Newcastle-under-Lyme is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and the administrative centre of 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. The borough also includes the town of Kidsgrove ...
in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, England. It is adjacent to the city of
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
. At the
2021 census, the population was 75,082.
Newcastle grew up in the twelfth century around the castle which gave the town its name, and received its first charter in 1173. The town's early industries included
millinery
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...
, silk weaving, and coal mining, but despite its proximity to the
Potteries it did not develop a ceramics trade.
Toponym
The name "Newcastle" is derived from a mid-12th century
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
that was built after
King Stephen granted lands in the area to
Ranulf de Gernon
Ranulf was a masculine given name in Old French and Old Occitan, and is a masculine given name in the English language. ''Ranulf'' was introduced into England by the Norman conquest or alternatively is said to have been introduced to Scotland and ...
,
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...
; the land was known for his support during the civil war known as
The Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
.
The element ''Lyme'' is found throughout the locality, such as in
Lyme Brook
Lyme Brook is a tributary stream of the River Trent, which flows through Newcastle-under-Lyme, and the outlying areas of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.
Course
Prior to the 20th century the upper course of the brook could be traced t ...
and the
Forest of Lyme
The Forest of Lyme (pronounced "Lime") is a former, mainly elm tree, forest in the present day counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire and parts of Derbyshire. Parts of the forest remain and its name is preserved in many local place-names.
Location a ...
. This ultimately derives from a
Brythonic word related to the
modern Welsh
The history of the Welsh language () spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British (Common Brittonic), the Celtic languag ...
"llwyf", meaning
elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
. Elm trees covered an extensive area across the present day counties of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
and parts of
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
.
History
12th–19th centuries
Newcastle was not recorded in the 1086
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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, as it grew up round a 12th-century castle, but it must have gained rapid importance, as a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
, known solely through a reference in another charter to
Preston, was given to the town by
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
in 1173. The new castle superseded an older fortress at
Chesterton Chesterton may refer to:
People
*Chesterton (surname)
**G. K. Chesterton
**A. K. Chesterton
**Cecil Chesterton
**Frank Chesterton (architect)
Places United Kingdom
*Chesterton, Cambridge
**Chesterton railway station
* Chesterton, Gloucestershir ...
, about to the north, whose ruins were visible up to the end of the 16th century.
In 1235
Henry III turned the town into a free borough, granting a
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
and other privileges.
In 1251 he leased it under a
fee farm grant
In Irish and Northern Irish law, a fee farm grant is a hybrid type of land ownership typical in cities and towns. The word ''fee'' is derived from fief or fiefdom, meaning a feudal landholding, and a fee farm grant is similar to a fee simple in t ...
to the burgesses. In 1265 Newcastle was granted by the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
to
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester ( – 4 August 1265), also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of ...
and later to
Edmund Crouchback
Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 12455 June 1296), also known as Edmund Crouchback, was a member of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty and the founder of the first House of Lancaster. He was Earl of Leicester (1265–1296), Lancaster (1267� ...
, through whom it passed to
Henry IV. In
John Leland's time the castle had disappeared "save one great Toure".
Newcastle did not feature much in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, except as a victim of
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
plundering
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting ...
. However, it was the home town of Major General
Thomas Harrison, a
Cromwellian
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...
army officer and leader of the
Fifth Monarchy Men
The Fifth Monarchists, or Fifth Monarchy Men, were a Protestant sect with millennialist views active between 1649 and 1660 in the Commonwealth of England. The group took its name from a prophecy that claimed the four kingdoms of Daniel would p ...
.
The (
56 Geo. 3. c. ''33'' ) enclosed the common lands of the borough, and removed their common rights. They were thereafter held in trust for the burgesses of the borough. The Newcastle under Lyme Burgess Lands charity continues to exist, with entitlement to benefits going to those who would have been burgesses before the reforms of 1835: either the son of someone entitled to the trust, who was resident or occupying property within the borough's boundaries.
The
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...
reformed the borough, creating a new governing charter,
repealing the previous charters of 1590 and 1664. The unreformed corporation prior to 1835 had been styled the "Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme",
but that act changed the style to "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme".
