Stoke-on-Trent

The name Stoke is taken from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent, the original ancient parish, with other settlements being chapelries.[11] Stoke derives from the Old English stoc, a word that at first meant little more than place, but which subsequently gained more specific – but divergent – connotations. These variant meanings included dairy farm, secondary or dependent place or farm, summer pasture, crossing place, meeting place and place of worship. It is not known which of these was intended here, and all are plausible. The most frequently suggested interpretations derive from a crossing point on the Roman road that ran from present-day Derby to Chesterton or the early presence of a church, said to have been founded in 670 AD. Because Stoke was such a common name for a settlement, some kind of distinguishing affix was usually added later, in this case the name of the river.

The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior which can be translated as: United Strength is Stronger, or Strength United is the More Powerful, or A United Force is Stronger.[12]

An early proposal for a federation took place in 1888, when an amendment was raised to the Local Government Bill which would have made the six towns into districts within a county of "Staffordshire Potteries". It was not until 1 April 1910 that the "Six Towns" were brought together. The county borough of Hanley, the municipal boroughs of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.[13]

In 1919, the borough proposed to expand further and annex the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Wolstanton United Urban District, both to the west of Stoke. This never took place, due to strong objections from Newcastle Corporation.[14] A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill.[15] Ultimately, Wolstanton was instead added to Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1932. Although attempts to take Newcastle, Wolstanton and Kidsgrove (north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did expand in 1922, taking in Smallthorne Urban District and parts of other parishes from Stoke upon Trent Rural District. The borough was officially granted city status in 1925, with a lord mayor from 1928. When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent initially applied for city status in 1925, citing its importance as the centre of the pottery industry, it was refused by the Home Office as it had fewer than 300,000 inhabitants. The decision was overturned, however, when a direct approach was made to King George V, who agreed that the borough ought to be a city. The public announcement of the elevation to city status was made by the king during a visit to Stoke on 4 June 1925.[16]

The county borough was abolished in 1974, and Stoke became a non-metropolitan district of Staffordshire. Its status as a unitary authority was restored on 1 April 1997, although it remains part of the ceremonial county of Staffordshire. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG23).

Restored bottle kilns, Stoke-on-Trent

Colorado Bouillons Regina and teapots, vitrified tableware by Dudson Brothers Ltd.

Porcelain teapot by Henry and Richard Daniel, 1830

Since the 17th century, the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing.[17] Companies such as Royal Doulton, Dudson, Spode (founded by Josiah Spode), Wedgwood (founded by Josiah Wedgwood), Minton (founded by Thomas Minton) and Baker & Co. (founded by William Baker) were established and based there. The local abundance of coal and clay suitable for earthenware production led to the early (initially limited) development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal (completed in 1777) enabled the import of china clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware and bone china.

Other production centres in Britain, Europe and worldwide had a considerable lead in the production of high-quality wares. Methodical and highly detailed research and experimentation, carried out over many years, nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries. This was spearheaded by one man, Josiah Wedgwood, who cut the first sod for the canal in 1766 and erected his Etruria Works that year. Wedgwood built upon the successes of earlier local potters such as his mentor Thomas Whieldon and along with scientists and engineers, raised the pottery business to a new level. Josiah Spode introduced bone china at Trent in 1796, and Thomas Minton opened his manufactory. With the industry came a large number of notable 20th-century ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper, Charlotte Rhead, Frederick Hurten Rhead and Jabez Vodrey.

Chatterley Whitfield Colliery

North Staffordshire was a centre for coal mining. The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th century.[18] The Potteries Coalfield (part of the North Staffordshire Coalfield) covers 100 square miles (300 km²).[18]

Striking coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the nationwide 1842 General Strike and its associated Pottery Riots.[19]

When coal mining was nationalised in 1947, about 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke-on-Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath, Stafford and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Mossfield, Parkhall, Norton, Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton.[18] The industry developed greatly, and new investments in mining projects were planned within the City boundaries as recently as the 1990s.[20] However, 1994 saw the last pit to close as the Trentham Superpit was shut.[21]

The Stoke mining industry set several national and international records. Wolstanton Colliery, when modernised, had the deepest mining shafts in Europe at 3,197 ft.[22] In 1933, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery became the first Colliery in the country to mine one million tons of coal. In the 1980s Florence Colliery in Longton repeatedly set regional and national production records; in 1992 the combined Trentham Superpit (Hem Heath and Florence) was the first mine in Europe to produce 2.5 million saleable tonnes of coal.

