Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and

unitary authority area A unitary authority is a local government, local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the ...

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, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, Alsager,

Kidsgrove Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census). ...

Biddulph Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, Cheshire. Origin of the name Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English ''bī dylfe'' = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also ...

and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city. Stoke is

polycentric Polycentric is an English adjective, meaning "having more than one center," derived from the Greek words ''polús'' ("many") and ''kentrikós'' ("center"). Polycentricism (or polycentricity) is the abstract noun formed from polycentric. They may r ...

, having been formed by the federation of six towns in 1910. It took its name from Stoke-upon-Trent where the main centre of government and the principal railway station in the district were located.

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 ...

is the primary commercial centre; the other four towns which form the city are Burslem, Tunstall,

Longton Longton may refer to several places: * Longton, Kansas, United States * Longton, Lancashire, United Kingdom * Longton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom See also * Longtan (disambiguation) * Longtown (disambiguation) Longtown may refer to several plac ...

and Fenton. Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and known as

The Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of cera ...

. Formerly a primarily industrial

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres.

History

Toponymy and etymology

The name ''Stoke'' is taken from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent, the original

ancient 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. ...

, with other settlements being chapelries. ''Stoke'' derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''stoc'', a word that at first meant little more than ''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 plausible. The most frequently suggested interpretations derive from a crossing point on the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

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 In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

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.

Administration

An early proposal for a federation took place in 1888, when an amendment was raised to the Local Government Bill which would have made the six towns into 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 boroughs of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. In 1919, the borough proposed to expand further and annex the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Wolstanton United Urban District, both to the west of Stoke. This never took place, due to strong objections from Newcastle Corporation. A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill. Ultimately, Wolstanton was instead added to Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1932. Although attempts to take Newcastle, Wolstanton and

(north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did expand in 1922, taking in

Smallthorne Urban District Smallthorne Urban District was an urban district in Staffordshire, England.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 initially applied for city status in 1925, citing its importance as the centre of the pottery industry, it was refused by the Home Office as it had fewer than 300,000 inhabitants. The decision was overturned, however, when a direct approach was made to King George V, who agreed that the borough ought to be a city. The public announcement of the elevation to city status was made by the king during a visit to Stoke on 4 June 1925. The county borough was abolished in 1974, and Stoke became a non-metropolitan district of Staffordshire. Its status as a unitary authority was restored on 1 April 1997, although it remains part of the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

of Staffordshire. For

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...

purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23).

Industry

Pottery

Restored bottle kilns, Stoke-on-Trent - geograph

Porcelain teapot, Walker Art Gallery (1)

Since the 17th century, the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing. Companies such as Royal Doulton,

Dudson Dudson is a British company that manufactured tableware, glassware and porcelain, in Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It is one of the oldest brands of its industry in England, founded in 1800. The former pottery works is the lo ...

, Spode (founded by Josiah Spode), Wedgwood (founded by Josiah Wedgwood), Minton (founded by Thomas Minton) and Baker & Co. (founded by William Baker) were established and based there. The local abundance of coal and clay suitable for earthenware production led to the early (initially limited) development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...

(completed in 1777) enabled the import of china clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware and bone china. Other production centres in Britain, Europe and worldwide had a considerable lead in the production of high-quality wares. Methodical and highly detailed research and experimentation, carried out over many years, nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries. This was spearheaded by one man, Josiah Wedgwood, who cut the first sod for the canal in 1766 and erected his

Etruria Works The Etruria Works was a ceramics factory opened by Josiah Wedgwood in 1769 in a district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which he named Etruria. The factory ran for 180 years, as part of the wider Wedgwood business. Wedgwood kept his ...

that year. Wedgwood built upon the successes of earlier local potters such as his mentor Thomas Whieldon and along with scientists and engineers, raised the pottery business to a new level. Josiah Spode introduced bone china at Trent in 1796, and Thomas Minton opened his manufactory. With the industry came a large number of notable 20th-century ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff,

Susie Cooper Susan Vera Cooper OBE (29 October 1902 – 28 July 1995) 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 Burslem, Staffordshire, she was the youngest of ...

Charlotte Rhead Charlotte Rhead (19 October 1885 in Burslem – 6 November 1947) 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. Her father Fred ...

, Frederick Hurten Rhead and

Jabez Vodrey Jabez Vodrey (1795–1861) was the first English potter to emigrate to and work west of the Appalachian Mountains. Early years Vodrey was born on January 14, 1795 in Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, an area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Thi ...

Coal mining

North Staffordshire was a centre for coal mining. The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th century. The Potteries Coalfield (part of the North Staffordshire Coalfield) covers . Striking coal miners in the

and

area ignited the nationwide

1842 General Strike The 1842 general strike, also known as the Plug Plot Riots,So named because the mills "were stopped from working by the removal or 'drawing' of a few bolts or 'plugs' in the boilers so as to prevent steam from being raised": OED s.v. ''plug''. start ...

and its associated Pottery Riots. When coal mining was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1947, about 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke-on-Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath, Stafford and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Mossfield, Parkhall, Norton,

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 ...

and

Wolstanton Wolstanton is a suburban town on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. History The Roman road the Rykeneld Street passed through Wolstanton. Wolstanton is mentioned in the Norman Domesday book where it is listed amongst the ...

. The industry developed greatly, and 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.

Colliery, when modernised, had the deepest mining shafts in Europe at 3,197 ft. In 1933, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery became the first Colliery in the country to mine one million tons of coal. In the 1980s Florence Colliery in

repeatedly set regional and national production records; 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

site reopened as a museum two years after its closure in 1976. The museum closed in 1991 and the site became a local nature reserve. It was declared a scheduled monument by English Heritage in 1993. The abandoned subterranean mines are inaccessible, though they still add complications to many building projects and occasionally cause minor tremors, detectable only by specialised equipment. The Phoenix Trust, an independent not-for-profit foundation, is campaigning to turn Stoke-on-Trent and the wider

North Staffordshire Coalfield The North Staffordshire Coalfield was a coalfield in Staffordshire, England, with an area of nearly , virtually all of it within the city of Stoke on Trent and the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, apart from three smaller coalfields, Shaffalong ...

into a World Heritage Site due to its historic economic significance, its leading role in the industrial revolution, and as the birthplace of Primitive Methodism.

