Miscellaneous Articles

The history of the new family home of Josiah Spode II, The Mount built in Penkhull in 1808 and still stands as a testament to his wealth of a potter. The beautiful dome covered entrance stand proud as it overlooks Clayton and Newcastle under Lyme, and importantly away from the grime and smoke from the town of Stoke, where his factory stood and contributed to the serious issue of pollution of the area.

This is a comprehensive history, covering many documents, photographs, sales documents and contents as well as details of the Mount Farm and the importance of its location. From the death of Spode in 1827 the story continues with the number of tenants who occupied the home from pottery manufactures, a girls posh finishing school, a home to one of Stoke on Trent leading solicitor Mr. Frederick Bishop who sold of much of the land. A huge amount of original research has gone into this over a long period of time and is a much-valued contribution both to the social and economic history of the area but to the important development of Penkhull itself from around the 1870s.

twenty four pahes including phiotographs

The 1851 census provides and unique account Mrs Allbut’s Ladies Finishing School which occupied the Mount from that date. Again, much material has been un-earthed to capture and provide an insight of its development; problem with having a son in a female institution; fees; lessons taught and where the ladies came from – one even from Calcutta. A great contribution to the history of the largest house in the district and a good product to stimulate discussion is schools or colleges. Three x A4 printed pages.

The thought of Stoke town being transferred to Newcastle in 1831 nearly happened.

The 1830s was a critical time in local and national history with Parliamentary reform top of the agenda. In March 1831, a proposal to abolish the old system of parliamentary elections and to make the voting system dependent upon a £10 per annum rental value of household property to qualify for a vote and then only for men which became the Reform Act of 1832. There was no representation of the six towns by an M.P. The Borough of Newcastle had one. Within the proposed John Russell’s Reform Bill, it empowered a commission to add populous districts such as the six towns to existing Boroughs.

Leading business men in the town including Herbert Minton thought that Stoke would prosper far more by being part of Newcastle.   Boothen and Penkhull (Stoke-upon-Trent) would be transferred to the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme . A a public meeting held on April 6th 1831 in the old town hall in Hill Street.

It was first suggested that the proposal for uniting Stoke with Newcastle would be in opposition to the wishes of the Burgesses of Newcastle. The only benefit, as advocated to Stoke was that it would provide an effective police force and a local magistrate. Also, there was the advantage of the union with Newcastle. The debate continued with one speaker after another. Large numbers tried to get into the town hall, so the meeting tyransferred to a piece of aloping ground just above. One page only but worth a read to follow just what could have happened that would affected the development of Stoke on Trent as a whole.

By the 1840s the annual Wakes festival became an intrinsic part of the Potteries calendar as each town was described as “full of jollity”.

The “wake” of the Parish of Stoke  in 1847 was, in reality a continual series of pleasure fares, and merrymaking, for the towns of Stoke, Fenton, Longton, Hanley and Shelton. Even by then Hanley had become the centre of attraction. Here were tents, sideshows, stalls, food, and drink outlets and shows with performances every thirty minutes with their own individual gimmicks to attract a person to spend just 2 pence.

It was until recently that it was fashionable for those considering themselves the ‘upper classes’ of society to speak of the sovereign people as the “unwashed”, but in the potteries save and except stray collier in his working dress it would be difficult to find a man, woman, or child, when from their employment, with an unwashed faces or unclean hands as they are all well dressed and scrupulously clean in their Sunday best as they promenaded around town centers and above all wanted to be seen as such. Four x A4 pages full of atmosphere.

My guess is that few in the city are aware that Hanley Town Hall has become redundant because of council services being amalgamated with better use of council stock. This prominent Hanley building became a town hall in 1886, prior to which it was the prestigious Queens Hotel. Sadly, for a combination of reasons its life as a hotel extended just less than twenty years, but no one has over the last one hundred and forty odd years explored its demise, and yet its short life is full of intrigue and wonder as to why the most attractive building in North Staffordshire closed its doors.

