north.
The early origins date from 2500 BC, and there have been three archaeological finds from this period. A study by the local city Council stated of Penkhull that... "it has held a settlement for over four thousand years".[2]
The Domesday Book records it as two hides of land in the Hundred of Pirehill and that it was held by Earl Algar.[3]
Penkhull was a Royal Manor from the time of William the Conquer 1086, and the last record of its title as a Royal Manor was in 1308 under King (Edward II).
Penkhull was developed by Josiah Spode II as a dormitory suburb of Stoke-on-Trent.
The Church
The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1844[4] when the church of St. Thomas was built. The church is by Scott and Moffatt. The Revd Thomas Webb Minton, the son of Thomas Minton and Rector of Darlington, gave the sum of £2,000 to be invested from which the interest provided an income for the Vicar. The aisles were added in 1892 by Edward Prioleau Warren.[5]
Music and Performing Arts
Penkhull has a number of annual music and performing arts events. These include:
- Penkhull Folk Week
- Penkhull Jazz & Blues Festival
- Penkhull Music & Arts Festival
- Penkhull Mystery Plays
- Penkhull Pantomime
Notable people
Sir Oliver Lodge was a physicist born in Penkhull in 1851. He is credited with invention of the spark plug and for his work with radio signals.
Sir Richard Lodge, historian, was a brother of Oliver Lodge and was born in Penkhull in 1855.
Sir Stanley Matthews was the only footballer to be knighted while still playing. He moved to Penkhull in 1989 where lived until his death in 2000.
Josiah Spode II built the large residential hall 'The Mount', and many properties for the employees who worked at his factory in the town of Stoke.
External links
References
- ↑ John Ward. The Borough of Stoke-upon-Trent (1843)
- ↑ Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Penkhull Village Conservation Area Appraisal report, March 2008.
- ↑ Domesday Book Staffordshire 1086, Phillimore & Co Ltd, Chichester 1976.
- ↑ Richard Talbot; The Church and Ancient Parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, Webberley Ltd, Hanley, 1969 (page 57)
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner; The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, Penguin Books Ltd, 1974. ISBN 0-14-071046-9. Page 263.