Today the mines are all closed, though the scars of mining still remain on the landscape. Slag heaps are still visible on the skyline, now covered with flora and fauna. The Chatterley Whitfield site reopened as a museum two years after its closure in 1976. The museum closed in 1991 and the site became a local nature reserve. It was declared a scheduled monument by English Heritage in 1993.[23][24] The abandoned subterranean mines are inaccessible, though they still add complications to many building projects and occasionally cause minor tremors, detectable only by specialised equipment.[25]

The iron and steel industries occupied important roles in the development of the city, both before and after federation. Especially notable were those mills located in the valley at Goldendale and Shelton below the hill towns of Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks' production of steel ended in 1978—instead of producing crude steel, they concentrated on rolling steel billet which was transported from Scunthorpe by rail. The rolling plant finally closed in 2002.[26] From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the repair shops of the North Staffordshire Railway[27] and was the home of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr, Stuart and Company from 1881 to 1930.[28]

Shelton Steel Works and the mining operations were heavily involved in the World War II industrial effort. Central to the RAF's success was the Supermarine Spitfire designed by Reginald Mitchell who, whilst born at 115 Congleton Road in the nearby village of Butt Lane, had his apprenticeship at Kerr, Stuart and Company's railway works.[29]

The Michelin tyre company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent, and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. In the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant; in 2006 about 1,200 worked there.[30] RAF Meir was located on the outskirts of the city.

As well as the Six Towns, there are numerous suburbs including Abbey Hulton, Adderley Green, Ball Green, Baddeley Green, Bentilee, Birches Head, Blurton, Bucknall, Bradeley, Chell, Cliffe Vale, Cobridge, Dresden, Etruria, Fegg Hayes, Florence, Goldenhill, Hartshill, Heron Cross, Meir, Meir Park, Meir Hay, Middleport, Milton, Normacot, Norton le Moors, Oakhill, Packmoor, Penkhull, Sandyford, Shelton, Smallthorne, Sneyd Green, Trentham, Trent Vale and Weston Coyney. Blythe Bridge, Werrington and Endon, although outside the city's boundaries, are part of the built up area.

Stoke-on-Trent, as with all of the United Kingdom, experiences a temperate maritime climate, lacking in weather extremes. The local area is a little more elevated than much of Staffordshire and Cheshire, resulting in cooler temperatures year round compared to the nearby Cheshire Plain. However, on calm, clear nights this is often reversed as cold air drainage causes a temperature inversion to occur. As such, the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle area are generally not susceptible to severe frosts. The nearest Met Office weather station is Keele University, about four miles west of the city centre.

The absolute high temperature is 36.1 °C (97.0 °F),[33] recorded in July 2022, although more typically the average warmest day of the year should be 27.0 °C (80.6 °F).[34] In total, just under fourteen days should report a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.[35]

The absolute minimum temperature stands at −13.3 °C (8.1 °F),[36] recorded during January 1963. In an average year, a total of 48.3 air frosts will be registered.

Rainfall averages around 806 mm a year.[37]

Stoke is at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an environment and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire surrounding the city and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and extending into Cheshire. It is in place to prevent urban sprawl and minimise further convergence with outlying settlements such as Kidsgrove and Biddulph.[40] First defined in 1967,[40] the vast majority of area covered is outside the city, but there are some landscape features and places of interest within that are covered by the designation mainly along its fringes, these include the Trentham and Goldenhill golf courses, Hem Heath Wood Nature Reserve, Meir Heath, Barlaston Common, Caverswall Cricket Club, Park Hall Nature Reserve, Chatterley Whitfield Country Park and enterprise centre, the villages of Baddeley Edge and Ravenscliffe, Bucknall Reservoir, Caldon Canal, the River Blythe, and the Head of Trent, Wedgwood Museum and estate, Strongford Treatment Works and Trent Vale Pumping Station.

Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall

The position of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial. The title of Lord Mayor was first conferred on the City of Stoke-on-Trent by King George V who visited Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall to award the town city status on 5 June 1925.[65] The role of Lord Mayor is decided upon by a vote amongst the elected councillors; the candidates are also selected from the councillors.