Steel

The iron and steel industries occupied important roles in the development of the city, both before and after federation. Especially notable were those mills located in the valley at Goldendale and

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire *Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire *Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...

below the hill towns of Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks' production of steel ended in 1978—instead of producing crude steel, they concentrated on rolling steel billet which was transported from Scunthorpe by rail. The rolling plant finally closed in 2002. From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the repair shops of the

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) 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. The company was based i ...

and was the home of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr, Stuart and Company from 1881 to 1930. Shelton Steel Works and the mining operations were heavily involved in the World War II industrial effort. Central to the RAF's success was the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

Reginald Mitchell Reginald Joseph Mitchell (20 May 189511 June 1937) was a British aircraft designer who worked for the Southampton aviation company Supermarine from 1916 until 1936. He is best remembered for designing racing seaplanes such as the Supermarine ...

who, whilst born at 115 Congleton Road in the nearby village of

Butt Lane Butt Lane is a village in North Staffordshire near the town of Kidsgrove in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire. Butt Lane borders on Church Lawton in Cheshire. A ward of the borough is named after the place. Notable people ...

, had his apprenticeship at Kerr, Stuart and Company's railway works.

Other

The

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

tyre company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent, and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. In the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant; in 2006 about 1,200 worked there.

RAF Meir Royal Air Force Meir or more simply RAF Meir is a former Royal Air Force station located in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The following units were here at some point: * No. 1 Practice Flying Unit was formed here on 4 March 1940 and oper ...

was located on the outskirts of the city.

Geography

Stoke-on-Trent is between Manchester, Wolverhampton and Birmingham and adjoins the town of

to the west. It lies on the upper valley of the River Trent at the south-west foothills of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

, near the uplands of the Peak District to the north-east and the lowlands of the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

and Cheshire Plain to the south and west. The city ranges from 96 to 250 metres (315 to 820 ft) above sea level. For

purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23) and is one of four counties or unitary districts that compose the Shropshire and Staffordshire NUTS 2 region. Stoke-on-Trent is often known as "the city of five towns", the name given to it by local novelist Arnold Bennett, and is the only polycentric city in the UK. 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"). As it is a city made up of multiple towns, the city forms a

(although in this case the conurbation is bigger than Stoke itself, because the urban area of Stoke is contiguous 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. As well as

other nearby towns include

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

, Nantwich,

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...

, Eccleshall, Cheadle, Stone and

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

Suburbs

As well as the Six Towns, there are numerous suburbs including

Abbey Hulton Abbey Hulton is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, named after the abbey that existed between the 13th and 16th centuries. History The name Abbey Hulton is derived from 'hilltown' (Anglo-Saxon ''hyll'' + ''tūn''; Middle Engli ...

Adderley Green Adderley Green is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is included in the township of Longton with the population at the 2011 census being listed under the Stoke Ward of Sandford Hill. It was a centre for mining activities in the 19th centur ...

, Ball Green,

Baddeley Green Baddeley Green is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Baddeley Green is part of the Abbey Green ward, which covers the areas of Baddeley Green, Milton and Abbey Hulton as well as Baddeley Edge and Light Oaks.http://www.stoke ...

Bentilee Bentilee is a housing estate in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, between Hanley and Longton, and parallel with Fenton. History Built in the 1950s, Bentilee was at that time one of the largest estates in Europe, with around 4,500 propert ...

Birches Head Birches Head is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Formerly Birches Head Farm, the area has had modern housing built on it. The local secondary school is Birches Head Academy. The Caldon Canal runs through the area, which is eas ...

Blurton Blurton is a district in the south of Stoke on Trent, in the English county of Staffordshire. Hollybush, Old Blurton, Blurton Farm and Newstead are the names of the areas in which make up the town known as Blurton. Education Sutherland Prim ...

, Bucknall,

Bradeley Bradeley is a village in Staffordshire, England, in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but became more established as a mining community for the local coal pits in Norton and Chatterley Whitfield. A hostel exis ...

Chell Chell may refer to: * Chell, Staffordshire, an English community on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent * Chell (''Star Trek''), a ''Star Trek: Voyager'' character * Chell (''Portal''), the protagonist in the ''Portal'' video games * CHemical cE ...

, Cliffe Vale,

Cobridge Cobridge is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, in the City of Stoke-on-Trent district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. Cobridge was marked on the 1775 Yates map as 'Cow Bridge' and was recorded in Ward records (1843) as Cobridge Gate. Cobrid ...

, Dresden,

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

, Fegg Hayes, Florence,

Goldenhill Goldenhill is an area on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England. It is centred along the High Street, part of the A50 road that runs from south-east to north-west. It is about north of Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall an ...

Hartshill Hartshill is a large village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west of the town of Nuneaton. The parish borders the district of Nuneaton and Bedworth at the south, the North Warwickshire district parishes ...

Heron Cross Bottle Oven, Heron Cross Geograph-497312-by-Phil-Eptlett

Meir, Meir Park, Meir Hay, Middleport,

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, Normacot, Norton le Moors, Oakhill, Packmoor,

Penkhull Penkhull is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, part of Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and Stoke Central parliamentary constituency. Penkhull is a conservation area, and includes Grade II listed buildings such a ...

, Sandyford,

Smallthorne Smallthorne (population: 5,827 – 2011 Census) is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is in the north-east of the city, near Burslem. Smallthorne borders Bradeley and Chell, Staffordshire, Chell in the north, Nort ...

, Sneyd Green, Trentham,

Trent Vale Trent Vale is a village located on the western outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent in England. It is bordered on the south by Hanford, and both villages are separated by the A500. To the west is Clayton, whilst the north is Newcastle-under-Lyme. The ...

and

Weston Coyney Weston Coyney is a suburb of the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. It lies on the south eastern edge of the city and borders the neighbouring Staffordshire Moorlands district. Originally developed around a crossroads the area now also i ...

. Blythe Bridge, Werrington and Endon, although outside the city's boundaries, are part of the built up area.

Climate

Stoke-on-Trent, as with all of the United Kingdom, experiences a temperate maritime climate, lacking in weather extremes. The local area is a little more elevated than much of Staffordshire and Cheshire, resulting in cooler temperatures year round compared to the nearby Cheshire Plain. However, 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

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

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 fourteen 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 806 mm a year.

Green belt

Stoke is at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

and

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

policy that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire surrounding the city and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and extending into Cheshire. It is in place to prevent urban sprawl and minimise further convergence with outlying settlements such as Kidsgrove and

. First defined in 1967, the vast majority of area covered is outside the city, but there are some landscape features and places of interest within that are covered by the designation mainly along its fringes, these include the Trentham and Goldenhill golf courses, Hem Heath Wood Nature Reserve, Meir Heath, Barlaston Common, Caverswall Cricket Club, Park Hall Nature Reserve,

Country Park and enterprise centre, the villages of

Baddeley Edge Baddeley Edge is a small hamlet in Stoke-on-Trent. Baddeley Edge is part of the Abbey Green ward, which covers the areas of Baddeley Green, Milton, Abbey Hulton Abbey Hulton is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, named after th ...

and Ravenscliffe, Bucknall Reservoir, Caldon Canal, the River Blythe, and the Head of Trent, Wedgwood Museum and estate, Strongford Treatment Works and Trent Vale Pumping Station.

