53-516: Burslem ( / ˈ b ɜːr z l ə m / BURZ -ləm ) 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. The population of the town was included under the Burslem Central ward and had a population of 6,490 in
106-582: A formal ceremony. Professional darts player Phil Taylor is from Burslem. Burslem is the site of one of the two campuses of Stoke-on-Trent College ; the College states that it is the largest Further Education college in Stoke and North Staffordshire. The campus specialises in media-production and drama. Stoke Studio College, a studio school for 13- to 19-year-olds opened at the college campus in September 2013. Within
159-528: A manufacturing decline during the 1980s and '90s. Traditional Victorian architecture and Edwardian period terraced houses dominate the town. New housing developments are underway on the Sadlers Factory site and around Woodbank Street. Heavy industrial employment (mines, steel and pots) has left a legacy of ill-health among many older people, but there is the Haywood Hospital (High Lane, Burslem) and
212-401: A new centre consisting of shops, restaurants and a cinema. The new bus station is bigger than its predecessor, and has seen various routes in and out of the city changed to accommodate its location. The bus station features a sheltered waiting area, Spar shop, cafe and toilets, is covered by CCTV, and has digital timetables showing information on travel times for the day, as well as Now/Next above
265-484: A six-mile radius from Burslem there are three universities; Staffordshire at Shelton, Keele University , and Manchester Metropolitan 's large Art & Design campus at Alsager . The town is elevated and is not prone to flooding. The town's municipal park , designed by the landscape architect Thomas Hayton Mawson , was opened in 1894. It is protected by a Grade II* designation on the Register of Parks and Gardens . It
318-526: A variety of strong tourist attractions; Burleigh, Moorcroft, Festival Park, its many pubs , and the Trent & Mersey Canal. The Old Town Hall is one of the largest buildings in Burslem. It also has the legacy of novelist Arnold Bennett , who refers to the town and many of its streets with thinly disguised names: e.g. Burslem/"Bursley", Swan (Square and Pub)/"Duck". It is the setting for one of his most famous works,
371-601: Is about 60 minutes away by train. Burslem railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway opened on 1 November 1873 on the Potteries Loop Line . It closed in the 1960s and the site and trackbed are now a greenway. Burslem's most famous sons include the potter Josiah Wedgwood , the watercolour painter James Holland (1800–1870), Ian " Lemmy " Kilmister, the founder, bassist and lead singer of Motörhead , and Robbie Williams , who
424-481: Is based in Burslem at Vale Park . The team currently plays in League Two, England's fourth division. Near to the town is Burslem Golf Club, a 9-hole course which once had singer Robbie Williams as a Junior Captain. It was opened on 28 September 1907 by vaudeville entertainer and golfer Sir Harry Lauder . On 29 September 2007 his great-nephew Gregory Lauder-Frost as guest-of-honour rededicated it for another century in
477-449: Is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent ) in Staffordshire , England . North Staffordshire became a centre of ceramic production in the early 17th century, due to the local availability of clay , salt , lead and coal . Hundreds of companies produced all kinds of pottery, from tablewares and decorative pieces to industrial items. The main pottery types of earthenware , stoneware and porcelain were all made in large quantities, and
530-524: The A500 road run in parallel, forming a distinct boundary between Burslem and the abutting town of Newcastle-under-Lyme . To the south is Grange Park and Festival Park, reclaimed by the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival . The Domesday Book shows Burslem (listed as Bacardeslim ) as a small farming hamlet, strategically sited above a ford at Longport , part of the major pack horse track out of
583-523: The COVID lockdown . In January 2021 it was sold to a development company who proposed redeveloping the rear into luxury apartments while retaining the pub; in February 2021 Stoke-on-Trent City Council declared it an Asset of Community Value. The following January, an illegal cannabis grow was discovered inside the vacant building, and it was then badly damaged in a suspected arson fire. The city council announced
SECTION 10
#1732848463345636-526: The Clayhanger trilogy. Burslem's centre benefits from having an almost-intact medieval street-plan and countless fine old buildings, and a townscape which almost-totally escaped re-development during the 1960s and 1970s. After being under-used for years, the Burslem School of Art has been refurbished at a cost of £2.1m and offers several large free art galleries. The free Public Library is currently based in
689-601: The National Cycle Network . The Trent and Mersey canal is said to see over 10,000 narrowboats a year using it. The former Burslem Canal was constructed in 1805 and remained open until 1961 when it was breached. The Burslem Canal was a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal running from the junction near to Newport Lane (opposite the old steel works) through to the Furlong Lane area of Middleport. The nearest international airports are Manchester and Birmingham ; each
742-612: The Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands to the Liverpool /London road. The name refers to the Old English personal name Burgweard and the former Forest of Lyme (reflected in the nearby town of Newcastle-under-Lyme ). As far back as the late 12th century, a thriving pottery industry existed, based on the fine and abundant local clays . After the Black Death , Burslem emerges in