Between 1910 and 1928 the Borough, and later, City of Stoke-on-Trent had a Mayor rather than a Lord Mayor. The first Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent was Cecil Wedgwood of the Wedgwood pottery dynasty.[66]

The city was one of a limited number of English districts with an elected mayor and the only council to use the 'mayor and council manager' executive arrangements,[67][68] although it was removed following a local referendum on 23 October 2008.

A local referendum approved a directly elected mayor system on 3 May 2002 by 28,601 votes to 20,578 (turnout of 27.8%).[69]

Mike Wolfe, an independent candidate, became the first directly elected mayor after an election on 17 October 2002, narrowly beating Labour Party candidate George Stevenson by just 300 votes.[70] The elected Mayor from 5 May 2005 to 5 June 2009 was Mark Meredith (Labour Party).[71] The 2005 election was notable because about 10% of the ballot papers were either spoiled or ineligible.[72] Meredith's election platform included a pledge to have another referendum on the post of elected mayor.[73] This was scheduled for May 2007 and resulted in the abolition of the mayoral system.

On 23 October 2008, voters returned to the polls to choose between modifying the system (to Mayor and Cabinet) or abolishing the position of elected Mayor. Votes were 21,231 for abolition and 14,592 for modification on a turnout of 19.23%.[74]

Following a citywide referendum abolishing the position of elected mayor, a Leader and Cabinet system was adopted on 5 June 2009. The Leader of the council is elected by councillors. Each cabinet member makes the decisions on their portfolio area and explains the decisions at the monthly cabinet meetings.[75] The current leader of the council is Cllr Jane Ashworth.[76]

Since the 2023 local elections the council has been controlled by the Labour Party.[77] Between 2015 and 2023 no party had overall control of the city council.[78]

A50 close to Longton.

Stoke-on-Trent is linked to the nearby M6 motorway at junctions 15 and 16 by the A500. Locally the A500 is known as the D road,[89] as its loop between the two motorway junctions, along with the straight section of the M6 between the junctions, resembles the shape of a capital letter D. Coincidentally, the number 500 expressed in Roman numerals is D.

The A50 provides an east–west link between the M6 and the M1 motorway; it joins up with the A500 close to the Bet365 Stadium. Improvements to the road network have led to the construction of product distribution centres in the area.[90]

Stoke-on-Trent railway station, built 1848.

Stoke-on-Trent railway station is located on the Stafford-Manchester line. The other railway stations in the city are Longport and Longton both on the Crewe-Derby line. Etruria station was closed in September 2005. Avanti West Coast Pendolino 390029 is named after Stoke-on-Trent.

A diagram of local rail services in Stoke-on-Trent.

Local public transport is provided almost exclusively by bus. Bus services are mainly operated by First Potteries. There are also several smaller companies operating bus services in the city, like D&G Bus. There are central bus stations in Hanley and Longton. National Express operate long-distance coach services from Hanley bus station. As part of the city's regeneration, a new bus station has been constructed in Hanley, allowing the old one to be demolished, making room for further redevelopment.[91] As of January 2015 there are no local authority supported bus services in the city.[92] Between 2013/14 and 2023, bus service provision shrank by 50%.[93]

Canal on New Leek Road.

The city is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. Additionally, the Caldon Canal branches off from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to Leek.

As of November 2009 there are 77 miles (124 km) of new National Cycle Network off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are now over 100 miles (160 km) of cycle paths in the urban conurbation.[94] A further £10 million of funding has now been secured for the city's cycling network, to be spent in 2009–2011 through Cycling England's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.[95]

Staffordshire University Stoke campus

There are four further and higher education institutions in the local area, the two further education colleges being City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and Stoke-on-Trent College. Formerly of Fenton, now located in a newly built structure on Leek Road, the Sixth Form college provides A Level teaching for around 1,800 students. Stoke-on-Trent College is much larger and less specialised, offering apprenticeships and adult education, and has a main campus (Cauldon Campus) in Shelton, and a secondary campus in Burslem.

The city is also home to Staffordshire University (formerly North Staffordshire Polytechnic), with its main site in Shelton, near Stoke-on-Trent railway station. It gained its university status in 1992 as one of the post-1992 universities. Keele University School of Medicine uses facilities at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Hartshill. Keele University itself was founded as the University College of North Staffordshire in 1949 with major involvement by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and is located in the nearby village of Keele.