In 1835, the admission of new burgesses was forbidden by section 13 of the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...
under any criteria expect that of being a ratepayer. This only affected the creation of borough burgesses, and not the entitlement rules of the Burgess Lands Trust, which continued on the historic burgess criteria.
Newcastle sent two members to Parliament from 1355 to 1885, then lost one of its seats.
20th century
When
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
was
formed by the 1910 amalgamation of the "six towns" (
Stoke
Stoke may refer to:
Places Canada
* Stoke, Quebec
New Zealand
* Stoke, New Zealand
United Kingdom Berkshire
* Stoke Row
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stoke Gifford
* Bradley Stoke
* Little Stoke
* Harry Stoke
* Stoke Lodge
Bucking ...
,
Hanley
Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...
,
Fenton,
Longton,
Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...
and
Tunstall), Newcastle remained separate.
Despite its close proximity, it was not directly involved in the pottery industry and it strongly opposed attempts to join the merger in 1930, with a postcard poll showing residents opposing the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill by a majority of 97.4 per cent. Although passed by the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, the bill was rejected by the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
.
After the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, Newcastle became the principal settlement of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Economy
Like neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle's early economy was based around the hatting trade, silk and
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven ...
s. Later
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
,
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
manufacture,
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
casting and
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
rose to prominence.
Fine red earthenware and
soft-paste porcelain
Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its hig ...
tableware
Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The ...
(the first such production in Staffordshire) was produced in Newcastle at Samuel Bell's factory in Lower Street in 1724–1754, when production ceased. Except for a failed enterprise in 1790–1797, which then switched to
brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
, there was no further commercial production of pottery within the town. Production of earthenware tiles, however, continued at several locations in the borough. Manufacture of fine
bone china
Bone china is a type of vitreous, translucent pottery, the raw materials for which include bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from c ...
was re-established in the borough in 1963 by
Mayfair Pottery at
Chesterton Chesterton may refer to:
People
*Chesterton (surname)
**G. K. Chesterton
**A. K. Chesterton
**Cecil Chesterton
**Frank Chesterton (architect)
Places United Kingdom
*Chesterton, Cambridge
**Chesterton railway station
* Chesterton, Gloucestershir ...
.
The manufacture in the borough of clay
tobacco-smoking pipes started about 1637 and grew rapidly, until it was second only to hatting as an industry. Nationally, the town ranked with
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
,
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft
* Submarine hull
Ma ...
as the four major pipe producers. The industry continued until the mid-19th century, when decline set in rapidly, so that by 1881 it had only one tobacco-pipe maker left.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the town had a flourishing
felt
Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...
hat manufacturing industry,
probably at its peak locally in the 1820s, when a third of the town's population were involved in over 20 factories, but by 1892 there was only one still in production.
In 1944, the
Rolls-Royce Derwent
The Rolls-Royce RB.37 Derwent is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine, the second Rolls-Royce jet engine to enter production. It was an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Welland, which itself was a renamed version of Fran ...
engine for the
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...
fighter was made in the borough.
Newcastle's 20th-century industries include: iron-working, construction materials, clothing (especially military, police and transport uniforms), computers, publishing, electric motors and machinery.
Near the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the town received major redevelopment to incorporate a new street (Castle Walk) into the town centre, providing Newcastle with a new
bus station
A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...
and bringing in more companies. Various business centres in the town provide offices for companies that operate in the service sector.
The town was classed as a BID (
business improvement district
A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...
) in 2015, reiterated in 2021.
Politicians

The town has been the birthplace of several notable politicians and activists.
Fanny Deakin was a campaigner for better nourishment for babies and young children and better maternity care for mothers. The former
chairwoman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...
(
CND
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...
),
Janet Bloomfield
Janet Elizabeth Bloomfield (née Hood; 10 October 1953 – 2 April 2007) was a British peace and disarmament campaigner who was chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) from 1993 to 1996.
Biography
Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staf ...
(née Hood) is a peace and disarmament campaigner.
Vera Brittain
Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...