The need for such a hotel came about because from the late 18^th century, the combined townships of Hanley and Shelton were rapidly expanding with Hanley as the central town of the six and where most of local business was conducted and meetings were held.

In 1857, because of its growth and importance, the township of Hanley with Shelton become the first incorporated borough of the six towns leaving the other five behind. It became the prominent town of the Potteries where its leaders and influential businesspeople were set on a course for Hanley to become the central and most important town in North Staffordshire.

With its new-found status of a county borough, the town council and leading citizens came to realise that to attract new business to the town that a hotel which outshone all others was important to its growth. As a result, they came together to form the Hanley Hotel Company in July 1864 offering four thousand shares at £5 each for sale. Hanley, they declared was the centre of the Potteries and frequented by china and earthenware dealers, commercial travellers and as such there was an urgent need for public functions and superior accommodation associated with a progressive town like Hanley. Indeed it was the most impressive hotel in all of the potteries six towns.

This four page history identifies the trials and tribulations that fell onto the Queens until it was purchased by Hanley Borough Council. A further good read of how a depressed financial state of the period can loose such a building. Four Pages.

In reality there has been no potters holiday for a number of years as the industrial landscape of the Potteries of thirty years ago has long gone as there are no longer a pottery industry to speak of, no coal mines employing thousands or the Michelin at its height employing over seven thousand employees. To be correct prior to the 1970s the title was the wakes weeks but then lost its significance as all the large industries and the schools of north Staffordshire voted to change the date from the first two weeks in August to the last week in June and the first week in July to become new the potters holiday.  Why, because the weather patterns had changed, and early August became consistent with bad weather. Before the 2^nd World War there was only one week’s holiday and that was with no pay until 1937. Two weeks holiday came after the second world war.

But what were the origns?, Well, you’ve read it here first in the Sentinel remember for press reports in 1838 the wakes in Stoke was described as an ancient festival. In fact it dates from Anglo-Saxon times probably the 6^th century when the junction of the Trent and Fowley formed a religious site for pagan worship which incorporated the festival of Lamas, a holiday celebrated on the 1st August.

However, by the late 18th century the religious aspect had been lost and became a time for holidays and enjoyment in all its varities for the working people of Stoke-on-Trent.

More than 136,000 people decided to take a holiday as the fear of it being their last for some years was dominant in their minds. Over 34,000 left the potteries on the Friday and on the Saturday, 52,000 travelled by special trains, 35,000 by ordinary service and 15,000 by coach, car, or cycle. This was even though the weather predictions were not good, but the threat of rain impaired the cheerfulness of the crowded platforms.     Three pages x A4

Although this article is a history of the Newcastle Canal its origins stem from the opening of the Trent and Mersey canal in 1766. It’s from this time that the industrial revolution in the six towns took off as this new mode of transport from roads to canals.
It enabled raw manufacturing materials and coal delivered almost to the door at a smaller cost, quicker with less damage to good than previously. This advantageous mode of transport gave an urgency to extend its waterways for others to take advantage of increased sales at lower costs. One such emphasis was to create a branch from the Trent and Mersey at Stoke through to the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme to bring coal from the mining village of Silverdale to markets both in the Potteries and further afield. And in addition to bring much needed materials to the manufacturing town of Newcastle under Lyme. In 1795, the year of Wedgwood’s death, this new canal was cut from Stoke to Newcastle but because of the hills of Penkhull and Hartshill it was necessary to take a route the long way around on level ground of four miles. Its purpose, according to the preamble of the Act, was to provide for Newcastle and the establishments and manufactories near to it with a link to the main canal at Stoke and thereby the whole of the midlands and the Liverpool docks and to assist the agriculture of the neighbourhood of the canal by a supply of materials. A four x A4 pages long and nearly 2000 words long it follows the growth and the decline of the canal.
It also covers events that occurred because it was a canal and the drowning of a Bus Conductor whilst saving the life of a little girl. Other drownings are also listed as well as the Spittles Workhouse and Newcastle dumping raw sewage and with-it major health issues. A further good article for the study of social history as well as humanities.