Demographics

Based on the 2011 census, the total population of the city was 249,008. This was a modest increase from the 240,636 recorded in the 2001 census. 50.2% of the population is female. 91.68% of the population of Stoke-on-Trent were born in the UK. 86.43% of the population identified themselves as White British, 4.19% identified as British Pakistani, and 1.88% identified as Other White. 1.35 % identified as

Other Asian Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

and 1.36 % as Black. Regarding religion, 60.89% described themselves as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 6.02% as

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and 25.19% had no religion. 14.28% of the population was retired and 5.61% were students.

Ethnicity

Religion

Points of interest

The city's 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. There is also

Stoke Minster Stoke Minster is the main church of St Peter ad Vincula and main church in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Which is now the main church of the wider city of Stoke-on-Trent. Name and dedication The dedication to St Peter ad Vincu ...

which is located in the Stoke-upon-Trent area and is the only official church with Minster status. Most of the major pottery companies based in Stoke-on-Trent have factory shops and visitor centres. The £10 million

Wedgwood Museum Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

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, which is 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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

pottery. There are also smaller factory shops, such as Royal Stafford in Burslem, Moorcroft in Cobridge and

Emma Bridgewater Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturing company founded in 1985 which is named after Emma Rice (''née'' Bridgewater). It is run by her and her husband Matthew Rice. Noted for their polka dot design among others, the company "Emma B ...

in Hanley. In addition, there are ambitious plans to open the huge

Colliery as a mining museum, since it has been given scheduled monument status. The

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

Ford Green Hall Ford Green Hall is a Grade II* listed farmhouse and historic house museum in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The oldest parts of the house date from the late 16th century, with one wing being either added or greatly repaired at some point in t ...

is a 17th-century farmhouse which is now a historic house museum in

Although Trentham Gardens is in the Borough of Stafford, it is just south of the city and is considered by many locals to be part of Stoke-on-Trent. Next door is

Trentham Monkey Forest The Trentham Estate, in the village of Trentham, is a visitor attraction located on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. History The estate was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. At th ...

, which houses 140

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

s in a enclosure that visitors can walk through. The

Alton Towers Resort Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

is 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 Burslem Park is a public park in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was opened in 1894, and is essentially unchanged from the original layout. It is listed Grade II* in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. History T ...

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 A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. 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. Queens Park or Longton park in Dresden is one of the city's heritage parks and is famous for its horticulture and lakes. It houses several buildings including a clock tower and three bowling pavilions.

Economy

Stoke-on-Trent was a world centre for fine ceramics—a skilled design trade has existed in the area since at least the 12th century. But in the late 1980s and 1990s Stoke-on-Trent was hit hard by the general decline in the British manufacturing sector. Numerous factories,

steelworks A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

, 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. The pottery firm Wedgwood and its subsidiary Royal Doulton are based in nearby Barlaston, although much production now takes place in the firm's Indonesian factory. Portmeirion is based in Stoke town, and now owns the Spode and

Royal Worcester Royal Worcester is a porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain brand still in existence today, although this is disputed by Royal Crown De ...

ceramics brands. Ceramics firm

is based in Hanley; Burleigh Pottery is in Middleport;

Wade Ceramics Wade Ceramics Ltd is a manufacturer of porcelain and earthenware, headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Its products include animal figures for its Collectors Club, whisky flagons, and a variety of industrial ceramics. In the 1950s, the Wa ...

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

have premises in Hanley and Burslem.

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 what later became Stok ...

have their main factory in Tunstall, while hotelware manufacturer

Steelite Steelite International is a British ceramics and tableware manufacturer for the hospitality industry. It is based in Middleport, a district of Burslem in Staffordshire, England, with offices in New Castle, Pennsylvania and showrooms worldwide. ...

is based in Middleport at the former Dunn Bennett site. About 9,000 firms are based in the city. Amongst the more notable are Bet365, founded by local businessman and

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

chairman Peter Coates; and formerly Phones4U, a large retailer of mobile phones started by

John Caudwell John David Caudwell (born 7 October 1952) is a British billionaire businessman who founded the now defunct mobile phone retailer Phones 4u. He also invests in fashion, real estate and other industries, and chairs Caudwell Children, a children ...

. until it ceased trading in September 2014. Stoke City Football Club itself has been a major symbol of the city since the turn 20th century, having spent most of its history in the highest two divisions of the English league, constantly attracting large crowds and signing or launching the careers of many high-profile players - most notably Stanley Matthews and Gordon Banks. The club was based at the Victoria Ground in Stoke-upon-Trent from 1878 until 1997, when it moved to the Britannia Stadium (now the Bet365 Stadium) at Trentham Lakes. This was one of the early stages of regeneration in the Trentham area of the city, which also included the regeneration of Trentham Gardens several years later, when retail and food outlets were added to the visitor attraction. Trentham Monkey Forest opened nearby in 2005. The

tyre company has a complex in the city which houses its commercial head office, training centre and a truck tyre re-treading facility. Sainsbury's supermarket and The Co-operative Pharmacy have large warehouses in the city. Vodafone has a large call centre on Festival Park and the UK subsidiary of the lubricant manufacturer

Fuchs Petrolub Fuchs Petrolub SE is a German multinational 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 is a public company l ...

has its head office at its factory in Hanley. There is a steel foundry owned by

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 Goodwin Steel Castings has been a su ...

in Joiner's Square. Premier Foods make Mr Kipling slices and Cherry Bakewells in Trent Vale.

The Co-operative Travel The Co-operative Travel is a travel agency brand used by some independent retail co-operatives in the United Kingdom, such as Midcounties Co-operative, through their access to The Co-operative brand. Between 2011 and 2016 the brand was also used ...

had its head office in Burslem, before it merged with Thomas Cook in 2010.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the local authority of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. As a unitary authority, it has the combined powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council and is administratively separate from the rest of ...

is the city's largest single employer. Another major employer is the Royal Stoke University Hospital, 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 Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, 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 and tours, and by the improved canal network. Hanley stoke on trent city centre

The main shopping centre is the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley, which has of retail space with 87 units including a Debenhams

anchor store In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

, (formerly Lewis's) and major stores for Next, New Look, Monsoon, Gap, HMV, River Island,

H. Samuel H. Samuel is a mass-market jewellery chain, operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of the Signet Group of jewellery retailers. History In 1862, Harriet Samuel (née Wolf) took over her father-in-law Moses Samuel's clock-making ...

, La Senza,

Superdrug Superdrug Stores plc (trading as Superdrug) is a health and beauty retailer in the United Kingdom, and the second largest behind Boots UK. The company is owned by A.S. Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Ltd which is part of the A.S. Watson Group. It ...