. writer,
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
(and mother of
Labour Party Minister and later
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
Shirley Williams
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby (''née'' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in ...
) was born in the town.
There have been two particularly notable
Members of Parliament (MPs).
Josiah Wedgwood IV
Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, (16 March 1872 – 26 July 1943), sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV, was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald. He was a promin ...
was a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist.
* An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
, Independent and
Labour Party MP, who served as
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...
in the
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
of
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
, in the first ever Labour government. He was an MP from 1909 to 1942.
John Golding was elected a Labour MP for
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
at a by-election in 1969. He served in the governments of
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
and
Jim Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from ...
, as PPS to
Eric Varley
Eric Graham Varley, Baron Varley, (11 August 1932 – 29 July 2008) was a British Labour Party politician and cabinet minister on the right-wing of the party. He was the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield from 1964 to 1984.
Early life
Eri ...
as
Minister of Technology
The Ministry of Technology was a department of the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as "MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilson's am ...
, a Labour whip in opposition, and Minister for Employment, stepping down in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
.
The current MP is
Adam Jogee
Adam Habib Jogee (born December 1991) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme since 2024.
Life
Jogee was born and bred in Haringey, and has Jamaican and Zimbabwean heritage; he ...
.
Transport
The town was once served by the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...
, its station being on a branch from
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
via Newcastle,
Silverdale and
Keele
Keele is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is approximately west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and is close to the village of Silverdale. Keele lies on the A53 road from Newcastle to ...
, to
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...
in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
.
Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station
Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station served the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, England, between 1852 and 1964.
History
The station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1852.
The station was located on King Street ...
opened in September 1852, after numerous construction difficulties involving the two tunnels of and at Hartshill. There were also two halts to the west of Newcastle railway station, located at
Brampton
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
and
Liverpool Road
Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive Terraced ho ...
.
The section from
Silverdale to
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...
closed to passengers in May 1956 and the rest of the line in March 1964. Only small sections remained from Madeley to Silverdale, and from Silverdale to Holditch, for coal traffic from the local collieries. The line from Newcastle Junction to Silverdale has been removed, and the site of Newcastle railway station and the Hartshill tunnels filled in.
Newcastle was on the national
canal
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 ...
network, but the
Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal running from 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 Middl ...
at Stoke-on-Trent to
Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal has been disused since 1935 and mostly filled in.
Today the town relies on buses for public transport.
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.[the Potteries
The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, Stoke ( ...]
and to
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
. Arriva buses run to
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
via
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...
.
Geography
Situated in a valley alongside the
Lyme Brook
Lyme Brook is a tributary stream of the River Trent, which flows through Newcastle-under-Lyme, and the outlying areas of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.
Course
Prior to the 20th century the upper course of the brook could be traced t ...
, the town is just west of the city of
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
, its
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s running together. Newcastle town centre is less than from
Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, about north of
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
and south of the
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
county border and from the
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
county border.
Green belt
Newcastle and Stoke form the
main urban area at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an
environmental
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
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. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...
area that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire,
to prevent
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
and minimise convergence with outlying settlements. First defined in 1967,
most of the area extends into the wider borough, but some landscape features and places of interest within that are covered or surrounded. They include the
Michelin Sports Facility, Newcastle golf course,
Keele University
Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
,
Apedale Winding Wheel, Watermills Chimney and
Bignall Hill
Bignall Hill, Staffordshire is a local landmark, and forms part of an escarpment ridge north-west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is classed as a sub HuMP. There is a large stone monument on the summit which is dedicated to John Wedgwood (1760– ...
. The
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
forms the western boundary of the green belt.
Environment
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council undertakes a range of environmental, sustainability and regeneration projects. As part of its Sustainable Environment Strategy, it processes household and business waste through a 'waste to energy' plant and partnered with
Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a busi ...
in the development of Blue Planet Chatterley Valley, a sustainable logistics facility on the site of a former
colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...
completed in 2008. The Council also works with the
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
, Walleys Quarry Ltd. and other relevant bodies to regulate Walleys Quarry landfill site in
Silverdale.