The city currently has 15 secondary schools: Sir Thomas Boughey Academy, Birches Head Academy, Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent, Discovery Academy, Excel Academy, Haywood Academy, Ormiston Horizon Academy, Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, St Joseph's College, St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy, Ormiston Meridian Academy, St Peter's Academy, St Thomas More Catholic Academy, Stoke Studio College (with sites in Longton and Burslem), Thistley Hough Academy and Trentham High School.

A major re-structure of Stoke-on-Trent's high school system was proposed in 2007.[96] As part of these plans several established secondary schools closed or merged including Longton High School (closed 2010),[97] Mitchell High and Edensor High (merged to form The Discovery Academy),[98] St Peter's CE High School and Berry Hill High (merged to form St Peter's Academy).[99]

One of the legacies of the pottery industry was Stoke's own version of the wakes week. Although better known in industrial Lancashire, the Stoke week is known locally as the Potters' Holidays[100] or Potters' Fortnight and occurred the last week in June, the first week in July and another week in August. This gave what appeared to be strange school holidays—with the summer term having a two-week break at the end of June, then children returning to school for three weeks before taking a five-week summer holiday. This observance has disappeared from the local schools, due to decreased emphasis on traditional industries.

Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium, opened in 1997, has a 30,089 capacity.[101]

Stoke-on-Trent is the smallest city to boast two professional clubs in the English Football League. The club bearing the area's name is Stoke City, formed in 1863 and is the second-oldest professional football club in England.[102] They currently play at the Bet365 Stadium at Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, which has been their home since 1997 when they relocated from the Victoria Ground in Stoke after 119 years.[103] They were among the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888, but did not win their first and, to date, only major trophy until 1972, when they lifted the League Cup.[104]

In 1985, Stoke City were relegated from the First Division and began a 23-year exile from the top flight of English football which did not end until they won promotion in 2008, by which time the First Division had become the Premier League.[105] Stoke City reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time in 2011, but were defeated by Manchester City.[106] Stoke City were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.[107] The club and the city's most famous player is the late Sir Stanley Matthews, who began and ended his playing career with Stoke City, sandwiching a 14-year spell at Blackpool where he played in what became known as the Matthews Final.[108] He also managed Port Vale from 1965 to 1968.[108] He was the first active footballer to receive a Knighthood.[108] Matthews made 54 appearances for his country, scoring 11 times.[108] There are two statues of Matthews in the city: one in Hanley and one at the Bet365 Stadium.[108]

Vale Park, home of Port Vale. Completed in 1950, at the time of its construction it was nicknamed 'The Wembley of the North'.[109]

The city's other professional football club is Port Vale, who were formed in 1876 and play at Vale Park in the Burslem area.[110] Previous stadiums include the Athletic Ground in Cobridge (1886–1913) and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley (1913–1950).[111][112] They joined the Football League in 1892 but were forced to resign in 1907 due to financial problems, only to return in 1919.[113] Their highest league position came in 1931 when they finished fifth in the Second Division.[113]

In 1954, while in the Third Division North, Port Vale progressed to the FA Cup semi-final when they were knocked out by First Division West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park.[113] This remains the furthest they have progressed in the competition.[113] Unlike Stoke City, their local rivals in the Potteries derby, they have never played top division football and hold the record for most years spent in the second tier without ever playing in the first.[114][115] Individuals of note include John Rudge (who managed the club for 16 years from 1983 to 1999) and Roy Sproson (who made a club record 842 appearances for the club from 1950 until 1972 and was later their manager).[116][117]

Previous clubs from the city include Dresden United, a club which was disestablished before the city was federated;[118] as well as amateur clubs Meir KA (1972–2010) and Norton United (1989–2015).[119] Currently, the city is represented at amateur level by Eastwood Hanley (1946–1997; re-established in 2014) and Hanley Town (established 1966).[120][121]

The city speedway team is the Stoke Potters. Speedway was staged at the Greyhound Stadium in Sun Street, Hanley intermittently between 1929 and 1939. In 1947, the Potters were part of the post-war boom rising from Division Three of the National League to Division Two before closing in the early-1950s. The Potters were revived in 1960 and they raced in the Provincial League until the end of 1963, when the stadium was closed and the site redeveloped. Speedway was revived at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme, initially as Chesterton, before it reverted to the Stoke name. The stadium is also used for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars and BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars during the summer.