, Topshop,

Topman Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...

and Burton. Marks & Spencer and

T.K. Maxx TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totall ...

also have stores in Hanley. A new shopping centre on the site of Hanley's former bus station was due to open in 2016, but development has been delayed and the project is now in doubt. The other five towns of the city all have their own smaller town centres. Festival Park is a large retail and business park in Etruria, built on the former Garden Festival site. There are also retail parks in Tunstall, Fenton and Longton. A new retail park in Longton opened and has Currys, Smyths, Pets at Home and Matalan. A pub, McDonald's and Pizza Hut are also on the site. Other notable business people from the city include

Reginald H. Jones Reginald H. Jones (11 July 1917 – 30 December 2003) was the chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1972 to 1981. Biography Jones was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom. After graduating from the Wharton School of the Universit ...

(Chairman of General Electric), venture capitalist

Jon Moulton Jon Moulton (born 15 October 1950) 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. He is an active ...

, and

John Madejski Sir John Robert Madejski, (; born Robert John Hurst; 28 April 1941) is an English businessman, with commercial interests spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football. He changed his name when his stepfather, ...

(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. In 2016, Stoke-on-Trent was ranked the second best city to start a business by Quality Formations, based on a number of factors including commercial property, energy, virtual offices, public transport and financial access.

Government

The city is covered by three House of Commons constituencies: Stoke-on-Trent North, Stoke-on-Trent Central and Stoke-on-Trent South. Until 2019 the northern and central seats had returned Labour MPs since their creation in 1950. However, in the 2019 general election, all 3 Stoke-on-Trent constituencies returned a Conservative MP. The former Labour heartland is highly eurosceptic leading to a 69.4% vote to leave the European Union in 2016. The city was within the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

European Parliament constituency.

Mayoral system

Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall (geograph 4569782)

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 V who visited

Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall is a municipal building in Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in St ...

to award the town city status on 5 June 1925. The role of Lord Mayor is decided upon by a vote amongst the elected councillors; the candidates are also selected from the councillors. Between 1910 and 1928 the Borough, and later, City of Stoke-on-Trent had a Mayor rather than a Lord Mayor. The first Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent was

Cecil Wedgwood Major Cecil Wedgwood, DSO (28 March 1863 – 3 July 1916) was a British soldier and partner in the Wedgwood pottery firm. He was the first Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent. Wedgwood was the only son of Godfrey Wedgwood and his first wife Mary Jane Jac ...

of the Wedgwood pottery dynasty. The city was one of a limited number of English districts with an elected mayor and the only council to use the 'mayor and council manager'

executive arrangements In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

, 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 to 5 June 2009 was

Mark Meredith Mark Joseph Meredith (born 21 August 1965 in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent) 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, ...

(Labour Party). The 2005 election was notable because about 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 resulted in the abolition of the mayoral 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%.

Council Leader and Cabinet system

Following a citywide referendum abolishing the position of elected mayor, a Leader and Cabinet system was adopted on 5 June 2009. The Leader of the council is elected by councillors. Each cabinet member makes the decisions on their portfolio area and explains the decisions at the monthly cabinet meetings. The current leader of the council is Cllr Abi Brown who is also leader of the Conservative group, one of the parties that forms the city's coalition administration.

Councillor representation

Since the 2015 local elections, no party has had overall control of the city council. Following the local elections in May 2019 the council is a Conservative and City Independents

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Members of Parliament

Public services

The city's acute hospital is the Royal Stoke University Hospital run by the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust. It formerly comprised two sites: the Royal Infirmary and the City General. The hospital was rebuilt on the City General site on the A34, London Road. Community health services are run by

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership NHS Trust Staffordshire and Stoke On Trent Partnership NHS Trust was the biggest integrated health and social care NHS organisation in England. It intended to become an NHS Foundation Trust, but it is not clear that the rules permitted a social care provid ...

with mental health services provided by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust. 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 The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

and Stoke-on-Trent County Court share a building in Hanley. There is no magistrates' court. Hearings were held in

Fenton Town Hall Fenton Town Hall is a municipal building in Albert Square in Fenton, Staffordshire, England. It is now occupied by local businesses, a café and an art gallery. History The building was commissioned by a local pottery proprietor, William Meath ...

until it closed in 2012; all magistrates proceedings now take place in Newcastle. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the

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 authority of Stoke-on-Trent. The county ha ...

, 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.

Religion

Stoke-on-Trent does not have a cathedral, but the city's main, Church of England, civic church, is

. The city is within the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Diocese of Lichfield The city is part of the Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

and the immediate area has six Catholic parishes; they are dedicated to: the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of the Angels, Saint George, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Maria Goretti and Saint Teresa. Primitive Methodism was founded by Hugh Bourne, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the nearby village of

Mow Cop Mow Cop is a village split between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and therefore divided between the North West England, North West and West Midlands (region), West Midlands regions of England. It is south of Manchester and north of Stoke-on-Trent ...

. He originally followed the Wesleyan form of Methodism but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. He founded the first chapel in Tunstall with his brother in 1811. He promoted

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

s as a method of improving children's education, advocated the equal treatment of women and men, and 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 John Lightfoot (29 March 1602 – 6 December 1675) was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Life He was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of ...

, a 17th-century churchman and

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

nical scholar. The city's first purpose-built mosque was completed in 2012. The city's only synagogue closed in 2006, and was replaced with a smaller one in nearby

. In September 2017 an anti-terrorist undercover officer secretly recorded 17 sermons by radical preacher Kamran Hussain at Tunstall mosque. He went to trial and was convicted for encouraging terrorism and glorifying the Islamic State.

Transport

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 letter D. Coincidentally, the number 500 expressed in

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

is ''D''. The A50 provides an east–west link between the M6 and the M1 motorway; it joins up with the A500 close to the Bet365 Stadium. Improvements to the road network have led to the construction of product distribution centres in the area.

Rail

Stoke-on-Trent railway station Stoke-on-Trent railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Stoke-on-Trent, on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line. It also provides an interchange between local services running through Cheshire, ...

is located on the Stafford-Manchester line. The other railway stations in the city are Longport and

both on the Crewe-Derby line. Etruria station was closed in September 2005. Avanti West Coast ''Pendolino'' 390029 is named after Stoke-on-Trent. Potteries Rail Map

Bus

Local public transport is provided almost exclusively by bus. Bus services are mainly operated by

First Potteries First Potteries is a bus company based in Stoke-on-Trent operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction. As part ...

