Wolstanton is a

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

town on the outskirts 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 ...

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 ...

History

The Roman road the

Rykeneld Street Rykeneld Street or Ryknield Street was a Roman road which ran through the northern Midlands of England from Deva (Chester) to Derventio (Derby) via what is now Stoke-on-Trent. It is not to be confused with the Icknield Street. It has in the past ...

passed through Wolstanton. Wolstanton is mentioned in the Norman

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 manusc ...

where it is listed amongst the lands belonging to the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

.''Domesday Book: a Complete Transliteration''. London: Penguin, 2003; p. 672 The land consisted of work for 2 ploughs, 14 villeins, 2 bordars and a priest (who had his own plough). Woodland then was measured as being a league by a furlong. When tax had been paid (by Ælfgar before the

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

) then it was set at six pounds. Wolstanton Church, dedicated to St Margaret, is of red freestone. Rebuilt in 1860, it incorporated the layout and substantial elements of the old medieval church that had occupied the same site.

People and places

One of the towns's many notable buildings is located on the corner of High Street and Nelson Street. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and for some years afterwards, it was owned by the renowned Carr's Café and was daily frequented by the owners of many

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 ...

potteries who resided in the town. Ownership then passed to the

District Bank The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank was formed in 1829 and it became one of the leading provincial joint stock banks; its name was shortened to District Bank in 1924. The Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1962 but kept ...

(later incorporated into

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

Bank) and subsequently

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Bank. Now it is known as Bank House, and is a retail outlet. A memorial plaque was unveiled there by

Police in the summer of 2007 to commemorate the work of

Henry Faulds Henry Faulds (1 June 1843 – 24 March 1930) was a Scottish doctor, missionary and scientist who is noted for the development of fingerprinting. Early life Faulds was born in Beith, North Ayrshire, into a family of modest means. Aged 13, he wa ...

, the

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

pioneer, who retired to live in the village at number 1 James Street and is buried at St Margaret's Church. The architect Absalom Reed Wood (1851–1922) designed some of Wolstanton's grander buildings, including St Andrew's Church at the top of Porthill Bank and several of the houses along the High Street, just before the Porthill 'border'.

Recent developments

Wolstanton Colliery was sunk in 1916. Originally an iron ore and coal mine, it was located just to the east of the town. Redeveloped in the 1960s, the shafts being deepened to reach the lowermost coal seams produced 1 million tons in 1963. The towering concrete structures located at the top of the shafts contained the 3 'Mine Winders', each winder motor rated 3300 horse power. The shafts at 1,265 Yards, were noted as the deepest in Britain and the coal working depth extending further as the deepest in Western Europe. The mine was connected underground with neighbouring Hanley Deep, Sneyd and Whitfield collieries. By 1986 it was closed completely, eventually replaced by Wolstanton Retail Park. Recorded between 1923 and 1946, pre-nationalization, some 14 miners are listed fatally injured. Between 1947 and 1985, some 38 Wolstanton miners were fatally injured. A memorial plaque is located on the approach road to the local Asda superstore that opened in 1989, and a commemorative 'winding wheel' features the newly opened

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

flagship Superstore. The large Asda store and the Wolstanton Retail Park now covers the main part of the former mine, and the colliery's former sports field is now—after some not inconsiderable opposition—being redeveloped with housing. A new road (originally proposed in 1978) has been built connecting the A500 with the A527 through the town, following for the most part the old colliery approach road (Grange Lane). Paid for by the developers of the site,

Bloor Homes Bloor Homes is an English housebuilder based in Measham, Leicestershire. History The company was founded by John Bloor John Stuart Bloor (born 16 June 1943) is a British billionaire businessman. His business, Bloor Holdings, owns both Bloo ...

, this road finally opened to the public on 24 January 2008. In April 2012 planning permission was granted for a regional flagship Marks & Spencer store to be built on Wolstanton Retail Park. At 140,000sq ft it will be one of the largest in the UK.http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/M-S-granted-permission-40m-town-store-Wolstanton/story-15849093-detail/story.html M&S granted permission for £40m out-of-town store in Wolstanton

Notable residents

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 ...

was a pioneering canal engineer and lived at

Turnhurst Turnhurst Hall was a substantial house which stood in an area of what is now Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, between Great Chell and the hamlet of Newchapel in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The road linking the two settlements is now know ...

until his death in 1772. * Dr

(1843–1930) was a pioneer of forensic fingerprinting who retired to Wolstanton. * Harry Sharpe (1901–1950), cricketer *

Dennis Higgins Dennis Dean Higgins (born August 4, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player, a right-handed relief pitcher over all or parts of seven Major League Baseball seasons (1966–1972) with the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, ...

(1915-1942), professional footballer for Tamworth and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

before World War II, in which he was killed. * Arthur Berry (1925–1994): a playwright,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, teacher and artist

Sarah Smith

A remarkable grave is located in the churchyard of St Margaret's. The headstone of Sarah Smith (deceased 1783) includes a short poem written in the first person in which Sarah suggests that she was murdered; 'with half a pint of poyson he came to visit me' and then provides a clue to her killer, 'it was C___s B___w who brought me to my end'.

Images

Image:WolstantonMarshFromMortonParade2004.jpg, Panorama of Wolstanton Marsh from Moreton Parade, February 2004 Image:StMargaretsChurch_2004.jpg, Wolstanton's St Margaret's Church File:St Margaret's Church Spire 2004.jpg, St Margaret's Spire Image:StMargaretsChurchGargoyle1.jpg, A St Margaret's Gargoyle Image:StMargaretsChurchGargoyle2.jpg, A St Margaret's Gargoyle Image:WolstantonHighStreet2004.jpg, High St from Morris Square

References

External links

{{commons category
A local community website for Wolstanton. a ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme