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TOWNS & VILLAGES -
North Staffordshire & The Staffordshire Moorlands
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You may view the information for ALL the towns and villages
in North Staffordshire & The Staffordshire Moorlands (the page may be very large)
or
You can view your
preferred location from the list on the left.
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Stoke-on-Trent,
affectionately known the world over as "The
Potteries", is a unique city made up of six
separate towns: Tunstall, Burslem,
Hanley (the City Centre), Stoke,
Fenton and Longton. The City is the
centre of the UK ceramic industry and home to some
of the world's greatest pottery manufacturers,
including, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode.
A visit to the City's
award-winning museums offers a fascinating glimpse
into the area's rich industrial heritage. The
Potteries Museum houses the world's largest
collection of Staffordshire ceramics together with
a Mark II Spitfire, designed by locally-born
Reginald Mitchell, and at the Gladstone Pottery
Museum you can get an insight of life at a 19th
century pottery factory, and test your own pottery
skills by throwing a pot or making an ornamental
flower. The Etruria Industrial Museum was
originally a bone and flint mill and the original
steam engine which powered the mill is in steam
the first Sunday of every month.
For unbeatable family entertainment, look no
further than the Visitor Centres of the various
potteries. The larger ones, Wedgwood, Spode and
Royal Doulton all offer museums, craft
demonstration areas, audio visual presentations,
factory tours and restaurants but many of the
smaller factories have shops providing excellent
shopping opportunities for anyone seeking a
bargain. Often the products for sale may be
labelled as "seconds" but the untrained eye would
not be able to find any imperfection.
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There's nowhere better to
shop for pottery than here in The Potteries.
With over 40 pottery factory
shops around the City, you can find everything
from fine bone china and figurines to tableware
and mugs, all at bargain prices.
The City Centre is a vibrant
and exciting shopping and entertainment centre,
offering major high street stores, a busy and
lively market and the award-winning Potteries
Shopping Centre.
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In the City
Centre, you can
also find
Festival Park,
original site of
the 1986
National Garden
Festival, and
now home to a 10
screen Odeon
Cinema, a water
fun pool, a dry
ski centre, and
a colourful
canalside marina
with restaurant.
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The "loyal and ancient"
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme - a Borough
with not only a proud 800-year history but also a
modern and exciting future.
Although there is still a
debate over the precise origins of Newcastle, the
first formal recognition of the Borough
undoubtedly came after the granting of an 1173
Charter by Henry II, with the town's name
springing from the building of the castle and the
early Lyme Forest.
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The town began to expand
around the gates of the medieval castle and the
development of the unusually wide Ironmarket and
High Street helped Newcastle's market to
flourish.
Traditional outdoor markets
are still held on "The Stones" six days a week
and the town centre is renowned locally and
nationally for its floral displays. |
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The Borough
itself involves
a mix of
attractive rural
villages,
together with
the two main
towns of
Newcastle and
Kidsgrove.
Villages in the
large rural
area, some of
which date back
to Anglo-Saxon
times, include:
Ashley,
Audley, Betley,
Keele,
Loggerheads,
Madeley, Maer,
Mow Cop, and
Whitmore.
The Borough's
position in the
centre of the
country has
ensured that
transport has
played a major
part in its
growth over the
centuries and
its proximity to
today's motorway
network makes it
an ideal base
for touring
North
Staffordshire
and the
surrounding
counties.
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A typical rural village with
church and a couple of pubs, Ashley lies adjacent
to Loggerheads approximately 9 miles to the South
West of Newcastle. One of the pubs, the Meynell
Arms is named after Hugo Meynell who won the
Ashley estate in a game of cards!
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This village, located on the route of a Roman
road and set on a hilltop, has Anglo-Saxon
origins although most of it developed in the mid
19th century.
In the chancel of St James' Church, which dates
back 700 years, is a full size monumental brass
of Thomas d'Audley from approx 1385.
From nearby Bignall Hill, there is a magnificent
view all round with Snowdon, Beeston Castle &
the Cheshire Plain, Jodrell Bank telescope,
Liverpool, and the Peak District all visible on
a clear day.
There are several good eating places / pubs and
the countryside, particularly to the north, is
very green and rural. There are country walks
along public footpaths which skirt and cross
farmland - ordnance survey maps are advisable.
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Blink as you drive through and
you could miss this village which is more of an
area than a collection of dwellings. The old
village forge can be seen at Balterley Smithy
where farm horses were shod and agricultural
implements were made before mechanisation.
But nearby is a jewel for many
that they could easily miss. Turn north at
Balterley and you reach the small hamlet of
Englesea Brook. The old chapel built in 1828 has
also been opened as a museum of Primitive
Methodism and, if this interests you, it is well
worth a visit.
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A small linear village,
mentioned in the Doomsday Book, on the main route
from Keele to Crewe/Nantwich. There are numerous
attractive black & white buildings and most of the
village has been designated as a conservation
area.
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During term-time, the
village bustles with activity from the students
at Keele University which takes its name from
Keele Hall where the university was first
started in 1949.
In addition to its academic
uses, the Hall also houses The Terrace
Restaurant which is open to the public and
affords views of the grounds.
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Although its postal address
is "Nr Crewe, Cheshire", Madeley is still in
Staffordshire but within a few miles of borders
with Cheshire and Shropshire.
It is a rural community with an attractive mill
pool which is the focal point of the village and
home to a variety of swans, ducks and geese and
is particularly attractive.
Its location is ideal for exploring Shropshire
and Cheshire with the picturesque town of
Nantwich, Bridgemere Garden Centre and Stapeley
Water Gardens all less than a 30 minute drive
away (see Attractions).
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A pleasant little village with
an attractive sandstone church standing on high
ground looking down on the impressive Maer Hall.
In 1839, when the hall was owned by Josiah
Wedgwood II, son of the famous potter, his
daughter married her cousin, Charles Darwin, who
started work on his "Origin of the Species" whilst
staying at the hall. Nearby Maer Hills is an area
of mainly coniferous woodland with wide forest
tracks and public footpaths providing excellent
walking opportunities.
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Not far from Maer on the A51
towards Woore is the beautiful Dorothy Clive
Garden.
The entrance from the main
road is a plain gateway, almost hidden from
view, but what it hides is an amazing display of
plants and colour. Teashop.
Tel 01630 647237 (see Attractions).
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The A51 holds another
delight for garden fans.
About three miles further
north just past Woore is the famous Bridgemere
Garden World, Europe's largest centre growing
more plants in more varieties than any other in
Britain.
Extensive shop plus Egon
Ronay recommended coffee shop/restaurant (see
Attractions). |
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This hill-top village is
famous for its "castle", visible on the skyline
for miles around.
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It is, in fact, a folly built to improve the
view from Rode Hall three miles away.
It was here that, in May 1807, Primitive
Methodism was born when two local men called an
open-air meeting which lasted 14 hours.
When the castle was given to the National Trust
in 1937, 10,000 Methodists met on the hill to
mark the occasion.
A Museum of Primitive Methodism is now open at
Englesea Brook (See Balterley).
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Mow Cop Castle from a
cross-stitch pattern available from local
suppliers:
Speciality
Needlecraft,
Biddulph |
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A rural village with an
attractive church, village pub and Whitmore
Hall, home of the Cavenagh-Mainwaring family,
which is open to the public May-Aug, Tues/Wed,
2-5.30pm.
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Whitmore's Mainwaring
Arms, sits on a crossroads. The main A53
Newcastle to Shrewsbury road is the major
road but the minor one which crosses it was
once far more important for this was the
coach road between Liverpool and London. |
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The countryside hereabouts
offers excellent opportunities stroll in peace
and tranquillity.
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A small village with a village
green, canalside pub and set in attractive
countryside. Barlaston Downs, a small area of
bracken covered hills with a small stream,
provides pleasant family walking.
Just outside the village is
the Wedgwood pottery factory with its visitor
centre.
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A small dormitory town on
the southern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, Blythe
Bridge is home
to the Foxfield Railway, a steam railway run as
an attraction by volunteer enthusiasts
on what was once a colliery line.
(See Attractions).
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Between the county town of
Stafford and the City of Stoke-on-Trent lies one
of Staffordshire's best loved landscapes, the
gently unfolding Sow Valley. And what better way
to visit this beautiful countryside than by way of
historic Eccleshall (pronounced Eccle-shawl), a
place to rest awhile, to take refreshments or
simply to browse through the shops.
The High Street, once a coaching route from London
to Chester, has retained a charm that many a small
town has since lost. Its buildings, dating mainly
from the 18th and 19th centuries, are distinctive
and lead to the mediaeval sandstone church
standing on higher ground between a group of fine
Georgian houses and rich farmland beyond.
The arcades in front of the two coaching inns (The
Crown and The Royal Oak) once provided shelter for
the Butter Market. There's no longer a regular
market but local produce such as The Eccleshall
Pie, farmhouse cheeses and confectionery can still
be found along the street.