. There are also several smaller companies operating bus services in the city, like D&G Bus. There are central bus stations in Hanley and

. National Express operate long-distance coach services from

Hanley bus station Hanley bus station is a bus station in Stoke-on-Trent. History Hanley bus station was constructed in the 1970s. The current bus station was built at a cost of £15 million on the site of the John Street car park, across the road from the origin ...

. As part of the city's regeneration, a new bus station has been constructed in Hanley, allowing the old one to be demolished, making room for further redevelopment. As of January 2015 there are no local authority supported bus services in the city.

Canals

The city is served by the

, 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 Froghall is a village situated approximately ten miles to the east of Stoke-on-Trent and two miles north of Cheadle in Staffordshire, England. Population details as taken at the 2011 Census can be found under Kingsley. Froghall sits in the C ...

with one branch going to

Cycling

As of November 2009 there are of new National Cycle Network off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in

, there are now over 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 Cycling England was an independent body funded by the Department for Transport to promote cycling in England. It was founded in 2005 to replace the National Cycling Strategy Board. Following the 2010 Comprehensive Spending review it was earmark ...

's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.

Education

Higher education

Staffordshire university stoke campus frontage

There are four further and 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 Stoke-on-Trent College is a provider of further and higher education based in Stoke-on-Trent. The college has two campuses: one, called Cauldon Campus, in Shelton and one in Burslem. Stoke-on-Trent college is part of UniQ, the university quar ...

. 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 Royal Stoke University Hospital in

. 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.

Secondary education

The city currently has 15 secondary schools: Sir Thomas Boughey Academy,

Birches Head Academy Birches Head Academy (formerly Birches Head High School) is an 11–16 mixed, secondary school with academy status in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West ...

Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent is a mixed secondary school located in the Tunstall area of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. Previously known as Brownhills High School, the school was awarded specialist status as a Maths an ...

Discovery Academy Discovery Academy may refer to: * Discovery Academy, Stoke-on-Trent, a secondary school in Staffordshire, England * Discovery Academy (Richmond Hill, Ontario), a private school in Canada * Discovery Academy (Provo, Utah), a high school in Utah, ...

, Excel Academy,

Haywood Academy Haywood Academy is a secondary school with academy status for 11- to 19-year-olds located on High Lane in the Stoke On Trent town of Burslem, England. The Sixth Form is located in the Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, B ...

Ormiston Horizon Academy Ormiston Horizon Academy, formerly known as James Brindley High School/James Brindley Science College, is an 11–16 co-educational secondary academy school in Chell, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The school also had a sixth-form for young p ...

Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, a.k.a. OSSMA (formerly Blurton High School) is a mixed secondary school with academy status located in the Blurton area of Stoke on Trent Staffordshire, England. The school is named after the English f ...

, St Joseph's College,

St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Tunstall area of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. The school is named after Saint Margaret Ward, a Roman Catholic martyr who ...

Ormiston Meridian Academy Ormiston Meridian Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in the Meir area of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.http://ormistonmeridianacademy.co.uk/ The school serves the communities of Meir, Meir Park, Rough Cl ...

St Peter's Academy St. Peter's Academy is an Anglican secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is an academy sponsored by the Woodard Academies and the Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Cant ...

St Thomas More Catholic Academy St Thomas More Catholic Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Longton area of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. The school is named after Saint Thomas More, a sixteenth century elder statesma ...

, Stoke Studio College (with sites in Longton and Burslem), Thistley Hough Academy and

Trentham High School Trentham Academy (formerly Trentham High School) is a coeducational secondary school located in the village of Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. History On 3 July 2015, Trentham High made national coverage on ITV's '' This M ...

. A major re-structure of Stoke-on-Trent's high school system was proposed in 2007. As part of these plans several established secondary schools closed or merged including

Longton High School Longton High School was a school in Longton and later Meir, Staffordshire from 1760 to 2010. History The school was founded in 1760 with an endowment from John Bourne and was known as the Longton Free School. By 1763, enough money had been prov ...

(closed 2010), Mitchell High and Edensor High (merged to form The Discovery Academy), St Peter's CE High School and Berry Hill High (merged to form

Potters' Holidays

One of the legacies of the pottery industry was Stoke's own version of the wakes week. Although better known in industrial Lancashire, the Stoke week is known locally as the Potters' Holidays or Potters' Fortnight and occurred the last week in June, the first week in July and another week in August. This gave what appeared 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. This observance has disappeared from the local schools, due to decreased emphasis on traditional industries.

Sport

Football

Stoke-on-Trent is the smallest city to boast two professional clubs in the English Football League. The club bearing the area's name is

, formed in 1863 and is the second-oldest professional football club in England. They currently play at the Bet365 Stadium at Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, which has been their home since 1997 when they relocated from the Victoria Ground in Stoke after 119 years. They were among the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888, but did not win their first and, to date, only major trophy until

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, when they lifted the 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 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, by which time the First Division had become the Premier League. Stoke City reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time in 2011, but were defeated by

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. Stoke City were relegated from the Premier League in 2018. The club and the city's most famous player is the late Sir Stanley Matthews, who began and ended his playing career with Stoke City, sandwiching a 14-year spell at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

where he played in what became known as the

Matthews Final The 1953 FA Cup Final, also known as the Matthews Final, was the eighth to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War. The football match was contested between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, with Blackpool winning 4–3, equalling the ...

. He also managed Port Vale from 1965 to 1968. He was the first active footballer to receive a Knighthood. Matthews 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 Bet365 Stadium. Vale Park - 4

The city's other professional football club is

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, 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 The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditi ...

in Hanley (1913–1950).''What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!'' (Witan Books, 2011, ) They joined the Football League in 1892 but were forced to resign in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

due to financial problems, only to return in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

. Their highest league position came in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

when they finished fifth in the Second Division. In 1954, while in the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

, they progressed to the FA Cup semi-final when they were knocked out by First Division West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park. This remains the furthest they have progressed in the competition. Unlike Stoke City, their local rivals in the Potteries derby, they have never played top division football and hold the record for most years spent in the second tier without ever playing in the first. Individuals of note include John Rudge (who managed the club for 16 years from 1983 to 1999) and Roy Sproson (who made a club record 842 appearances for the club from 1950 until 1972 and was later their manager). Previous clubs from the city include Dresden United, a club which was disestablished before the city was federated; as well as amateur clubs Meir KA (1972–2010) and Norton United (1989–2015). Currently, the city is represented at amateur level by Eastwood Hanley (1946–1997; re-established in 2014) and Hanley Town (established 1966).

Other sports teams

The city speedway team is the

Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team competing in the National League. As Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme. As Hanley Potters they raced from 1929 to 1963. History H ...

. 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 Stadium Loomer Road Stadium is a former sports stadium situated in Chesterton, Staffordshire. The building had considerable parking facilities, covered terracing and a bar with a view of the track. It had a capacity of 5,000. The stadium was constructe ...