Cycle Speedway was popular in the city from the 1940s. Boys would travel all over the city to race against rival teams. The most famous team in the 1960s was Shelton Tigers; they travelled across England and Wales to race against other teams. The Tigers won the Midland League and the British "Champion's of Champions" Trophy, against Southampton.

The ski race team based at the artificial ski slope in Festival Park compete in national Snowsport England and international FIS Fédération Internationale de Ski events.

The city has a number of amateur sports clubs, including rugby union and cricket; the latter competing in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Cricket League. The cricket ground in Longton is one of the venues used by Staffordshire County Cricket Club. As well as the Longton club, Meir Heath Cricket Club are also active, though the County Ground and the Michelin Ground are no longer used for cricket.

Stoke Spitfires was the name of the city's American football team. The team eventually folded in 1992 after a record of 35–34–1. In 1994, the Staffordshire Surge was formed and played their matches in and around Stoke-on-Trent. Currently the team play at Longton Rugby Club in Division One North of the British American Football League.

The city has a sporting Hall of Fame, opened in 2011 to honour sporting legends from the city. Former Stoke City and England footballer Stanley Matthews and former darts world champion Phil Taylor were the first names to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.[122] They were followed by former Port Vale footballer Roy Sproson and England's World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks (who spent five years with Stoke City).[123]

The World Professional Darts Championship was hosted in the Jollees venue in the south of the city from 1979 to 1985. Phil Taylor has won the World Championship a record 16 times, winning the championship in both the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Two-time PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis and two-time BDO World Champion Ted Hankey are also from the Stoke area. Other well-known players from or based in Stoke include Chris Mason, Andy Hamilton and Ian White.

World champion squash player, Great Britain and England international Angela Smith, was born in the city and was largely responsible for the ladies' game going open. She is regarded as one of the most famous players of British squash.[124] Wicket-keeper Bob Taylor, who played for Derbyshire and England was born and still lives in the area. He represented England 58 times and still holds the world record for the most dismissals in the first class game (1649). In golf, Trenthams' David Lynn, the golfer, (born 1973) was the KLM Open Champion of 2004.[125]

Other notable sports people from the area include footballer Aaron Ramsdale and former players turned pundits Mark Bright, Garth Crooks and Robbie Earle; tennis player Andrew Foster; snooker players Ray Reardon, Dave Harold and Jamie Cope; field hockey player Imran Sherwani; cycling world-record holder Tommy Godwin, wrestler Peter Thornley (better known as Kendo Nagasaki), professional strongman Eddie Hall and European taekwondo champion Charlie Maddock.

From the half-timbered farmhouse vernacular of Ford Green Hall, through the 18th century canal-side Wedgwood estate of Etruria one of the hubs of the Industrial Revolution, to 19th Century country house estates e.g. Trentham Hall and railway buildings such as Stoke Station and more lately in the 20th century, the expansion and renewal of industrial, civic and amenity buildings including Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, the architecture of North Staffordshire has a history expressive of locally acquired or manufactured building materials: quarried stone, coal and clay for brick and tile-making, ash, sand gravel and cement for concrete, and also cast iron steel and timber.

Stoke-on-Trent's architecture is tied closely to the industrial heritage of the city. Bottle ovens (used for early pottery manufacture), canal-side and railway-related mill, factory, or warehouse buildings evolved - within the tightly knit street pattern of each of the six townships – from transport links and adjacency to local generationally skilled labour. Post WWII pottery factories developed a style typified by open-plan manufacturing areas, surrounded by wide expanses of window-walling from floor to ceiling, allowing good daylighting for intricate tasks such as lithography, fettling and decoration.

Colclough China Longton, a factory typical of the mid 20th Century

In 1966, Stone (Staffordshire) born Cedric Price had proposed a Potteries Thinkbelt design which sought to make use of decommissioned railway routes following the Beeching Cuts and the scarred landscape of coal mining to provide linked learning centres for a technical industry-based curriculum. The Staffordshire University Architecture course has introduced an annual Cedric Price day celebrating this and other projects of his.[126]

Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was a British physicist and writer involved in the development of, and holder of key patents for, radio. He was born in Penkhull. William Astbury (1898–1962) was an English physicist and molecular biologist who made pioneering X-ray diffraction studies of biological molecules. He was born in Longton.