There are a number of attractions nearby,
including a garden centre and nursery, and as a
touring base it is ideally located. The village
also has several very good places to eat.
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The canal town of Stone claims
it is THE place to shop, eat and have fun.
Taking advantage of the free parking facilities,
visitors are able to enjoy a wide range of
specialist food, clothes and gift shops, beauty
salons and a fine selection of restaurants to suit
all tastes and pockets (and even a floating
restaurant). The comfort and safety of a
pedestrianised High Street makes for a relaxing
time and for peace of mind the Town is covered by
Closed Circuit Television 24 hours a day.
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Night time in Stone offers
good music, eating and drinking by the
illuminated canal; English, French, Chinese,
Mexican and Italian cuisine.
For those in search of gentle exercise there are
canal and riverside walks with lovely picnic
areas and the Stone Town Trail adds a
fascinating history lesson.
For the more athletic there are excellent sports
facilities at Westbridge Park and Stonefield
Park and a swimming pool open to the public at
Alleynes Sports Centre. |
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At the heart of
Stone’s thriving business and community life is
SMILE, "the Stone Marketing Initiative for the
Local Economy"; a unique partnership between the
Town Council and town commerce.
SMILE’s creed is that Stone is a great place to
work, rest and play and to celebrate completion
of the town’s new £1/2M pedestrianisation scheme
in September 1997, a plane flying a banner
around the district invited everyone to a huge
free street party. Up and down the high street
were clowns, fire-eaters, jugglers and other
performers and as the music on the main stage
played and played the townsfolk of Stone ate,
drank and made merry. Thousands celebrated and
SMILE’s first big event was such a success that
by the time Sir Stanley Matthews switched on the
Christmas lights later that year, attendance had
virtually doubled.
The new-look high street has given SMILE the
canvas on which to draw up plans to make Stone
the most attractive and vibrant town in the
Midlands.
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Leek, "Capital of the
Moorlands", is a town with very interesting past
and anyone who enjoys discovering how history
affects the present will not be disappointed by a
stay here.
From 17th century, the town developed as an
industrial centre based on textiles, particularly
silk and dyeing, with many large multi-storey
mills of which several are still used today -
although not necessarily for their original
industry.
However, there are still textile manufacturers in
the town and several "factory shops" selling
famous brand names direct to the public.
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The open market, held every
Wednesday in the Market Place which is still
covered with cobbles, was first established by
Royal Charter in 1208.
Adjacent is the Butter Market which today houses
stalls selling a variety of goods and produce. |
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There are many attractive
buildings in the town which was particularly
influenced by the Sugden family. William, a
Yorkshire architect, came to Leek in 1848 to
oversee the construction of stations on the
Churnet Valley
Railway. He set up in business
in Leek and his eldest son, William Larner
Sugden, joined the firm in 1881.
The firm was responsible for the design of a
wide variety of buildings in the town;
residences for the gentry, shops, factories,
schools and other public buildings of which the
most prominent is probably the Nicholson
Institute and the adjoining School of Art built
between 1880 and 1900.
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The Brindley Mill in Mill
Street houses a museum to this supposedly
illiterate engineer who was responsible for the
construction of many local canals and the first
Harecastle canal tunnel at Kidsgrove north of
Stoke-on-Trent.
These canals were responsible for much of the
development of North Staffordshire as they
enabled the cheap and convenient transportation
of raw materials and manufactured goods.
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One of his major
achievements in
this area was
the construction
of the Cauldon
Canal which
linked the
Churnet valley
with "The
Potteries" and
via the Trent &
Mersey canal to
the world
beyond.
The town is
dominated by St
Edward's church.
The present
building dates
back to 1297
when a
disastrous fire
destroyed its
predecessor and
boasts a
magnificent
timber roof of
the nave where
each cross beam
was hewn from a
separate oak
tree. The
Ashenhurst
monumental brass
inside the
church became so
popular with
brass-rubbers
that they were
in danger of
causing
irreparable
damage and the
process is now
prohibited.
No description
of Leek could be
complete without
mentioning the
antique shops
which seem to
flourish in the
town. On
Saturdays there
is even an
antiques and
crafts market.
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From Leek, taking the A53
Buxton road, you will find "Ramshaw Rocks" and
"The Roaches", outcrops of dark millstone grit
popular with climbers but pleasant countryside
for any lovers of the outdoors.
The black rocks have caused this area of high
moorland to be named the "dark peak" as distinct
from the "white peak", limestone areas further
east and south.