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 stadium is also used for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars and BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars during the summer. Cycle Speedway was very popular in the city from the 1940s. Boys would travel all over the city to race against rival teams. The most famous team in the 1960s was Shelton Tigers; they travelled all over England and Wales to race against other teams. The Tigers won the Midland League and the British "Champion's of Champions" Trophy, against Southampton. 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 Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

; the latter competing in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Cricket League. The cricket ground in

is one of the venues used by Staffordshire County Cricket Club. As well as the Longton 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 it ...

are also active, though the County Ground and the

Michelin Ground Michelin Ground was a cricket ground in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The ground was built and owned by the Michelin Tyre Company and was located along Campbell Road. Its location today would be next to the bridge halfway along Campbell Ro ...

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.

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 the names of Stanley Matthews 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). The World Professional Darts Championship was hosted in the

Jollees Jollees was a live music and cabaret venue in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. The venue was re-established in March 2016, after having closed in 1992. The original venue was opened in October 1973 and was the largest capacity cabaret ...

venue in the south of the city from 1979 to 1985. Phil Taylor has won the World Championship a record 16 times, winning the championship in both the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

(PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Two-time PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis and two-time BDO World Champion Ted Hankey are also from the Stoke area. Other well-known players from or based in Stoke include Chris Mason, Andy Hamilton and Ian White. World champion squash player, Great Britain and England international Angela Smith, was born in the city and was largely responsible for the ladies' game going open. She is regarded as one of the most famous players of British squash. 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 dismissals in the first class game (1649). In golf, Trenthams' David Lynn, the golfer, (born 1973) was the KLM Open Champion of 2004. Other notable sports people from the area include footballers turned TV pundits Mark Bright, Garth Crooks and

Robbie Earle Robert Fitzgerald Earle MBE (born 27 January 1965) is an English-born Jamaican former international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals. A former youth playe ...

; tennis player Andrew Foster;

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

players Ray Reardon, Dave Harold and Jamie Cope; field hockey player

Imran Sherwani Imran Ahmed Khan Sherwani (born 9 April 1962) is a former English international field hockey player. International career Sherwani won gold with the Great Britain squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He played on the left wing, and scor ...

; cycling world-record holder Tommy Godwin, wrestler Peter Thornley (better known as Kendo Nagasaki), professional strongman Eddie Hall and European taekwondo champion

Charlie Maddock Charlie Maddock (born 15 November 1995) is an English taekwondo athlete. In May 2015, Maddock competed for Great Britain in the -49kg category at the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships. She reached the quarter-finals before being beaten 15-0 ...

Culture art and architecture

Architecture

From the

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

farmhouse vernacular of

, through the 18th century canal-side Wedgwood estate of

one of the hubs of the Industrial Revolution, to 19th Century country house estates eg Trentham Hall and railway buildings such as Stoke Station and more lately in the 20th century, the expansion and renewal of industrial, civic and amenity buildings including

Potteries Museum and Art Gallery The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, 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, ...

, the

architecture of Stoke-on-Trent Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

has a history expressive of locally acquired or manufactured building materials: quarried stone, coal and clay for brick and tile-making, ash, sand gravel and cement for concrete, and also cast iron steel and timber. Stoke-on-Trent's architecture is tied closely to the industrial heritage of the city. Bottle ovens (used for early pottery manufacture), canal-side and railway-related mill, factory, or warehouse buildings evolved - within the tightly-knit street pattern of each of the six townships - from transport links and adjacency to local generationally skilled labour. Post WWII pottery factories developed a style typified by open-plan manufacturing areas, surrounded by wide expanses of window-walling from floor to ceiling, allowing good daylighting for intricate tasks such as lithography, fettling and decoration. ASREGENT WORKS 1

In 1966, Stone (Staffordshire) born Cedric Price had proposed a

Potteries Thinkbelt Potteries may refer to: * Pottery, or pottery manufacturing Places in England * Staffordshire Potteries, the Stoke-on-Trent area, known as the after its once-important ceramics industry * The Potteries Urban Area, a conurbation distinct from, an ...

design which sought to make use of decommissioned railway routes following the Beeching Cuts and the scarred landscape of coal mining to provide linked learning centres for a technical industry-based curriculum. The Staffordshire University Architecture course has introduced an annual Cedric Price day celebrating this and other projects of his.

Science

Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was a British physicist and writer involved in the development of, and holder of key patents for, radio. He was born in

. William Astbury (1898–1962) was an English physicist and molecular biologist who made pioneering X-ray diffraction studies of biological molecules. He was born in Longton.

Visual art

The major art gallery is The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, 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 The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

gold yet found. The city's Cultural Quarter in Hanley contains the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, the Regent Theatre and the Victoria Hall. There are also smaller elements, including the independent Dazed Gallery and AirSpace, the city's only contemporary art gallery, artist-led and artist run. The Artbay Gallery in Fenton has a contemporary range of original works as well as limited editions. Edwardian School of Art in Burslem 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 work by local artists including original art by Arthur Berry (The Lowry of The Potteries), Jack Simcock, and by new emerging Potteries artists. Stoke-on-Trent is the birthplace of several artists including Arthur Berry (also a novelist, playwright & poet),

Glenys Barton Glenys Barton (born 1944) is a sculptor working mainly in ceramic and bronze. Life Barton was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1944 and now lives in and works in Essex, UK.Edward Lucie-Smith, Adrian Flowers, Robin Gibson 1997 Momentum London p113 She ...

(sculptor),

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Life Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pai ...

(sculptor, coin & stamp designer) and

Sidney Tushingham Sidney Tushingham (1884–1968) 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 B ...

, A.R.E.

Public art

The Grade II* listed statue of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', which stands adjacent to the lake at Trentham Gardens, a part of Trentham Estate, is a copy of an original work by

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

, which was sculpted for Cosimo I Duke of Tuscany from 1545 to 1554. In the early 19th Century, the then Duke of Tuscany, allowed a cast of Cellini’s statue to be taken for his friend, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland; it is the only bronze cast of the statue The bronze sculpture was installed at Trentham in 1840 during Charles Barry’s remodelling of the estate and the statue forms a focal point for his Italianate gardens located by the lake at the south end of the central axis of the parterre. Barry designed the circular platform on which the statue is set. Careful with the knife Perseus (geograph 2017699)

Careful with the knife Perseus (geograph 2017699)

Welcoming visitors to the city as they alight from their train at Stoke-on-Trent station is a statue of Josiah Wedgwood, the centrepiece to the Grade II listed Winton Square area. The statue by Edward Davis (sculptor) was cast in bronze in 1860 and first displayed at the 1862 London Exhibition (also known as the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

of 1862) which was the successor to the 1851

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

. Funded by public subscription, the Stoke-on-Trent unveiling took place on 24 February 1863. A replica of the statue was cast in the 1950s for the Wedgwood Barlaston factory site, where it now stands - outside the