795-648: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (a large ceramics collection, and restored Spitfire ), the Victoria Hall , the Regent Theatre, BBC Radio Stoke 's studios are based in the town. Christian churches and chapels in Hanley include: Staffordshire Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem , Fenton , Hanley , Longton , Tunstall and Stoke (which
848-518: The River Trent . After shipping by pack horses to the watermills local to the potteries, or to commercial flint grinding mills in either the Churnet Valley or Moddershall Valley , it was sorted to remove flint that had reddish hues, then heated to 1,200 °C (2,200 °F) to create an easily ground product. A group involving James Brindley later patented a water-based process that reduced
901-506: The 1870s with the addition of more than 50 bedrooms in the rear. In 1765 it was the location of the first meeting between Josiah Wedgwood , Thomas Bentley , Erasmus Darwin and James Brindley to discuss the building of what became the Trent and Mersey Canal ; as The Tiger, it appears in several of Arnold Bennett 's "Five Towns" novels. It was a coaching inn and after the rear extension, a major commercial hotel, but reduced demand for rooms led to
954-443: The 1970s; but specialist makers ( Steelite ) and smaller producers of high-value ceramics ( Burleigh , Wade , Moorcroft ) are thriving. Burslem is emerging as a centre for small, freelance creative businesses working in sectors such as fine art, animation and crafts as well as pottery. The number of shops in the town centre have markedly declined, hit by the impact of nearby out-of-town retail parks that offer free parking. However,
1007-466: The 1980s, the original site was cleared, landscaped and converted into Central Forest Park . Coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the 1842 General Strike and associated Pottery Riots . The College Road drill hall was completed in 1903. The 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival led to the reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre area – including the former Shelton steelworks , which had been derelict since 1978. When
1060-560: The 19th century include Spode , Aynsley , Burleigh , Doulton , Dudson , Mintons , Moorcroft , Davenport , Twyford , and Wedgwood . The Chartist 1842 General Strike was ignited by striking miners at collieries in the Potteries, and led to the 1842 Pottery Riots . William Hines and his brother Thomas Hines established the pottery firm Hines Brothers in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent and built Heron Cross Pottery in 1886, particularly making
1113-567: The 2021 Census. Burslem is on the eastern ridge of the Fowlea Valley, the Fowlea being one of the main early tributaries of the River Trent . Burslem embraces the areas of Middleport , Dalehall, Longport, Westport, Trubshaw Cross, and Brownhills. The Trent & Mersey Canal cuts through, to the west and south of the town centre. A little further west, the West Coast Main Line railway and
SECTION 20
#17328484633451166-513: The City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire , England. The town is the main business, commercial and cultural hub of the wider Potteries area. The name Hanley comes from either "haer lea", meaning "high meadow ", or "heah lea" meaning "rock meadow". Hanley was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888 . It
1219-505: The City of Stoke-on-Trent. At one time, there were many coal mines in North Staffordshire. Hanley Deep Pit was opened in 1854. It was the deepest pit in the North Staffordshire coalfield, reaching a depth of 1500 feet. At its peak in the 1930s it employed some 2,000 men and boys often producing 9,000 long tons (9,100 tonnes) of coal a week. The pit was closed in 1962 but much of the headgear and spoilheaps were left in situ. Then, in
1272-605: The Doomsday Survey – for even in that early date Burslem was a place of some importance – the town appears, as "Burwardeslyn;" and frequent mention is made of it in ancient documents during the Middle Ages." At the 1991 census count, the population of Burslem was 21,400. A study by consultants Atkins, working from the United Kingdom Census 2001 data, showed that the Burslem population is steady and has not declined despite
1325-460: The Garden Festival closed, the land remained derelict for some time, before being re-developed partly into public parkland and partly for retail and leisure. In 2013, a new bus station opened in Hanley. This replaced the former bus station, on Lichfield Street. The new bus station was the first stage in the regeneration project which will see the previous bus station demolished, and replaced with
1378-566: The George Hotel in the 1860s before murdering his wife Jane at his father's house in Boston, Lincolnshire . Despite pleas for clemency he was hanged at Lincoln Castle on 1 April 1872 and his body interred with other executed felons in the interior of the Castle's Lucy Tower, where it can still be seen. William Clowes , one of the founders of Primitive Methodism , was born in Burslem as was John Bennett
1431-673: The School of Art, after the Venetian Gothic Wedgwood Institute closed for safety reasons early in 2009. Ceramica was a new award-winning ceramics family attraction, based in the imposing old Town Hall and funded by Millennium Lottery money but due to the loss of council funding has been closed. The Queen's Theatre has regular concerts and an annual pantomime. There is a traditional Friday street market, and street carnivals in May and December. The major football club Port Vale