Demography
Of the 73,944 residents recorded in the 2001 census, 51.7 per cent (38,210) were female and 48.3 per cent (35,734) male.
Of these, 78.2 per cent (57,819) stated that their religion was
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, and 12.9 per cent (9,570) said they had no religion.
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
,
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
each covered less than 1 per cent of the population. Racially, 97.8 per cent of the population defined themselves as
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, with the balance being
mixed race
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
– 0.6 per cent),
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n – 0.4 per cent,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
i – 0.2 per cent,
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
– 0.2 per cent,
Chinese
Chinese may refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China.
**'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
– 0.2 per cent, and other ethnic groups – 0.4 per cent.
In employment, 62.2 per cent (21,586) of the population work
full-time and 19.4 per cent (6,746)
part time.
The largest employment types are
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the
secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
with 7,058 (21.5 per cent),
wholesale
Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
and
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
6,157 (18.7 per cent),
health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
and
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
4,097 (12.5 per cent) and
finance
Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
,
real estate and
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
activity 3,823 (11.6 per cent).
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
residency of the area stretches back into the 19th century. In 1873 the community purchased an old
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
to be used as a
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. In 1923 a new synagogue was built in Hanley. This was closed in 2004 and the
congregation
Congregation may refer to:
Religion
*Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church
*Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...
moved to a smaller synagogue in Newcastle.
Transport

Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
to the south and west of Newcastle and by the
A500 road
The A500 is a major primary A road in Staffordshire and Cheshire, England. It is dual carriageway for most of its length and connects Nantwich, junctions 16 and 15 of the M6 motorway with the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is long.
The road wa ...
to the north and east. There are access points from the M6 at junctions 15 and 16, to the south and north respectively. The
A34 trunk road
A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
runs through Newcastle from north to south and was the main road between
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
until the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
opened. There is a large bus station in the town centre.
Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station
Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station served the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, England, between 1852 and 1964.
History
The station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1852.
The station was located on King Street ...
, which was not within the town but towards Water Street on the
Stoke to Market Drayton Line
The Stoke to Market Drayton Line was a railway line that ran through Staffordshire and Shropshire that was built by the North Staffordshire Railway.
Construction
The first part of the line to be built required the private , built in 1850 by i ...
, closed in 1964 under the
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
. The line from Silverdale to Pipe Gate remained open to serve Silverdale Colliery and a creamery at Pipe Gate until 1998, when the line closed to all stone and mineral traffic. It now forms part of a green way from Silverdale to Newcastle-under-Lyme, with the station site being called "Station Walks". The nearest station to the town is
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, ...
which is between the town centre of Newcastle and city centre of Stoke-on-Trent and serves the Potteries as a whole. Newcastle is the third-largest town in England (by population) to have no railway station.
Most of the bus network is run 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 business began life in 1898 as a tram operator, the Po ...
Limited and
D&G Bus
D&G Bus is a bus operator based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates local and interurban bus services in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. D&G Bus is the largest bus operator in Cheshire ...
.
Education
The town has a
private school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
:
Newcastle-under-Lyme School
Newcastle-under-Lyme School is a co-educational private day school in the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It came about by a merger in 1981 of the old Newcastle High School (founded in 1874) with the Orme Girls' School (f ...
, which was established in the 17th century, whose alumni includes
T. E. Hulme
Thomas Ernest Hulme (; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the Imagism ...
,
John Wain
John Barrington Wain CBE (14 March 1925 – 24 May 1994) was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group known as " The Movement". He worked for most of his life as a freelance journalist and author, writing and re ...
and
William Watkiss Lloyd
William Watkiss Lloyd (11 March 1813 – 22 December 1893) was an English writer with wide interests. These included fine art, architecture, archaeology, Shakespeare, and classical and modern languages and literature.
Life
Lloyd was born at Hom ...
. It has a number of
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
and
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
s in the
state-funded sector. The latter include
Newcastle Community Academy,
Clayton Hall Academy
Clayton Hall Academy is a mixed secondary school located in the Clayton area of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the English county of Staffordshire.
History
The present Clayton Hall, which is used as part of the college, is at least the third Hall o ...