The major art gallery is The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, located in Hanley. It contains a collection of fine ceramics, a rotating programme of exhibitions and a permanent collection. In 2010, it became one of the permanent homes of the Staffordshire Hoard, the most important collection of Anglo-Saxon gold yet found.

The city's Cultural Quarter in Hanley contains the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, the Regent Theatre and the Victoria Hall. There are also smaller elements, including the independent Dazed Gallery[127] and AirSpace, the city's only contemporary art gallery, artist-led and artist run.[128] The Artbay Gallery in Fenton[129] has a contemporary range of original works as well as limited editions.

Edwardian School of Art in Burslem has been refurbished with £1.2 million, and is now run without a public subsidy. The Hothouse Centre for Ceramic Design, and the Roslyn Works complex of craft studios operate in Longton. Also based in Burslem is the Barewall Gallery,[130] which has a large collection of work by local artists including original art by Arthur Berry (The Lowry of The Potteries), Jack Simcock, and by new emerging Potteries artists.

Stoke-on-Trent is the birthplace of several artists including Arthur Berry (also a novelist, playwright & poet), Glenys Barton (sculptor), Arnold Machin (sculptor, coin & stamp designer) and Sidney Tushingham, A.R.E.

The Grade II* listed statue of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, which stands adjacent to the lake at Trentham Gardens, a part of Trentham Estate, is a copy of an original work by Benvenuto Cellini, which was sculpted for Cosimo I Duke of Tuscany from 1545 to 1554. In the early 19th Century, the then Duke of Tuscany, allowed a cast of Cellini's statue to be taken for his friend, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland; it is the only bronze cast of the statue[131] The bronze sculpture was installed at Trentham in 1840 during Charles Barry's remodelling of the estate and the statue forms a focal point for his Italianate gardens located by the lake at the south end of the central axis of the parterre. Barry designed the circular platform on which the statue is set.

Perseus with the Head of Medusa sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini at Trentham Gardens

Welcoming visitors to the city as they alight from their train at Stoke-on-Trent station is a statue of Josiah Wedgwood,[132] the centrepiece to the Grade II listed Winton Square area. The statue by Edward Davis was cast in bronze in 1860 and first displayed at the 1862 London Exhibition (also known as the International Exhibition of 1862)[133] which was the successor to the 1851 Great Exhibition. Funded by public subscription, the Stoke-on-Trent unveiling took place on 24 February 1863. A replica of the statue was cast in the 1950s for the Wedgwood Barlaston factory site, where it now stands - outside the Wedgwood Museum. In Josiah's hand is an example of his pre-eminent work, the Portland Vase.

Statue of Josiah Wedgwood by Edward Davis unveiled at its present location in 1863

The Spirit of Fire[134] also known as The Man of Fire or sometimes locally as Jack Frost or even The Spiky Man, a 1964 sculpture by David Wynne, is mounted upon the façade of what was the Lewis's Department Sore (designed by the Percy Thomas Partnership). Inscription below the sculpture reads: "Fire is at the root of all things visible and invisible" - a reference to the industrial heart of The Potteries: ceramics, railways, steelmaking and mining.

Man of Fire, a 1964 sculpture installed on Lewis's Store (later Debenhams), Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

CAPO, a modern interpretation depicting the head of Josiah Wedgwood by Vincent Woropay was originally commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council for the 1986 National Garden Festival. It was moved in 2009 to an appropriate site in Festival Way close to Wedgwood's Etruria Hall home. In February 2023, the statue was demolished by council contractors during works to widen the road.[135] A subsequent investigation led to the resignation of the deputy council leader as the work had not been correctly planned or authorised by the council. The leader of the council has pledged to have the statue restored[136]

"CAPO" Modernist Sculpture depicting head of Josiah Wedgwood by Vincent Woropay © Eirian Evans via Geograph.

A Man Can't Fly, commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 1989, is a statue of "a figure of a man balancing horizontally upon one leg (arabesque, a ballet pose), by Cheshire sculptor Ondre Nowakowski (b.1954). The pose appears as a reference to Superman in flight. It stands atop a column with the words 'A MAN CAN'T FLY' repeated vertically around its circumference".[137] The location is at the Leek Road/ Glebe Street junction close to Stoke Station.

A Man Can't Fly sculpture, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

The Golden sculpture in March 2017.

