man 9 1423 – 1461 Henry VI 25
£5.00Court Record 1423 – 1461 2p x A4 pages
All transcribed from Latin from the original rolls
min 1 Thomas Minton, Master Potter
£2.00Thomas Minton was one of a number the famous potters towards the end of the eighteenth century such as Spode, Whieldon, and Wedgwood. He was born Shrewsbury in 1766 commencing his employment in the 1780s as an apprentice transfer print and engraver. specialising in copperplate. Upon his completion of his apprenticeship he went to London where he executed commissions for Spode and others. Whilst there he married Miss Sarah Webb shortly afterwards, he and his wife removed to Stoke. After twenty-six years of engraving Minton decided to try his hand at potting for himself by this time, he had already engraved the famous Willow pattern, adapted from a design of Chinese origin.
At Stoke he rented one of four houses in a rather dilapidated condition that had been built by Thomas Whieldon called Bridge House at the junction of what was Whieldon Road and Church Street. In April of that year at the ages of thirty-three Minton and set up his own pottery factory for the manufacture of white glazed earthenware tableware in 1793. Three pages.
min 2 Thomas Minton, Master Potter – the wider picture.
£4.00The 1790s was a time of major changes to the geography of Stoke with the cutting of two major transport facilities, first the turnpike road to Hanford (London Road) and then the canal from Stoke to Newcastle both opening up development opportunities in town. But first he had to grasp the opportunity to set up his own works as an ideal plot of land in the town of Stoke became available in 1793. It was in London Road with a good turnpike road. Later with a new canal the Stoke to Newcastle canal gave him direct acsess direct into his new factor in London Road – both for expoerts and the unloading of raw materials.
In 1796 Minton went into partnership with Joseph Paulson who was already producing china (porcelain containing bone ash) at a factory on land he purchased in 1792Â just across the road from Minton.
The artical then continues with other partnership and the development of some of his best known early products. Thomas had two sons Thomas and Herbert both being taken into partnership. Thomas Webb decided to enter holy orders and in 1821 left Stoke. The title of the company known as Thomas Minton and Sons was dissolved and reverted back to the form of Thomas Minton. The termination of the partnership was brought about by the desire of Thomas Webb to study for the church. Subsequently, whilst he was the Rector of Durham, he gave the sum of £2,000 to be invested to provide a salary of a priest for the newly parish of Penkhull. It was his son, Samuel Minton who became the first incumbent of Penkhull Church.
Enough for now but this piece is just a shortened version of how the full article moves on to discribe the life of Thomas Minton. Three pages and photos. Three x A4 pages
mis 1 A Personal prospective of post-war family hardships.
£1.00Probably the most significant thing for the immediate post war years was rationing and little money. For families it must have been especially hard for mothers and hardships continued as for a decade following 1945. What is more surprising they are all within a person’s lifetime and have no relationship to present-day austerity.
As children we only had new clothes at Eastertime and these were purchased from the Co-op Emporium in Liverpool Road, Stoke, with the ‘divvy’ mother received on what we had spent at the co-op over the year. I was totally fascinated by the overhead wires carrying the Dart Cash Carriers from every corner of the store to a central elevated cashier’s desk.
Just a short part of an interesting view of life in the early 1950s. 2 pages
One of the highlights was when our landlord Mr. Bourne decided it was time to replace the ducket lavatory with actual clean fresh flushing one. The whole yard was dug-up for a water supply from the kitchen. I could not believe it; it was flushed with clean water you could drink – such wonders of the world I thought. But having water laid on brought a whole new set of problems in the winter months with freezing. Old rags were used as lagging to wrap around the pipe, but this was not sufficient. So, in addition a paraffin lamp had to be secured and placed by the pipe to keep the water from freezing ultimately leading to a burst-pipe and possibly no water for weeks.
mis 11 Highway Robbery in North Staffordshire
£2.00My guess is that the words ‘highway robbery’ or ‘stand and deliver’ conjure up words that belong to the past and probably have little equivalent in use today. However, in the 17th and 18th centuries they were frequently used so was ‘money or your life’. There was however a distinction between ‘highway robbers’ who were people on foot, whereas ‘highwaymen’ were on horse-back and promoted by the most famous highwayman of all Dick Turpin. Turpin had a short life of thirty-four years 1705-1739. He was the son of an alehouse keeper, and apprenticed to a butcher, but later known for his cattle stealing. He joined a notorious gang of deer stealers and smugglers in Essex later turning to highway robbery in Lincolnshire with his partner Tom King. After shooting his partner by accident he fled to Yorkshire and changed his name. In 1739, he was caught and jailed for horse theft in York.
The thought if Dick Turpin could be duplicated, yes his rewards would be far greater that those of North Staffordshire where you would rob and receive severe custodial punishment for just a silk scarf or a sheet. The author uses accurate press reports to illuminate life and the consequence. A great read and an asset for school, colleges or humanities. Three pages. Nearly 1500 words.
mis 12 A brief introduction to History and Archaeology of Stoke.
£2.00Stoke Market, built in 1900 still dominates the central section of Church Street. It is of red brick in the Flemish style with curly gables and a central tower. Next to this stood the former National Provincial Bank dating from the 1890’s built also of red brick in the Jacobean style. The opposite side of the road there is a mixture of properties, but mostly of the mid-late 19th centuries for which the upper floors still retain the original architecture.
The history of Stoke-upon-Trent is interrelated with the parish church of St. Peter-ad-Vincula. It is known that there has been a church on this site from 805a.d. but probably was a firmer site for Pagan worship.
Prior to the coming of the industrial revolution Stoke was the place where the parish church, rectory and parish clerks house was situated. There were no other buildings in the immediate vicinity except an old Inn known by the sign of the Red Lion. (now demolished). Â In 1296, Stoke was the joint largest parish in the country and lates there became a number of Chapels of Ease dotted around North Staffordshire but remained under the authority of the Rector of Stoke. They became separate parishes by an Act of Parliament in 1807 as the parish was becoming too burdensome for a single priest and a curate.
Stoke town formed a part of the Township of Penkhull with Boothen until it became a Borough in 1875. Â From early times, the inhabitants of the township did not live in Stoke town, but in either the small hamlet of Boothen, half a mile to the South or the larger Domesday Village of Penkhull standing high above the town to the Southwest.
This article is packed with date from 1807 and follows through with details of the towns development to become a commercial success with the building of a Town Hall which still remains the base of authority but other advances such as the public market and so many other examples of early developments during the 19th century. Again, a good read but also an asset for students of all levels.