Brown Edge is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Staffordshire Moorlands Staffordshire Moorlands is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek, Staffordshire, Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on- ...

district of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,406, increasing to 2,486 at the 2011 census. The village is on the fringe of

The Potteries Urban Area The Stoke-on-Trent Built-up Area or The Potteries Urban Area or colloquially, simply "The Potteries" is a conurbation in North Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. It includes the City of Stoke-on-Trent, and parts of the boroughs ...

, and is about 5 miles north-east of

Hanley Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

& operate an annual barn dance in which the local males look for an eligible partner.

History

Brown Edge lies within the boundaries of the ancient Saxon kingdom of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

. However, before 1800 the village consisted of no more than several farm cottages, some of which survive today. Throughout the 19th century, the village remained largely untouched by the pottery and mining industries of Stoke-on-Trent and it was not until only around 1950 when the villagers began working in local mines such as

Chatterley Whitfield Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent, England. It was the largest mine working the North Staffordshire Coalfield and was the first colliery in the UK to produce one mil ...

. Brown Edge also annually practices the local tradition of

well dressing Well dressing, also known as well flowering, is a tradition practised in some parts of rural England in which wells, springs and other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals. The custom is most closely associated with ...

. This is an ancient festival which has its roots in pagan worship and involves blessing the local wells or springs on which the villagers would once have depended for their water by decorating the location with flowers. In modern times this is done by pressing items such a flower, coffee beans and coloured gravel into clay covered boards which are left up for several days around the time of the summer festival. The neighbouring village of

Endon Endon is a village within the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. It is southwest of Leek and north-northeast of Stoke-on-Trent. Endon was formerly a township in civil parish of Leek. Together with neighbouring Stanley ...

also participates in this practice, though it has fewer wells.

Businesses

Brown Edge has several small businesses including Keith's

Supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

, Keith's

Newsagents A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

, Keith's Workshop, a local

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, two mechanics and the local pubs, The Hollybush and The Rose & Crown (now known as Top Pub). The largest of these, Keith's Supermarket attracts

customers In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for m ...

from around the local area and supplies a range of products from food to gardening and DIY equipment and can be found on the highstreet. Keith's was taken over by the chain Nisa in 2018.

Events

Brown Edge holds many annual events, the main one of which being the Summer Fair during which the well dressing is performed. This event usually occurs in late June or early July, but dates have been known to change from year to year dependent on weather forecasts and the decisions of the organising committee.

Famous people

Cricketer and umpire John Steele was born in Brown Edge and along with his brother David, the England batsman, lived here for several years.

References

External links