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Continuing on
this road will
bring you to the
turning to
Flash, "Highest
Village in
England - 1,158
feet above sea
level" and to
Three Shires
Head where the
county
boundaries of
Staffordshire,
Cheshire, and
Derbyshire all
meet.
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Although this once quiet
village has been made famous world-wide by Alton
Towers, one of Britain's top tourist destinations
situated on the opposite side of the Churnet
valley, it still has other attractions for the
visitor.
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Alton Castle was built on
the site of a Norman castle.
It was begun in 1847 to a design by the
architect Pugin (of Houses of Parliament fame).
It is thought that the Earl of Shrewsbury wanted
it constructed to house priests but Pugin was
not enthusiastic about the idea of a castle to
house priests and it was left incomplete.
The castle is approached from the village
walking on a bridge over the moat.
The Catholic Church in Birmingham now owns it
and uses it as a Catholic youth centre offering
a variety of outdoor activities.
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The idea for Alton Towers
came from the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury but Pugin
was a great friend of the Earl's nephew, John
Talbot, who succeeded him as 16th Earl.
With Pugin's help he
enlarged the house itself and was responsible
for the construction of many of the Catholic
churches in the area. |
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One of the biggest
restoration projects undertaken by the National
Trust has been that of the gardens of Biddulph
Grange.
Designed by James Bateman,
the gardens are a magical world of golden
buffaloes, dragons, dark tunnels and mystical
creatures. (See Attractions) |
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This view of Butterton, which lies within the
Peak National Park, shows the rolling
countryside in which it stands.
This is White Peak country with many dry
limestone valleys, and disappearing rivers.
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An open air market is held on
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday in this small but
busy town.
The Catholic church with its 200ft spire, designed
by Pugin and paid for by the 16th Earl of
Shrewsbury, is impressive if a little over ornate.
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Cheddleton is the site of a
Flint Mill and museum. It was to here that flints
were brought by boat from Kent, loaded into kilns
where they were burned for several days to make
them easier to grind, before being crushed in the
mill powered by wheels driven by the waters of the
Churnet. The flint powder was then transported via
the adjacent Cauldon Canal to the Potteries where
it was mixed with clay to make the pottery
products stronger. This industrial heritage site
has now been preserved and is open to the public
(see Attractions).
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Cheddleton Station, designed
by Pugin, is home to the
Churnet Valley
Railway, another steam railway
run by enthusiasts who have seen their hard work
rewarded as they have gradually managed to
acquire more of the route to extend their
service.
They now run from Leek
Brook to Froghall, a trip which includes one of
the longest tunnels on any preserved railway
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Attractions). |
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There is little at Froghall
except the impressive copper factory of Thomas
Bolton & Sons who, from a previous plant three
miles upstream on the River Churnet at Oakamoor,
made the 20,000 miles of copper wire necessary to
produce the core of the first trans-Atlantic
telephone cable.
Today, the canal basis at Froghall wharf gives the
visitor the opportunity to experience the beauty
of the area from a different perspective. Canal
boat trips are run from the wharf, including some
evening meal trips (see Attractions for details).
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The pleasant countryside in
which it stands and its proximity to Alton Towers
makes this an ideal place to stay for people
wishing to combine a visit to the theme park with
tours of the area.
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The River Hamps
which flows (not always) through Waterhouses is
one of those which frequently chooses to travel
underground. The limestone rock is porous and in
many places, rivers disappear into "swallet" holes
and run through underground channels. Following
heavy rain when the underground channel cannot
cope, there may be a surface river for some time
but, often in summer, the visitor will be amazed
to find dry river beds of water-smoothed
limestone.
From Waterhouses to Hulme End, the track bed of
the defunct Leek & Manifold Light Railway (closed
1934) is now a paved walkers' and cyclists' path.
This is one of several traffic-free routes where
cycling is actively promoted. The Visitor Centre
at Hulme End, once the railway's booking office,
has a pack of six leaflets: "Cycle & See the
Staffordshire Moorlands", also available from the
Tourist Information Office at Leek (01538 483741).
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Blackbrook Zoological Park
has developed into a large and varied collection
of some of the most rare and endangered species
to be found in the world.
There are many unusual
species of birds: swans, geese, pheasants,
softbills, cranes, storks, ibis, owls,
kookaburras, all contributing to a wonderful
visual show but also providing amazing sounds
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Nor does the
park ignore the mammal, reptile and insect
kingdoms. There is also a Children's Farm and
Pets.
The most
important aspect of the park is its conservation
work helping save species from extinction through
both captive breeding programmes and education
with daily talks and shows for visitors. Tel:
01538 308293. (See Attractions)
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