The outskirts of Tunstall became home to a new public art statue called Golden in 2015. The 69 ft (21m) steel work of art by Wolfgang Buttress was privately funded with £180,000 Section 106 monies and is made from COR-TEN Steel, the same material as the Angel of the North.[138] The tapered lozenge design features powerful LED lights that will illuminate 1,500 glass prisms containing the written wishes or memories of local residents.[139] Each prism will be suspended from the main body of the sculpture by a short arm, giving the artwork a bristly appearance. It is located on the former site of the Potteries Pyramid,[140] which was to have been moved to a nearby roundabout.[141]

In October 2013 a sculpture, Unearthed (Lidice) designed by Sarah Nadin (b.1983) and Nicola Winstanley (b.1984) also known as Dashyline studios,[142] commemorating the efforts of miners to rebuild the Czech village of Lidice devastated during the Second World War was unveiled. The 6.8-metre-high (22 ft 4 in) steel sculpture cost £100,000 to build and features 3,000 tags bearing the initials of people who promise to share the story of the 1942 Lidice Shall Live movement. North Staffordshire-based Dashyline was commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council to create the artwork, which has been installed near Hanley bus station. The sculpture was manufactured and installed by local Company, Patera Engineering Ltd based in Fenton.[143]

Arnold Bennett Statue This statue celebrates the city's most famous literary son, Arnold Bennett. It was unveiled on 27 May 2017, on what would have been his 150th birthday. Located in Bethesda Street on the approach to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, the work was commissioned by the Arnold Bennett Society, and funded by the Denise Coates Foundation - then, gifted to the city. The seated figure was created by local sculptors Michael Talbot and Carl Payne.

Arnold Bennett Statue Hanley, located on the approach to Potteries Museum and Art Gallery

The city's main theatre is the 1,603-person capacity Regent Theatre, which is in Hanley. Nearby is the main concert hall, the Victoria Hall. The purpose-built theatre in the round New Vic Theatre is just outside the city's boundary in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Victorian Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall is used for smaller events. In Burslem, the Queen's Theatre has been refurbished and restored at private expense. The Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre is based in Stoke and puts on amateur productions. The previously city council-run Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre, based in Hanley, completed its £4.3m refurbishment in 2011 and is now known as the Mitchell Arts Centre. It is named in honour of one of the city's most famous sons, Reginald Mitchell, designer of the legendary World War II fighter plane, the Spitfire.

On 17 December 2015 a new 9 screen Cineworld Cinema opened in Hanley. It is situated at The Hive which is an extension to the Intu Potteries shopping centre. There is an Odeon multiplex cinema on Festival Park. The independent volunteer-run art-house cinema, The Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre, is located very near the railway station, and shows art-house and subtitled films, as well as films that have finished their run in larger cinemas.[144]

Arnold Bennett, raised in Hanley.

Through the works of Arnold Bennett, described by some as the greatest realist writer of the 20th century,[145] the "Six Towns" were sometimes known as the "Five Towns".[146] In his novels, Bennett wrote about local events in the 19th century[147] and consistently changed all proper names and associations, thus Hanley became Hanbridge and Burslem became Bursley.[148][149][150] The "Six Towns" were not federated until 1910 when Fenton was still relatively new; it was also the smallest in terms of population and area. Bennett also changed the name of the local newspaper from The Sentinel to The Signal, an identity that was subsequently adopted by the city's commercial radio station.[151]

Other notable contributors to literature include Elijah Fenton (poet), Peter Whelan (playwright), John Wain (poet, critic and scholar), Pauline Stainer (poet) and Charles Tomlinson (poet, graphic artist, translator, editor and critic).

In Jorge Luis Borges' novel "The Garden of Forking Paths", Dr. Yu Tsun goes to a suburb of Fenton to meet Stephen Albert.

Since 2010, the council's library service has run a competition to appoint a Young Poet Laureate for the city. This is a competition for local poets aged between 11 and 19. The first winner was Daniel Tatton, and he was succeeded in 2011 by Bethanie Hardie.[152]

• The Sentinel daily local newspaper
• BBC Radio Stoke the third BBC local radio station to begin broadcasting
• Signal 1 local commercial radio
• Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire local commercial radio
• 6 Towns Radio local community radio
• Cross Rhythms City Radio

Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central.