,
St John Fisher Catholic College,
Sir Thomas Boughey Academy and
The Orme Academy
The Orme Academy, previously known as Wolstanton High School and Wolstanton County Grammar School, is a high school in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
History
The school was founded in 1928, as Wolstanton County Grammar School, as a repla ...
(formerly Wolstanton High School). There is a private Edenhurst Preparatory School, founded in 1961.
The town's largest sixth-form college is
Newcastle-under-Lyme College
Newcastle College is further education college in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England.
Providing a wide range of academic, vocational and apprenticeship qualifications from entry to degree level, along with the support services to help ...
, which was established in 1966.
Keele University
Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
main campus is situated from the centre of the town.
Sites and attractions
Parks and gardens

In 2005 it was national winner in the "small city/large town" category (35K–100K). The town features several parks, including the Queen's Gardens at the east end of Ironmarket, which won the Britain in Bloom Judges' Award for Horticultural Excellence in 2003. Queens Gardens contains a statue of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
funded by Sir
Alfred Seale Haslam
Sir Alfred Seale Haslam (27 October 1844 – 13 January 1927) was an English engineer who was Mayor of Derby from 1890 to 1891, three times Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1900 to 190 ...
and unveiled by
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.
He was raised in the ...
on 5 November 1903. It is the only park within the
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...
.
Grosvenor Gardens is in the centre of one of the town's roundabouts, but hidden away below road level. Queen Elizabeth Garden is located outside the town centre and was due for refurbishment using
National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
money.
To the north-west of the town centre is Brampton Park, home to a museum and art gallery.
Traditional market
Dating back to 1173 Newcastle's
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
*Marketing, the act of sat ...
, known as the Stones, operates on the High Street. The market was originally held on Sunday; in the reign of
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
it was changed to Saturday; by the charter of
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
it was fixed on Monday. Grants of fairs were given by
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
,
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
and
Henry VI.
Today the market is open six days a week and has over 80 stalls. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays have a general market, Tuesdays an
antique
An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
s market and Thursdays a sale of bric-a-brac. A
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
and
livestock
Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
market was held on Mondays until the early 1990s; the site of it is now a branch of Morrison's supermarket.
The Guildhall
The current
Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...
was built in 1713 and has undergone a number of changes. Originally the ground floor was open and was used for markets, until the Market Hall was built in 1854. In 1860, to provide more space, the ground floor arches were bricked up and a clock tower with four clocks added. The top rooms in the Guildhall were used for meetings by the borough council. It is now a Grade II listed building.
The Barracks
The Italian-style Militia Barracks were built in 1855 of red brick. They were the headquarters of the 3rd King's Own Staffordshire Rifle Regiment until 1880. In 1882 W. H. Dalton bought the Barracks and settled them in trust for use by the Rifle Volunteers of Newcastle, which became the Territorial Force in 1907. In 2002 the Barracks were let to small businesses.
Culture
The
New Vic Theatre
The New Vic Theatre is a purpose-built theatre in the round in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The theatre opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.
History
In the early 1960s, Stephen ...
is a
theatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round, also known as arena theatre or central staging, is a theatrical stage configuration in which the audience surrounds the performance area on all sides.
Historically rooted in ancient Greece and Rome performance practices, ...
. Just outside the town centre, it offers a programme that includes modern and classic plays and concert performances.
The Borough Museum and Art Gallery (Brampton Museum) depicts the civic history of the Borough and an authentic, life-size
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 literatur ...
street-scene. The art gallery hosts work by local and national artists, and travelling exhibitions.
Notable residents who contributed to the arts and entertainment include
Philip Astley
Philip Astley (8 January 1742 – 20 October 1814) was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the " father of the modern circus". Modern circus, as an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domes ...
, founder of the modern circus.
Jackie Trent
Yvonne Ann Gregory (born Yvonne Ann Burgess; 6 September 1940 – 21 March 2015), better known by her stage name Jackie Trent, was an English singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for co-writing (with Tony Hatch) several hits for Petu ...
, the singer and songwriter, was born in the town.