1484-468: The Staffordshire industry was a major innovator in developing new varieties of ceramic bodies such as bone china and jasperware , as well as pioneering transfer printing and other glazing and decorating techniques. In general Staffordshire was strongest in the middle and low price ranges, though the finest and most expensive types of wares were also made. By the late 18th century North Staffordshire
1537-549: The United Reformed Church was opened on Moorland Road, initially named the Woodall Memorial Congregational Church, in memory of William Woodall MP . In 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent , and the borough was granted city status in 1925. The new town hall was built in 1911 on Wedgwood Place, in neo-classical style, designed by Russell and Cooper. Many of
1590-522: The area, but at a small fraction of the levels at the peak of the industry. The boom came after the discovery in 1720 by potter John Astbury of Shelton , that by adding heated and ground flint powder to the local reddish clay he could create a more palatable white or Creamware . The flint was sourced from either the South Coast of England or France, then shipped to the Port of Liverpool or to Shardlow on
1643-672: The classic brown earthenware teapots and tea services for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The business was taken over in 1907 and became the Kensington Pottery in Hanley in about 1922: this pottery continued until 1937. It is understood that in about 1850 William Hines was born either in Ellesmere , Shropshire or in St Oswalds , Welsh Marches. He married Mary Mellor on 10 March 1875 and remarried when she died (reportedly not until
Burslem - Misplaced Pages Continue
1696-466: The costs of maintenance and repair. The ashes of the novelist Arnold Bennett were interred in his family tomb in the cemetery, following his death in 1931. The nearby A500 gives access to the M6 motorway . Longport railway station offers direct connections south into Stoke, east to Derby and Nottingham , and north to Crewe and Manchester . The town is straddled by two major off-road cycle paths, part of
1749-613: The entrance to each bay. Access to the station is controlled by automatic doors, at both the pedestrian entrance and coach bays. The new bus station links Hanley with towns in North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton , Crewe , Shrewsbury , and Stafford . Most services are run by First Potteries , though there are a number of smaller independent operators, such as D&G Bus , and Arriva Midlands . In addition, National Express Coaches connect Hanley with destinations including London, Birmingham , Liverpool and Manchester , with additional seasonal services to holiday destinations. As part of
1802-469: The evening economy is still active with a wide range of bars and restaurants mainly serving English and Indian food. The Market Hall , a Grade II listed building dating from 1879, lying between the market place and Queen Street, was in use until 2003, closing after its condition was judged unsafe. At Spring 2002 unemployment was 4.1% or 1,526 people in the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency; almost
1855-481: The extension being closed off in 1956. The rediscovery of this section of the building in 2007 led to tales of hauntings and ghost tours. Bass Breweries bought The Leopard in 1965 and renovated the restaurant, which they named the Arnold Bennett Suite. The building was Grade II listed on 18 April 1972. In the 21st century it became a live music venue and was extensively renovated, but it did not reopen after
1908-465: The first large town in the UK without one. Local television services is provided by BBC Midlands Today and ITV News Central . Local radio stations are BBC Radio Stoke , Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire , Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire , 6 Towns Radio and HitMix Radio , a community based radio station. In 2007 a social enterprise newspaper, Local Edition , become one of
1961-468: The first newspapers to cover the area regularly. The newspaper covered Burslem, as well as surrounding areas including Tunstall, Middleport and Cobridge, giving a voice to the people in the community. The newspaper ceased publication in 2008 and its archive is online. The Leopard public house, also known as the Leopard Inn, dates to the late 18th century. The building was refronted about 1830 and expanded in
2014-503: The formation of a Heritage Congress to protect historic properties in Stoke-on-Trent. In June 2024, the owners submitted a proposal to convert the building to a shop and 17 one-bedroom assisted living flats. Around 5 million tourists visit Stoke-on-Trent each year, supporting around 4,400 direct jobs. Stoke shows its popularity through the number of repeat visits; around 80 per cent of visitors have previously been here. Burslem has
2067-465: The generation of fine siliceous dust , lessening workers' risk of developing silicosis . In the early 1900s the process was converted to grinding bone , which had a similar effect. With the coming of pottery products distribution by railway that began in the 1840s, mainly by the London and North Western Railway and Midland Railway , there was a considerable increase in business. Potteries active in
2120-482: The new £300-million University Hospital of North Staffordshire is just three miles away by road. There were two electoral wards covering Burslem at the 2011 census, Burslem Central and Burslem Park. At the 2011 census the ethnic demographics of the Burslem Central ward were: At the 2011 census the ethnic demographics of the Burslem Park ward were: Industrial scale pottery production has drastically declined since
