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Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a City in Staffordshire in the West Midlands Region of England . The city is a federation of six older towns ( Hanley , Stoke , Burslem , Tunstall , Longton and Fenton ) forming a linear city almost twelve miles long with an area of 36 square miles. With the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme it forms a Conurbation , whilst together with the Borough Of Newcastle-under-Lyme it forms The Potteries Urban Area , which added with the Staffordshire Moorlands forms the North Staffordshire area. In 2001, it had a population of 240,636. Stoke-on-Trent is considered to the home of the Pottery Industry in the United Kingdom and is commonly known as The Potteries. It grew from the six towns and several villages to become a unified city in the early 20th century. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for Service Industries and Distribution Centres . The city is a Unitary Authority with a Directly Elected Mayor . GEOGRAPHY Stoke-on-Trent is situated approximately half-way between Manchester and Birmingham 1 and the city adjoins the town and borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is administered separately and situated to the west. To the east is the Peak District National Park . The six towns run in a rough line from north to south along the A500 Road - Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. Although the city is named after the original town of Stoke, and the City Council offices are located there, conventionally the city centre is regarded as being in Hanley, which had earlier developed into a major commercial centre. Suburbs As well as the Six Towns, there are numerous suburbs including Abbey Hulton , Blurton , Bentilee , Birches Head , Bucknall , Cliffe Vale , Etruria , Hartshill , Meir , Middleport , Penkhull , Shelton , Smallthorne , Sneyd Green , Trentham and Trent Vale . HISTORY Etymology The name Stoke is taken from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent , the original Ancient Parish , with other settlements being Chapelries . 'Stoke' derives from the Old English ''stoc'', a word that at first meant little more than a '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 feasible. 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. 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. Administration 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 districts within a county of 'Staffordshire Potteries'. It was not until April 1 , 1910 that the Six Towns were brought together. The County Borough of Hanley , the Municipal Borough s of Burslem , Longton , and Stoke , together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.2 The combined borough took the name of town of Stoke . The borough proposed in 1919 to expand further and annex the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the (north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did however 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. The city's county borough status was abolished in 1974, and it became a Non-metropolitan District of Staffordshire . Its status was restored as a Unitary Authority with the Local Authority as Stoke-on-Trent City Council whilst remaining part of the Ceremonial County of Staffordshire on April 1 , 1997 . Industry Since the 17th century the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale Pottery manufacturing, with such world renowned names as Royal Doulton , Spode (founded by Josiah Spode ), Wedgwood and Minton (founded by Thomas Minton ) being born and based there. The presence locally of abundant supplies of coal and of suitable clay for earthenware production led to the early but at first limited development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the Trent And Mersey Canal enabled the import of China Clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of Creamware and Bone China . However, many other production centres elsewhere in Britain, Europe and worldwide had a considerable lead in the production of high quality wares. It was largely the methodical and highly detailed research and a willingness to experiment carried out over many years, initially by one man, Josiah Wedgwood , and later by other local potters, scientists and engineers, together with the development of great artistic talent throughout the local community, that raised the Staffordshire Potteries to the internationally dominant position that they have held for many years. Also of note is Thomas Whieldon . With the industry also came a large number of notable ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff , Susie Cooper , Lorna Bailey , Charlotte Rhead , Frederick Hurten Rhead and Jabez Vodrey . North Staffordshire was a centre for Coal Mining . The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th Century.5 Part of the North Staffordshire Coal Field , the Potteries Coal Field covers 100 square miles6 and the city had several Pit s including Hanley Deep Pit , Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath), Fenton and Wolstanton 7 The last mine to close was the Trentham Superpit in 1994.8 The industry developed greatly with new investment in mining projects within the City boundaries as recently as the 1960s and 1970s. Other industries have also occupied important roles in the development of the city both before and after federation. Notably the iron and steel making industry located in the valley at Goldendale and Shelton below the hill towns of Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steel Works production of steel ended in 1978 and the final parts of the plant closed in 20029 From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the Repair Shops of the North Staffordshire Railway 10 and was also the home from 1881 to 1930 of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd. .11 Shelton Steel Works as well as 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 in nearby Talke , had his Apprenticeship at Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd's railway works.12 Religion Primitive Methodism was founded by Hugh Bourne a native of Stoke. He originally followed the Wesleyan form of Methodism but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first Chapel in Tunstall.13 He promoted Sunday School s as a method of improving Children 's Education as well as treating women as equals. He also was involved in the Temperance Movement . It was from the Primitive Methodists that many early Trades Union s found their early leaders.14 Also of note is John Lightfoot a 17th century churchman and rabbinical scholar. PRESENT DAY Administration and politics The city is the only one of the twelve English districts with elected mayors to use the Mayor And Council Manager system rather than the Mayor And Cabinet system15. Following a local Referendum , passing the motion 28,601 votes to 20,578 (turnout of 27.8%), on May 3 , 2002 a directly elected mayor system was approved.16 Mike Wolfe an independent candidate became the first directly elected mayor after an election on October 17 , 2002 an independent, who narrowly beat Labour Party candidate George Stevenson by just 300 votes17. The current Mayor from May 5 2005 to date is Mark Meredith (Labour Party)18. The 2005 election was notable because approximately 10% of the ballot papers were either spoiled or ineligible19. Meredith's election platform included a pledge to have another referendum on the post of elected mayor20. This is scheduled for May 2007. The council has 60 Councillor s who scrutinse the decisions of the mayor.21 The city is covered by three House Of Commons Constituencies . They are Stoke-on-Trent North , Stoke-on-Trent Central and Stoke-on-Trent South .22 The city is within the West Midlands European Parliament constituency. Two current politicians from Stoke are David Sumberg MEP for North West England and David Kidney MP for nearby Stafford . In , the enforcement of the ban must undergo a formal approval by both councillor's Yahoo! News Article , retrieved 11 July 2007. Demographics Based on the 2001 census, the total population of the city is 240,636 in 103,196 households23 This was a decline of 3.5% since 1991.24 51.3% of the population is female25. 96.3% of the population of Stoke-on-Trent were born in the UK26. 94.8% of the population identified themselves as white, 2.6% as Asian British Pakistani, 0.5% Asian British Indian and 0.3% as Black Afro Caribbean.. With religion, 71.8% described themselves as Christian , 3.0% Muslim , 1.1% Hindu , 0.6% Sikh , 0.5% Jewish and 14.8% had no religion.. In the same census, 19.9% were identified as under 15 and 21.0% over 60. The average age of residents was 38½. A total of 24.2% of non-pensioner households were recorded as having no working adults.27 Economy .]] North Staffordshire is a World Centre For Fine Ceramics - a skilled design trade established in the area since at least the 12th century. In the late 1980s & 1990s Stoke-on-Trent was hit hard by the general decline in the British manufacturing sector. Numerous factories, steelworks, mines, and potteries were closed, including the renowned Shelton Bar steelworks. This resulted in a sharp rise in unemployment in the 'high-skilled but low-paid' workforce. However, at Q2 2004 the unemployment rate had recovered to almost the same as in the wider West Midlands . The city's present employment levels are currently stable and likely to grow from 2004 to 2008, according to a detailed 2003 study by Experian Business Strategies. About 9,000 firms are based in the city. Amongst the more notable are Bet365 28, founded by local businessman and Stoke City chairman Peter Coates ,29 and Phones4U a large retailer of Mobile Phones started by John Caudwell .30 KPMG's 'Competitive Alternatives 2004' report declared Stoke-on-Trent to be the most cost-effective place to set up a new UK business31. The city currently has the advantage of offering very affordable business property - while being surrounded by a belt of extremely affluent areas (The Peak District, Stone, South Cheshire, Newcastle-under-Lyme) and having excellent road links via the A500 and nearby M6 and rail links. According the HM Land Registry , the annual increase in house prices over the third quarter of 2005 was 8.0%, down form 13.5% in the previous quarter. House prices were the 4th lowest in England And Wales .32 Around five million tourists visit Stoke each year, directly supporting around 4,400 jobs. Stoke-on-Trent shows its popularity through the number of repeat visits; around 80 percent of visitors have previously visited. Tourism to the city was kick-started by the National Garden Festival in 1986, and is now sustained by the many pottery factory-shops/tours and by the improved canal network. A 2003/4 mapping study found 1,000 active creative businesses & artists based within a ten mile radius of the city. The survey did not include the thousands of ceramics companies. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Stoke-on-Trent at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling33. The main shopping centre is Hanley; location of the Potteries Shopping Centre (housing many well known national retail outlets), many well-known high street shops and some unique specialist retailers. With the Peak District National Park just ten miles away, Hanley naturally boasts five outdoors clothing & equipment shops. Other notable business people from the city includes Reginald H. Jones (Chairman of General Electric ) and John Madejski chairman of Reading F.C. and former owner of '' Auto Trader ''.34 Transport .]] Stoke-on-Trent is linked to the nearby M6 Motorway at junctions 15 and 16 by the A500 . Locally the A500 is known to as the D road35 (500 in Roman Numerals is D) as its loop between the two motorway junctions resembles a D. The A50 cuts through the city, providing an East-West link between the M6 and M1 Motorway s. Improvements to the road network have led to a number of companies building distribution centres in the area36. Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a mainline station on the Stafford To Manchester Line , which is a part of the West Coast Main Line between Manchester and London , as well as the Crewe To Derby Line . Virgin Pendolino train 390029 is named after Stoke-on-Trent. Other stations in the city include Longport and Longton stations. Etruria Station was closed in September 2005. Local Public Transport is almost exclusively by bus. Bus services are mainly operated by Potteries Motor Traction , now owned by First Group under the name First PMT. There are also several smaller companies operating bus services in the city. There are central bus stations in Hanley city centre and Longton town centre. National Express operate long distance coach services from Hanley bus station. The city is served by the Trent & Mersey Canal , which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. Additionally, the Caldon Canal branches off from the Trent and Mersey at Etruria , within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to Leek . Recently numerous improvements to the canal system have been made. There are 100-miles of new National Cycle Network off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting the city to the national long-distance paths, completed in 2005. CULTURE Arts & literature Nightlife has boomed in recent years, with Hanley becoming increasingly popular for its nightclubs, theatres, pubs, bars and restaurants. There are also several theatres outside the city centre, and a long-established 'art-house' cinema in Shelton. Several nationally recognised TV presenters have been born in the area including Frank Bough who presented '' Nationwide '' & '' Breakfast Time '', Anthea Turner from '' Blue Peter '' and Nick Hancock who chaired the comedy quiz show '' They Think It's All Over '' and was host on '' Room 101 .''37 Bruno Brookes the former BBC Radio 1 Disc Jockey who hosted the station's breakfast show also presented Top Of The Pops . Peter Wyngarde as Jason King in "Flamingoes only fly on Tuesdays" makes a quip about a "knicker salesman from Stoke-on-Trent". The cat in '' Dick And Dom In Da Bungalow '' once sang a song about Stoke-on-Trent.38 Master illusionist Andrew Van Buren was born & still is based in the area, although is more often found performing out of the country. In 2005 the installation of £1,000,000 worth of new Public Art was completed. Dialect The Potteries has a distinctive local dialect. Its is believed to descend from Anglo-Saxon Old English . Whilst it contains many unique words (for example "Nesh” meaning soft, tender, or to easily get cold, and “Slat” meaning to throw, the best known word is "duck" used as a greeting to either Men or Women . It is believed to be derived from from the Saxon word ‘ducas’ used to indicate respect, which in Middle English became "duc" or "duk" which denotes a leader, which in turn, became the title Duke and the Old French word Ducheé which indicates the territory ruled by a Duke.62 A local Cartoon called May Un Mar Lady , published in the The Sentinel newspaper, written in Potteries Dialect , first appeared on July 8 1986 and ran for over 20 years.63 Since the Cartoonist Dave Follows ' death in 2003 the full twenty-year run (7,000) of May un Mar Lady strips are being republished in The Sentinel, as May un Mar Lady Revisited, keeping the dialect alive for another twenty years. Also, Alan Povey's Owd Grandad Piggott stories which were aired on BBC Radio Stoke for a number of years are recited in the Potteries dialect by the author.64 Food Two local culinary specialities are the much loved Potteries Oatcake (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries), whose fame has yet to travel far outside Staffordshire and neighbouring Derbyshire and Cheshire , and though no longer quite so popular. 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. Higher education There are four Higher Education institutions in the local area. The city is home to Staffordshire University (formerly North Staffordshire Polytechnic), with its main site in Shelton near to Stoke-on-Trent railway station. It gained its university status in 1992 as one of the Post-1992 Universities . Keele University Medical School uses facilities at the University Hospital Of North Staffordshire 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. Stoke-on-Trent College {Link without Title} is the largest college in England and has two sites: one in Burslem (media & performing arts) and the main centre in Shelton. Places of interest The city's rich past can best be explored through visiting one of its many museums & galleries; such as the Etruria Industrial Museum, the Elizabethan Ford Green Hall , the world-class ceramics collection at the main Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Gladstone Pottery Museum (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route Of Industrial Heritage ) and the newly opened Ceramica in Burslem. Burleigh in Middleport is the world's oldest working Victorian pottery. There are ambitious plans to open the huge Chatterley Whitfield colliery as a Mining Museum, since it has been given Ancient Monument status, ranking it in importance with Stonehenge . Trentham Gardens is in the south of the city and a £100 million refurbishment was completed in 2005. Although not in the city, Alton Towers Theme Park is one of the United Kingdom 's best known attractions and is wrongly commonly associated with Stoke-on-Trent. Sport Stoke-on-Trent is home to two Football League teams, Stoke City F.C. (the Potters), whose ground is the Britannia Stadium after a move from The Victoria Ground in 1997, and Port Vale F.C. (the Valiants) who play at Vale Park . There is a statue of Sir Stanley Matthews in Hanley town centre Stoke-upon-Trent churchyard. In Motorcycle Speedway , the Stoke Spitfires in the BSPA Conference League. The Ski race team based at the artificial ski slope in Festival Park compete in national Snowsport England and international FIS events. The city has a number of amateur sports clubs, including Rugby Union and Cricket , the later competing in the North Staffs and South Cheshire Cricket League. There is also the Parogon Water Polo Team which is widely regarded as being one of the top teams in the country. Stoke Spitfires was also the name of the city's American Football team in 1986. 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 Stoke Rugby Club in Division 1 North of the BAFL . Sir Stanley Matthews is perhaps the best known sports person from the city, who played for Stoke City and Blackpool F.C. , where he played in what became known as the Matthews Final and managed Port Vale . He also represented England National Football Team . Phil Taylor has been one of the most successful Darts players in the early 21st century and is a former PDC and BDO word champion. Other notable sports people from the area include Mark Bright , a former FA Premier League Footballer , Garth Crooks another top-flight footballer, both of whom now have media careers with the BBC. Ross Pointon (UFC Fighter), Andrew Foster (tennis), Adrian Lewis , Ted Hankey both darts players, the later a world champion, Dave Harold , Jamie Cope (both snooker) and Imran Sherwani (field hockey). Wicketkeeper 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 number of dismissals in the first class game (1649) TWIN TOWN SEE ALSO
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