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...
, the novelist, playwright, and essayist, completed his schooling at the Middle School, and called the town Oldcastle in his ''
Clayhanger
The ''Clayhanger'' Family is a series of novels by Arnold Bennett, published between 1910 and 1918. Though the series is commonly referred to as a "trilogy", and the first three novels were published in a single volume, as ''The Clayhanger Fami ...
'' trilogy of novels.
Dinah Maria Mulock, who wrote under her married name of Mrs Craik, lived in the town (in Lower Street and Mount Pleasant) and attended Brampton House Academy.
E. S. Turner, social commentator, was educated in the town. Newcastle was home to Dr Philip Willoughby-Higson (1933–2012), poet, translator, historian, and author of 33 books. He founded and was president (1974–1992) of the Chester Poets, the oldest poetry group in the North-West. He was also President of the Baudelaire Society of France from 1992 to 2012 – the only Englishman ever to hold that position.
Media
Regional local news and television programmes are
BBC West Midlands
BBC Midlands is the BBC English Regions, BBC English Region producing local radio and World Wide Web, web content for the City of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcest ...
and
ITV Central
ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
. Television signals are received from either the Fenton or Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, Sutton Coldfield transmitters. BBC North West and ITV Granada can also be received from the Winter Hill transmitting station, Winter Hill TV transmitter.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Stoke, Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, The Hitmix, HitMix Radio and 6 Towns Radio, who are the most recent station to serve the area following a successful ofcom application.
''The Sentinel (Staffordshire), The Sentinel'' is the town's local newspaper.
Sport
The sports clubs and associations include Newcastle Town F.C., playing association football in the Northern Premier League Division One South East. Rugby is represented by Newcastle Staffs Rugby Union Club.
Cycle Staffordshire organises local cycling events, as does the Newcastle Track cycling, Track Cycling Association. The town has a velodrome used by the Lyme Racing Club.

Newcastle Athletic Club is based at the Ashfield Road track next to Newcastle College. This ash track was constructed in 1964. The club competes in the North Staffs XC League and the Local, National and Heart of England League 3.
The town is home to a volleyball club: Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club. Founded in 1980, it has teams in the National Volleyball League.
Newcastle-under-Lyme College is home to Castle Korfball Club, one of the nation's older such clubs. This club was founded in June 1996 originally based at keele university
The town has a swimming club; Newcastle (Staffs) Swimming Club, which was founded in 1908.
There are golf courses at Kidsgrove, Wolstanton, Keele and Westlands.
Keele University is home to one of the UK's first Quidditch (real-life sport), quidditch teams, the Keele Squirrels. It hosted the first ever quidditch game in the UK in 2011 against the Leicester Thestrals.
Religion
The town was the birthplace of John James Blunt, a Anglicanism#Anglican divines, divine and Anglican priest. Josiah Wedgwood was a Unitarianism, Unitarian and he and his family attended meetings at the Unitarian Meeting House, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Old Meeting House, adjacent to St Giles' Church, which is still in use for the purpose.
The town has a number of Anglican churches, including St Giles, a medieval parish church dating from 1290. There are several Catholic Church, Catholic churches, notably Holy Trinity Church, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Holy Trinity, whose style is Gothic architecture, Gothic in blue engineering bricks, described as "''the finest modern specimen of ornamental brickwork in the kingdom"'' at the time.

In the 18th century John Wesley made repeated visits to the area, which was becoming industrialised, and recruited many residents to Methodism. This is reflected in a number of Methodist churches. There is a Baptist church in Clayton, Staffordshire, Clayton.
Of interest is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), across from Brampton Park, which serves as the "Stake (Latter Day Saints), Stake Centre" for the church in the region and has an on-site Family History Center (LDS Church), Family History Centre, where the public can research their ancestry at little or no charge.
Newcastle has a synagogue which replaced a larger one at nearby Stoke which was deconsecrated in 2006.
