Miscellaneous Articles

This beautiful building of Holy Trinity, Hartshill was opened on Monday, 10 October  1842. From an early hour Hartshill was crowded by of what were called at the time “respectable visitors” wishful to attend the ceremony of consecration.  At 11 o’clock, the Bishop of Hereford arrived by which time the clergy of the neighbourhood, and many from a distance had been in attendance to receive his Lordship. About fifty members of the clergy were present.

The arrival of the Bishop was the signal for a procession from the main road the church drive and into the church. The children of the infant’s school headed the procession, immediately followed by the bishop and clergy; after whom came a vast body of ladies and gentlemen who took an interest in the proceedings. The entire number was calculated at above 2000 people very many more than the church could contain. Notwithstanding the solemn nature of the ceremony, the great admiration excited by the architectural beauty of the building caused a sense of admiration by the gathered company. The consecration service was conducted impressively after which the Rev C. Leigh of Newcastle, preached the sermon from Romans “for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?”. Sermon was considered most appropriate by the congregation and the greatest expression was shown by all to the benevolence of the worthy founder of the church Mr Herbert Minton.

Hopefully this account will prove to be welcomed by the current residents of the district as a reminder of just how Hioly Trinity Church, Hartshill was indeed a great asset to the district. One page

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.

On a typical early November morning in 1842 a group of friends and relatives stood around and open grave in St John’s churchyard, Burslem, to pay their respects to Thomas Roe, a well-known shoemaker of the town.

But this was not a typical death as it was clouded in mystery and disbelief. Whispers between mourners as to the cause of death almost beggared belief as the word ’blasphemy’ remained unspoken but rather mild in fear of the consequences.t is interesting to read the ’view upon death’ (inquest) held in Burslem three days after the funeral of Thomas Roe, especially following the 1913

As to the cause of death it was agreed that he died by the visitation of God ‘. One witness at the inquest stated that, while arguing with people in a pub he stated: 2 I would rather go to hell than to heaven. I intend to go there!” At another public house he observed:” someday the devil will come to me, and say, ‘I’m come for the now’ and I shall say to him, ‘well, I’m ready for thee!

Such remarks, it was reported, could scarcely be believed to have come from a sane mind. In the case of Roe, it was literally exemplified in the passage ‘in the midst of life we are in death’. All this was within an hour after being in the street in apparent good health. Following the enquiry, the inquest jury returned a verdict of ‘died by the visitation of God ‘- so be aware!’  1 page.

From the early days of the workhouse, Christmas was celebrated with the prospect of additional fare of roast beef and plumb pudding with a little entertainment for the children whilst the adults had additional tobacco for the men and tea for the women. As early as 1899, pressure was placed on the Spittals Workhouse by the Local Government Board in London that children should no longer be brought up in Workhouse Institutions where they were exposed to many of the undesirables of society. It was finally accepted that individual large homes, grouped together, each under the control of a ‘house mother’ was to become the norm where children could have the experience of a home and attend local schools and churches along with other children.

Mother used to get us to write a letter to Santa with three items we would like but Mother said we might be lucky and get just one. Most would ask for writing or drawing set or perhaps a toyshop, little things like that or a game, but it was not an expensive one like today.

An insight into life in a children’s home in the 1940s. Great educational aid.

Three x A4 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.

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.