. In Josiah's hand is an example of his pre-eminent work, the Portland Vase. Josiah Wedgwood - geograph

''The Spirit of Fire'' also known as ''The Man of Fire'' or sometimes locally as ''Jack Frost'' or even ''The Spiky Man'', a 1964 sculpture by David Wynne, is mounted upon the façade of what was the Lewis's Department Sore (designed by the Percy Thomas Partnership). Inscription below the sculpture reads: "Fire is at the root of all things visible and invisible" - a reference to the industrial heart of The Potteries: ceramics, railways, steelmaking and mining. Man of Fire Geograph-342265-by-Steven-Birks

Man of Fire Geograph-342265-by-Steven-Birks

''A Man Can't Fly'', commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 1989, is a statue of "a figure of a man balancing horizontally upon one leg ( arabesque, a ballet pose), by Cheshire sculptor Ondre Nowakowski (b.1954). The pose appears as a reference to

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

in flight. It stands atop a column with the words 'A MAN CAN'T FLY' repeated vertically around its circumference". The location is at the Leek Road/ Glebe Street junction close to Stoke Station. A Man Can't Fly, Stoke-on-Trent (2)

The outskirts of Tunstall became home to a new public art statue called ''Golden'' in 2015. The 69 ft (21m) steel work of art by Wolfgang Buttress was privately funded with £180,000 Section 106 monies and is made from

COR-TEN Steel Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rus ...

, the same material as the '' Angel of the North''. The tapered lozenge design features powerful LED lights that will illuminate 1,500 glass prisms containing the written wishes or memories of local residents. Each prism will be suspended from the main body of the sculpture by a short arm, giving the artwork a bristly appearance. It is located on the former site of the

Potteries Pyramid Potteries may refer to: * Pottery, or pottery manufacturing Places in England * Staffordshire Potteries, the Stoke-on-Trent area, known as the after its once-important ceramics industry * The Potteries Urban Area, a conurbation distinct from, and ...

, which was to have been moved to a nearby roundabout. In October 2013 a sculpture, ''Unearthed (Lidice)'' designed by Sarah Nadin (b.1983) and Nicola Winstanley (b.1984) also known as Dashyline studios, commemorating the efforts of miners to rebuild the Czech village of Lidice devastated during the Second World War was unveiled. The steel sculpture cost £100,000 to build and features 3,000 tags bearing the initials of people who promise to share the story of the 1942

Lidice Shall Live Lidice (, german: Liditz) is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Lidice is built near the site of the previous village of the same name, which was com ...

movement. North Staffordshire-based Dashyline was commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council to create the artwork, which has been installed near Hanley bus station. The sculpture was manufactured and installed by local Company, Patera Engineering Ltd based in Fenton.

Theatre

The city's main theatre is the 1,603-person capacity Regent Theatre, 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-on-Trent Town Hall is used for smaller events. In Burslem, the Queen's Theatre has been refurbished and restored at private expense. The

Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It opened in 1997. The Stoke Repertory Theatre Players present a season of plays each year. The theatre is also a venue for local dance, drama and musical theatre companies. ...

is based in Stoke and puts on amateur productions. The previously city council-run Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre, based in Hanley, completed its £4.3m refurbishment in 2011 and is now known as the

Mitchell Arts Centre Mitchell Arts Centre is in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Formerly known as the Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre and Mitchell Memorial Youth Arts Centre and referred to locally as The Mitch. It was opened by Group-Captain Douglas Bader on 28 October ...

. It is named in honour of one of the city's most famous sons,

, designer of the legendary World War II fighter plane, the Spitfire.

Cinema

On 17 December 2015 a new 9 screen Cineworld Cinema opened in Hanley. It is situated at The Hive which is an extension to the Intu Potteries shopping centre. There is an

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

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 - Project Gutenberg etext 13635

Through the works of Arnold Bennett, described by some as the greatest realist writer of the 20th century, the "Six Towns" were sometimes known as the "Five Towns". In his novels, Bennett wrote about local events in the 19th century and consistently changed all proper names and associations, thus Hanley became Hanbridge and Burslem became Bursley. The "Six Towns" were not federated until 1910 when Fenton was still relatively new; it was also the smallest in terms of population and area. Bennett also changed the name of the local newspaper from ''The Sentinel'' to ''The Signal'', an identity that was subsequently adopted by the city's commercial radio station. Other notable contributors to literature include

Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton (20 May 1683 – 16 July 1730) was an English poet, biographer and translator. Life Born in Shelton (now Stoke-on-Trent), and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of ...

(poet),

Peter Whelan Peter Whelan (3 October 1931 – 3 July 2014) was a British playwright. Whelan was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, England. As a student from 1951–55 Whelan was an inspirational figure in the newly-formed Drama Society at the experimental ...

(playwright), John Wain (poet, critic and scholar), Pauline Stainer (poet) and Charles Tomlinson (poet, graphic artist, translator, editor and critic). In Jorge Luis Borges' novel " The Garden of Forking Paths", Dr. Yu Tsun goes to a suburb of Fenton to meet Stephen Albert.

Young Poet Laureate

Since 2010, the council's library service has run a competition to appoint a Young Poet Laureate for the city. This is a competition for local poets aged between 11 and 19. The first winner was Daniel Tatton, and he was succeeded in 2011 by Bethanie Hardie.

Media

* The Sentinel daily local newspaper *

BBC Radio Stoke BBC Radio Stoke is the BBC's local radio station serving Staffordshire and South Cheshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, Freeview and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekl ...

the third BBC local radio station to begin broadcasting *

Signal 1 Signal 1 is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Staffordshire and South Cheshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 172,000 listeners a ...

local commercial radio *

Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting from studios in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, to Staffordshire and Cheshire. The station was owned by Wireless Group and ran a "gold format" playlist ...

local commercial radio * 6 Towns Radio local community radio * Cross Rhythms City Radio Local television news is covered by BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central; and in certain parts of the city by BBC North West and ITV's

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. The city is to be part of the second wave of UK cities to get its own local TV Station.

Famous entertainers

Stoke has been the birthplace of many actors and entertainers, including: *

Hugh Dancy Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the titular character in the television film adaptation of ''David Copperfield'' (2000) as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid ...

actor *

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', ...

actor *

Rachel Shenton Rachel Joy Shenton (born 21 December 1987) is an English actress, screenwriter, and activist. She is known for her roles as Mitzeee Minniver in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2010–2013), Lily Summers in the ABC Family drama '' Swit ...

actress * Anthea Turner TV presenter *

Nick Hancock Nicholas John Hancock (born 25 October 1962) is an English actor and television presenter. He hosted the sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' for 10 years. He also formerly presented ''Room 101'' (1994–1999) on TV, as well as its earlier ...