International network
The town is part of a worldwide network of towns and cities with the name Newcastle (disambiguation), Newcastle. These include well-known Newcastle upon Tyne (also in England), Neuburg an der Donau (Germany), Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Neufchâteau, Vosges, Neufchâteau (France), New Castle, Indiana (US), New Castle, Pennsylvania (US), New Castle, Delaware (US), Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Shinshiro (Japan).
This small international network of eight towns, formed in 1998, is designed to encourage friendship and cooperation between them. Accordingly, a school in the South African town benefited in 2004 from gifts of computing equipment surplus to Newcastle-under-Lyme's needs. The annual ''Newcastles of the World'' Summit was held in Newcastle-under-Lyme for six days from 17 June 2006.
*Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
*Neuchâtel, Switzerland
*Neufchâteau, Vosges, Neufchâteau, France
*New Castle, Delaware, United States
*New Castle, Indiana, United States
*New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States
*Newcastle upon Tyne, England
*Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
*Shinshiro, Japan
Notable people
17th and 18th centuries
*Humphrey Wollrich (1633–1707), Quaker writer
*
Philip Astley
Philip Astley (8 January 1742 – 20 October 1814) was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the " father of the modern circus". Modern circus, as an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domes ...
(1742–1814), equestrian, inventor and father of the modern circus
*Silvester Harding (1745–1809), artist and publisher, who joined a company of strolling actors at age 14
*John James Blunt (1794–1855), Anglican priest who wrote studies of the early Church.
19th century
*Henry Moseley (mathematician), Henry Moseley (1801–1872), churchman, mathematician and scientist
*Joseph Mayer (antiquary), Joseph Mayer (1803–1886), goldsmith, antiquary and collector
*Emma Darwin, Emma Darwin (née Wedgwood) (1808–1896), granddaughter of Josiah Wedgwood and wife of Charles Darwin
*Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940), physicist, inventor and writer
*Arthur Heath, Arthur Howard Heath (1856–1930), industrialist, cricketer, Rugby Union international and local Conservative MP
*Sir Joseph Cook (1860 in Silverdale – 1947), worked in the local coalmines before emigrating in 1885; Prime Minister of Australia, 1913–1914
*
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.
He was raised in the ...
, (1861–1929), lived in Keele Hall in 1900–1909.
*
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...
(1867–1931), writer, went to school in Newcastle
*Ada Nield Chew (1870–1945), suffragist and social activist
*
Fanny Deakin (1883–1968), local politician born in Silverdale, campaigned for child nourishment and maternity care.
*
Vera Brittain
Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...
(1893–1970), author, reformer and pacifist, and mother of
Shirley Williams
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby (''née'' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in ...
*Reginald Mitchell (1895–1937), designer of the Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire fighter plane
*Robert W. Tebbs (1875–1945), architectural photographer
20th century
*Ernest Sackville Turner, E. S. Turner (1909–2006), journalist and author, went to school in the town.
*Fred Kite (1921–1993), only Second World War British soldier to receive the Military Medal three times
*Colin Melbourne (1928–2009), ceramicist and sculptor of several statues in Stoke-on-Trent, was born in the town
*Freddie Garrity (1936–2006), singer, lived in the town near the end of his life.
*
Jackie Trent
Yvonne Ann Gregory (born Yvonne Ann Burgess; 6 September 1940 – 21 March 2015), better known by her stage name Jackie Trent, was an English singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for co-writing (with Tony Hatch) several hits for Petu ...
(1940–2015), singer, songwriter and actress
*Neil Baldwin (Keele University), Neil Baldwin (born 1946), clown, Stoke City F.C., Stoke City kit-man and honorary graduate of
Keele University
Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
*Kevin Dunn (bishop), Kevin John Dunn (1950–2008), twelfth Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle
*Professor Alan Sinclair (scientist), Alan Sinclair (born 1952), clinical scientist and diabetes specialist
*
Janet Bloomfield
Janet Elizabeth Bloomfield (née Hood; 10 October 1953 – 2 April 2007) was a British peace and disarmament campaigner who was chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) from 1993 to 1996.
Biography
Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staf ...
(1953–2007), peace and disarmament campaigner.