2173-496: The nineteenth-century industrial heritage, buildings and character have survived intact. "Burslem, an ancient town, with a market held for a long period by custom, and subsequently sanctioned by an act of parliament, is about three miles from Newcastle and two from Hanley, entitled to the precedence of other towns in this district, as claiming to be the mother, as it is the metropolis, of the Staffordshire Potteries ." "In
Burslem - Misplaced Pages Continue
2226-417: The novels of Arnold Bennett evoke Victorian Burslem, with its many potteries, mines, and working canal barges. The Burslem of the 1930s to the 1980s is evoked by the paintings and plays of Arthur Berry . Burslem contains Britain's last real working industrial district (i.e. where people live within walking distance of the factories of a single heavy industry, in this case, the potteries) and thus much of
2279-591: The potter. Sarah Benett (1850–1924), the Suffragette , member of the WSPU and social reformer lived in Burslem from 1894. William Boulton 's Providence Works and Foundry was based in Burslem, which designed and made the machinery that revolutionised the pottery industry in the second half of the 19th century. Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem , Longton , Fenton , Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent , amalgamated to form
2332-459: The records as a medieval town – St John the Baptist's Church on Cross Hill, with a stone tower dating from 1536, was extended in the 18th century, and is still standing and in use. Until the mid-1760s Burslem was relatively cut off from the rest of England: it had no navigable river nearby, and there were no good and reliable roads. By 1777 the Trent and Mersey Canal was nearing completion, and
2385-504: The redevelopment of the town and wider city, a new bus interchange was opened on John Street in March 2013, allowing the current station to be demolished to make room for further redevelopment of the town. Hanley no longer has a railway station but there was once one located on Trinity Street, on the Potteries Loop Line , which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway for passengers on 13 July 1864. The station survived for 100 years – it
2438-474: The roads had markedly improved. The town boomed on the back of fine pottery production and canals , and became known as The Mother Town of the six towns that make up the city. Hill Top Methodist Church and Sunday School opened on Westport Road in 1836. The railway station opened in 1848. The Burslem School of Art was founded in 1853. A new town hall was built in the market place in 1854, designed by G. T. Robinson of Leamington in elaborate baroque style. In 1906,
2491-589: The same rate as the West Midlands as a whole. In Burslem at 2001 unemployment was 3.2% and declining. In 2005, the building of business park units in the town. Further business parks are planned for 2006/7 just to the north in Chatterley Valley, and the south in Etruria Valley. In 2019 it was reported that the town's last bank had closed, leaving the town without any free to use cash machines , making it
2544-471: The site of the Shelton Bar steelworks . The Peak District National Park begins just ten miles north-east of Burslem. The cemetery, to the east of Sneyd Hill Park, was laid out in 1879 as a combined burial ground and recreational park. It covers 11.4 acres, and comprised walks, rides, lodges and a chapel, situated at the centre. The chapel was demolished by the council in 2008 on the basis of lack of use and
2597-455: Was a major shareholder in Port Vale and whose family are still resident in the area. Darts legend and 16-time world champion Phil Taylor was born, raised and also worked in the town. In the 17th century, Molly Leigh was resident of the town, she was accused of being a witch before her death in 1748. Painter James Astbury Hammersley also came from Burslem. William Frederick Horry owned
2650-412: Was based at Hanley Town Hall . In 1910, along with Burslem , Tunstall , Fenton , Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent it was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough. In 1925, following the granting of city status, it became one of the six towns that constitute
2703-591: Was closed in 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe , and the land is now a car park. The nearest railway station is in Stoke-on-Trent , 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south-southwest of Hanley bus station. Hanley is connected to the waterways network; it meets the Trent and Mersey Canal at Festival Park , it is also connected to the east of the country via the Cauldon Canal . Hanley has several cultural facilities such as
SECTION 50
#17328484633452756-467: Was laid out on derelict land next to the Potteries Loop Line . Mawson also used reclaimed land as the site of Hanley Park , which he designed around the same time. Both parks include water features. There are also later examples of reclaimed green space near Burslem, such as the Westport Lake , a 1970s project, and the legacy of the 1986 National Garden Festival , which imaginatively reclaimed part of
2809-476: Was the largest producer of ceramics in Britain, despite significant centres elsewhere, and relied heavily on child labor throughout the production process. Large export markets took Staffordshire pottery around the world, especially in the 19th century. Production began to decline in the late 19th century, as other countries developed their industries. After World War II it declined steeply. Production continues in
#344655