TV presenter * Freddie Jones actor * Adrian Rawlins actor * Bruno Brookes former BBC Radio One presenter * Dominic Burgess actor

Music

Stoke has a vibrant music scene. The

Golden Torch The Golden Torch, more commonly known as The Torch, was a nightclub in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England. Opened as a mod venue, it later became important to fans of Northern soul. Peter Stringfellow was amongst the many DJs who at some time had ...

, a local nightclub, 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, helping launch the career of

Sasha Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...

and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox, until it was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police. The Void, a Hanley nightclub, developed a sister relationship with Sankey's Soap in Manchester, helping the latter to revive its fortunes during the late 1990s via the promotion of a club night called ''Golden''. Lemmy-02

Robbie Williams is 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", "The 80's" and the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes of the song "Me and My Shadow". The song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall. In 2015, three streets in a new housing estate in Middleport were named after Williams' hit songs: Supreme Street,

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

Lane and Angels Way. Saul Hudson, the lead guitarist for

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

better known by his stage name "

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

", was born in Stoke-on-Trent. His father, Anthony Hudson, was from the area, and he spent a few of his early childhood years living in the city before moving to his mother's native United States in 1970. He did not meet many of the British side of his family until 1992 when Guns N' Roses played Wembley Stadium as part of the

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, d ...

. Slash has recalled in interviews and his autobiography that his Stoke relatives drank all of the band's 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." Lonnie Cook is a rock 'n' roll guitarist and local celebrity who played with Screaming Lord Sutch in the 1970s. He is remembered in the area for his Radio Stoke show ''Sunday Best'', and for standing as a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate. In 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 US and the UK. Other notable individuals and groups from the area include Andy Moor who is a DJ and producer,

Gertie Gitana Gertie Gitana (born Gertrude Mary Astbury; 27 December 1887 – 5 January 1957) was an English music hall entertainer. Biography She was born in Shirley Street, Longport, Staffordshire, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent.Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

, the founder of the rock band Motörhead,

Patricia Leonard Patricia Leonard (9 March 1936 – 28 January 2010) 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. After working as a secretary, Leo ...

(singer/ contralto),

Jem Finer Jeremy Max Finer (born 20 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues. Life and career Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer. He took ...

(banjoist, The Pogues), Broken Bones and

Discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

(punk band), who invented the

D-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-be ...

style. Experimental musician Phil Todd, best known for his

Ashtray Navigations Ashtray Navigations is an English experimental music group centred upon Phil Todd and active since 1991. Colloquially referred to as "Ash Nav", the group operates out of Todd's home in Stoke-on-Trent, from which he also ran the record labels B ...

project, grew up in Madeley. Other bands to hail from the city include: ''

This Is Seb Clarke This Is Seb Clarke (TISC) are an English 12-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 afte ...

'' (soul-punk), '' Agent Blue'' (alternative rock), '' Epilogue'' (prog rock), ''

All the Young All the Young (formerly called 'New Education') is a five-piece alternative rock band from Stoke-on-Trent, England. Led by Ryan Dooley (singer/songwriter) and his younger brother Jack Dooley (bass/vocals). Ryan and Jack started to play at sch ...

'' and ''

The Title The Title are a British four-piece indie band based in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and signed with Sons Ltd.Murdoc Niccals Murdoc Faust Niccals (born Murdoc Alphonce Niccals) is the fictional British bassist for the virtual band Gorillaz. He is voiced by Phil Cornwell and was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. In the Gorillaz universe, Murdoc was respons ...

, a fictional member of the group

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

with the role of bass guitarist is (in his constructed biography) said to have been born in Stoke-on-Trent. The cat in '' Dick and Dom in da Bungalow'' once sang a song about Stoke-on-Trent. Havergal Brian (1876–1972), the classical composer and music writer, who

composed Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and five operas, was born in Stoke (in Dresden). The large scale and unfashionable style of his compositions led to them being neglected for most of his lifetime and not a note of his music was commercially issued on record during his lifetime. He died without having heard many of his finest works.

Food

Staffordshire oatcake A Staffordshire oatcake (a type of savoury pancake) is made from oatmeal, flour and yeast to make a dense pancake. It is cooked on a griddle, "backstone" or "baxton". The oatcake is a local speciality in the North Staffordshire area of Engla ...

s (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread. Oatcakes can be eaten cold or hot with any sweet or savoury fillings.

Lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians :* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States * Lobby (food), a thick stew ...

, a stew not unlike Lancashire hotpot, 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 city's LGBT community and attracts visitors from many different areas across the country and the globe. There were talks about such an event in 2003, but the idea was faced by opposition from the local BNP councillors and their supporters. Originally held in Hanley, the event was held at Northwood Park until 2016 and has since moved to Hanley Park in 2017 attracting over 7000 attendants, six times the amount of the previous year. It continued in 2018 with increased attendance, and in 2019. It was due to continue in 2020, on 20 June, but was postponed because of COVID-19.

Dialect

The Potteries has a distinctive

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

. Whilst it contains many non-standard words (e.g. ''nesh'' meaning "soft, tender, or to easily get cold"; and ''slat'' meaning "to throw"), the best known word is ''duck'', which is used as a greeting to either men or women. It is believed to be derived from the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

word ''ducas'', used to indicate respect; in Middle English this became ''duc'' or ''duk'', which denotes a leader; in turn, it became the title ''Duke'' and the Old French word ''duché'', which indicates the territory ruled by a Duke. Another common variation on the standard English dialect is the use of the word ''shug'' for sugar. This is usually used as a term of endearment when closing a sentence, as in "Ta Shug" (thank you, sugar). A local Cartoon#Mass media, cartoon called ''May un Mar Lady (Me and my Wife)'', published in the newspaper '' The Sentinel'' and written in Potteries dialect, first appeared on 8 July 1986 and ran for over 20 years. Since the death of cartoonist Dave Follows 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. 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.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

* East Liverpool, Ohio, East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, United States of America * Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany

Freedom of the City

* List of Freemen of the City of Stoke-on-Trent.

Notes

References

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 People's Archive
Chronicling the changing face of North Staffordshire

Local media

Local Information
from '' The Sentinel'' newspaper
Local Information
from the ''BBC'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoke-On-Trent Stoke-on-Trent, Cities in the West Midlands (region) Local government in Staffordshire Towns in Staffordshire Unitary authority districts of England Local government districts of the West Midlands (region) NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Populated places established in 1910 1910 establishments in England Unparished areas in Staffordshire Boroughs in England