*Fran Unsworth (born 1957), journalist, head of BBC News since January 2018
*Andrew Van Buren (living), illusionist, showman, co-founder of the Philip Astley Project
*Hugh Dancy, (born 1975), actor played Will Graham (character), Will Graham in Hannibal (TV series)
*Charlotte Salt, (born 1985), actress as Sam Nicholls in Casualty (TV series)
''
*Dan Croll (born 1991), singer-songwriter.
*
John Wain
John Barrington Wain CBE (14 March 1925 – 24 May 1994) was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group known as " The Movement". He worked for most of his life as a freelance journalist and author, writing and re ...
(1925-1994), author, playwright, poet, critic, biographer. Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.
Politics
*Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey (1587/88–1653), supporter of Charles I of England, Charles I; MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in the Addled Parliament in 1614.
*Sir Richard Leveson (1598–1661), MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle in the Long Parliament, rebuilt Trentham Hall 1630-1638
*Samuel Terrick (1602–1675), local politician. In 1658 he went bankrupt for £20,000.
*Thomas Harrison (soldier), Major-General Thomas Harrison (1606–1660) sided with Parliament in the English Civil War. In 1649 he signed the death warrant of Charles I of England, Charles I and in 1660, after the Restoration, was found guilty of regicide and hanged, drawn and quartered.
*Sir
Alfred Seale Haslam
Sir Alfred Seale Haslam (27 October 1844 – 13 January 1927) was an English engineer who was Mayor of Derby from 1890 to 1891, three times Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1900 to 190 ...
(1844–1927) engineer, three times Mayor of Newcastle, MP for Newcastle, 1900–1906
*Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood (1872–1943), ''Josiah Wedgwood IV'', great-great-grandson of Josiah Wedgwood and Liberal MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1906–1919, then its Labour MP, 1919–1942
*Sir Oswald Mosley (1896–1980), founder of British Union of Fascists, lived in Apedale Hall in early 1900s
*Stephen Swingler (1915–1969) Labour MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford, 1945–1950, and for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1951–1969
*
John Golding (1931–1999), Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1969–1986
*Llin Golding, Baroness Golding (born 1933), Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1986–2001
*Jeremy Lefroy (born 1959) Westlands councillor, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford 2010–2019
*Paul Farrelly (born 1962), MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 2001–2017, journalist
*Karen Bradley (born 1970), MP for Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency), Staffordshire Moorlands
*Aaron Bell (politician), Aaron Bell (born 1980) politician, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme since 2019
Sport
*Dick Ray (1876–1952) professional footballer and manager with Port Vale F.C., Port Vale and Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, 239 club caps
*Frederick Bailey (cricketer), Frederick Bailey (1919–1985), left-handed English cricketer
*Don Ratcliffe (1934–2014), footballer with Stoke City F.C., Stoke City, 438 club caps
*Mike Pejic (born 1950), footballer with Stoke City and Everton F.C., Everton, 360 club caps
*Ian Moores (1954–1998) footballer with Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, 359 club caps
*Robbie Earle (born 1965), footballer with Port Vale and Wimbledon F.C., Wimbledon, 578 club caps
*Graham Shaw (footballer, born 1967), Graham Shaw (born 1967) footballer with Stoke City, 284 club caps, now a solicitor
*Dominic Cork, (born 1971) cricketer
*Simon Wakefield (born 1974), professional golfer
*Alan Richardson (cricketer), Alan Richardson (born 1975), cricketer
*Lizzie Neave (born 1987), slalom canoeist in women's kayak, competed in 2012 Summer Olympics
*Oliver Sadler (born 1987), first-class cricketer
*Peter Wilshaw (born 1987), cricketer
*Eddie Hall (born 1988), professional strongman
*Danielle Wyatt (born 1991), professional England cricketer
*Curtis Nelson (born 1993), footballer for Plymouth Argyle F.C., 387 club caps
Curtis Nelson
SoccerBase Database, retrieved December 2017.
See also
*Listed buildings in Newcastle-under-Lyme
References
Bibliography
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External links
*
Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcastle-Under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Former civil parishes in Staffordshire
Market towns in Staffordshire
Towns in Staffordshire
Unparished areas in Staffordshire