Fenton is one of the six towns that amalgamated with

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 ...

, Tunstall,

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. ...

, Longton and

Stoke-upon-Trent Stoke-upon-Trent, commonly called Stoke is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 18 ...

to form the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

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

in 1910, later raised to city status in 1925. Fenton is often referred to as "the Forgotten Town", because it was omitted by local author,

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

, from many of his works based in the area, including one of his most famous novels, '' Anna of the Five Towns''.

History

Etymology

The name Fenton means 'fen farm'.

Administration

Fenton started to become populated as a group of farms and private small-holdings were built there, alongside a lane running from the southern reaches of

(by 1933 this lane was very busy and given the title of the A50). Around the 1750s, the land was commonly known as Fenton Vivian, after Vivian of Standon and his heirs, its lords in the thirteenth century. By the 1850s, the area around Duke Street and China Street had become populated during the rapid development of the Potteries. Potters settled in Fenton in large houses alongside their potbanks. Such houses include Great Fenton Hall, Fenton House (home of the Baker family), Heron Cottage and Grove House. The two principal districts, Fenton Vivian and Fenton Culvert – each with their scattered communities, were brought together to make an urban district with its own board of guardians in 1894. On 1 April 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. By 1925, the area was granted city status. Fenton

Industry

Fenton has been the home to a number of potteries such as

Coalport Coalport is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, a mile downstream of Ironbridge. It lies predominantly on the north bank of the river; on the other side is Jackfield. The settlement wa ...

and Baker & Co, and its architectural heritage includes

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

bottle ovens.

First World War

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Fenton was bombed by Zeppelin 'L 21'.

Geography

It is within easy reach of the A500, A34 and the A50, a short distance away from Longton, Hanley, Newcastle, and Stoke itself.

Suburbs

Although Fenton has large industrial plants, particularly from the pottery trade, it has always been considered more of a residential area. Fenton includes Heron Cross, Mount Pleasant, Saxonfields, Pool Dole, Lane Delph and Fenpark.

Places of interest

Fenton Town Hall, which latterly served as the local

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

, was commissioned by local pottery owner, William Meath Baker, at his own expense, to a design by Robert Scrivener and completed in 1888. William Meath Baker was a very good friend of the great English composer, Sir Edward Elgar, who included him in his world-famous

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

(Variation IV). Fenton Manor has a swimming pool, gym, and fitness centre, plus a 1,300-seater arena. Fenton Park has football pitches, pavilions, and a playground.

Economy

Fenton differs from the other Potteries towns in that it does not have a town centre. Instead, amenities and shops are spread over a sizeable area.

Notable people

* Richard Bolton (1570?–1648) English lawyer, an important figure in the politics of Ireland * Sir Edward Bolton (1592–1659) English judge who served as

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...

* Jeremiah Yates (1810–1852) active Chartist, imprisoned for one year for bringing workers out on strike during the 1842 Pottery Riots * James Wright (1819–1887) a notable New Zealand potter, born in Fenton * Mortimer Brown (1874–1966) English sculptor, his early work was based on religious and classical themes. *

David Gordon Hines David Gordon Hines (8 February 1915 – 14 March 2000) was a chartered accountant who as a British colonial administrator developed farming co-operatives in Tanganyika and later in Uganda. This radically improved the living standards of farm ...

(1915–2000) chartered accountant and colonial administrator, developed farming co-operatives in

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

Ken Leese Kenneth James Leese (born 25 November 1928) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Leese was born at Fenton, Staffordshire, the son of James William Leese and his wife Florence G ...

(born 1928) member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

. *

Frank Bough Francis Joseph Bough (; 15 January 1933 – 21 October 2020) was an English television presenter. He was best known as the former host of BBC sports and current affairs shows including ''Grandstand'', '' Nationwide'' and '' Breakfast Time'', wh ...

(1933–2020) English television presenter. *

Michael Bettaney Michael John Bettaney (13 February 1950 – 16 August 2018),"Report of the Security Commission, May 1985", Cmnd 9514, HMSO. also known as Michael Malkin, was a British intelligence officer who worked in the counter-espionage branch of the Securit ...

(born 1950) MI5 officer, convicted of passing sensitive documents to the Soviet Embassy in London. * Paul Bown (born 1957) is an English TV actor.

Sport

* Len Birks (1896–1975) footballer, over 250 club caps, including 101 for

Port Vale F.C. 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 of ...

* Billy Briscoe (1896–1994) footballer, 473 club caps, including over 300 for

* Jack Griffiths (1909–1975) footballer, 194 club caps for

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, Bolton Wanderers F.C. and

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

Ronnie Allen Ronald Allen (15 January 1929 – 9 June 2001) was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 2 ...

(1929–2001) footballer, 638 club caps, mainly for

and WBA * Stan Steele (born 1937) former footballer, scored 97 goals in 370 league and cup games for

* Catherine Swinnerton (born 1958) former racing cyclist, competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in Los Angeles. * Ryan Shotton (born 1988) footballer, over 200 club caps, plays for

Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...

John Harvey (cyclist) John Harvey sometimes Jack Harvey (1884-????) from Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire was a British professional road racing cyclist in the 1900s and 1910s. He held the National Cyclists' Union The National Cyclists' Union (NCU) was an associat ...

(born 1884) Champion cyclist

In popular culture

In the

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

short story ''

The Garden of Forking Paths "The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is a 1941 short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It is the title story in the collection ''El jardín de senderos que se bifurca ...

'', Dr. Yu Tsun goes to a suburb of Fenton to meet Stephen Albert.

References

Town profile
at The Sentinel

External links

Use interactive maps to find historic artefacts and photographs of old Fenton
at exploringthepotteries.org.uk

at The Sentinel (local newspaper) {{authority control Areas of Stoke-on-Trent Towns in Staffordshire