The city is to be part of the second wave of UK cities to get its own local TV Station.[153][154]

Stoke has been the birthplace of many actors and entertainers, including:

• Hugh Dancy actor
• Neil Morrissey actor
• Rachel Shenton actress
• Anthea Turner TV presenter
• Nick Hancock TV presenter
• Freddie Jones actor
• Adrian Rawlins actor
• Bruno Brookes former BBC Radio One presenter
• Dominic Burgess actor

Stoke has a vibrant music scene. The Golden Torch, a local nightclub, became the centre of the Northern soul scene in the early 1970s.[155] Shelley's Laserdome nightclub in Longton played a pivotal role in the house and rave scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, helping launch the career of Sasha and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox, until it was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police.[156] The Void, a Hanley nightclub, developed a sister relationship with Sankey's Soap in Manchester, helping the latter to revive its fortunes during the late 1990s via the promotion of a club night called Golden.[157]

Lemmy, born in Burslem

Robbie Williams is the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals", "The 80's" and the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes of the song "Me and My Shadow". The song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall.[158] In 2015, three streets in a new housing estate in Middleport were named after Williams' hit songs: Supreme Street, Candy Lane and Angels Way.[159]

Saul Hudson, the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses better known by his stage name "Slash", was born in Stoke-on-Trent. His father, Anthony Hudson, was from the area, and he spent a few of his early childhood years living in the city before moving to his mother's native United States in 1970. He did not meet many of the British side of his family until 1992 when Guns N' Roses played Wembley Stadium as part of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Slash has recalled in interviews and his autobiography that his Stoke relatives drank all of the band's considerable rider: "I witnessed one of my uncles, my cousin, and my grandfather, on his very first trip to London from Stoke, down every drop of liquor in our dressing room. Consumed in full, our booze rider in those days would have killed anyone but us."[160][161]

Lonnie Cook is a rock 'n' roll guitarist and local celebrity who played with Screaming Lord Sutch in the 1970s. He is remembered in the area for his Radio Stoke show Sunday Best, and for standing as a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate. In 2010 he started getting airplay on a New York radio station for his 1994 song "Knock Me Down, Pick Me Up". This led to the song being released for mp3 download in the US and the UK.[162]

Other notable individuals and groups from the area include Andy Moor who is a DJ and producer,[163] Gertie Gitana (music hall star and singer),[164] Lemmy, the founder of the rock band Motörhead,[165][166][167] Patricia Leonard (singer/contralto),[168] Jem Finer (banjoist, The Pogues),[169] Broken Bones and Discharge (punk band), who invented the D-beat style.[170] Experimental musician Phil Todd, best known for his Ashtray Navigations project, grew up in Madeley. Other bands to hail from the city include: This Is Seb Clarke (soul-punk), Agent Blue (alternative rock), Epilogue (prog rock), All the Young and The Title (indie).

In October 2007, Stoke-on-Trent City Council introduced a new theme tune – "Moving Forwards Together". It was described by the council as "part of our drive to help us move the city forward and create a better Stoke-on-Trent for people to live, learn, work and enjoy".[171]

Murdoc Niccals, a fictional member of the group Gorillaz with the role of bass guitarist is (in his constructed biography) said to have been born in Stoke-on-Trent.[172]

The cat in Dick and Dom in da Bungalow once sang a song about Stoke-on-Trent.[173]

Havergal Brian (1876–1972), the classical composer and music writer, who composed 32 symphonies and five operas,[174] was born in Stoke (in Dresden). The large scale and unfashionable style of his compositions led to them being neglected for most of his lifetime and not a note of his music was commercially issued on record during his lifetime. He died without having heard many of his finest works.

Potteries Oatcake.

Staffordshire oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread. Oatcakes can be eaten cold or hot with any sweet or savoury fillings. Lobby, a stew not unlike Lancashire hotpot, is still made by local people.

Stoke Pride is the city's annual pride march that has been running since 2005, although it was not officially called Stoke Pride until 2008. It is a celebration of the city's LGBT community and attracts visitors from many different areas across the country.[175] Originally held in Hanley, the event was held at Northwood Park until 2016 and has since moved to Hanley Park in 2017 attracting over 7,000 attendants, six times the amount of the previous year. It continued in 2018 with increased attendance,[176] and in 2019.[177] It was due to continue in 2020, on 20 June, but was postponed because of COVID-19.[178]

• East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States of America
• Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany

• Local Information from The Sentinel newspaper
• Local Information from the BBC