Newchapel is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England. It is named after the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, where the council is based, but includes the town of Kidsgrove and village ...

, close to Kidsgrove in Staffordshire, England. Newchapel was originally named Thursfield. It was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

in 1086 as Turvoldesfeld. After the Reformation in the 17th century the land reverted to private ownership, the new owner built a stone Chapel and the village was renamed Newchapel. From 1894 to 1904 Newchapel formed part of Wolstanton Rural District. After re-organisation of boundaries, from 1904 to 1974 it was part of

Kidsgrove Urban District Kidsgrove Urban District was an urban district in the county of Staffordshire. It was formed in 1894 with the civil parishes of Hardings Wood, Kidsgrove, Newchapel and Talke. It was abolished in 1974, by virtue of the Local Government Act 19 ...

; following the Local Government Act 1972, it was absorbed into the

. Newchapel was served by a railway station (shared with

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 ...

), Newchapel and Goldenhill on the Potteries Loop, which was opened by 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 ...

on 1 October 1874 and closed on 2 March 1964. The canal engineer

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born i ...

(1716 – 27 September 1772) died at his Turnhurst estate in Newchapel, within sight of his unfinished

Harecastle Tunnel Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire between Kidsgrove and Tunstall. The tunnel, which is long, was once one of the longest in the country. Its industrial purpose was for the transport of coal ...

. On 30 September 1772, just nine days after the completion of his

Birmingham Canal The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton rout ...

, he was buried in the churchyard of Newchapel; the present church, St. James, is dedicated to his memory. The grave is marked by a bronze plaque. During the excavation work for the first

, large amounts of coal were discovered underground. This led to the development, initially by the Duke of Bridgewater and then by Robert Heath and Sons of a significant mining and coal by-products works known as Birchenwood. Growing from the Birchenwood Colliery Company founded in 1893, this was the largest industrial site that the Newchapel area has ever known and provided employment for several thousand people in its heyday. Newchapel as seen today was born as a result of the success of Birchenwood, and the first houses built were to provide homes for the workers and their families.

Notable People from Newchapel

Hugh Henshall Hugh Henshall (1734–1816) was an English civil engineer, noted for his work on canals. He was born in North Staffordshire and was a student of the canal engineer James Brindley, who was also his brother-in-law. Private life Henshall was born ...

(1734–1816), civil engineer noted for his work on

canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Newchapel, Staffordshire
Newchapel Village History and photo gallery

Thursfield History
History of Newchapel and the Thursfield family 1500-2000.
Website of St James Church, Newchapel
Hamlets in Staffordshire Kidsgrove