Hello and Welcome

North Staffordshire Heritage was founded by historical geographer Betty Martin and her husband, David, to research North Staffordshire’s history and architectural heritage.

Its mission is to use our heritage to encourage regeneration by giving local people pride in the past, confidence in the present and hope for the future.

Betty, who died last year, was born in The Rookery, a village near Kidsgrove. and went to Brownhills High School for Girls in Tunstall. She studied historical geography at the University of Manchester and wrote her thesis on Stoke-on-Trent’s economic development.

Her hobbies were flower arranging and listening to classical music.

Betty spent many years researching North Staffordshire’s heritage. Because she attended school there, Tunstall always had a special place in her heart.

Betty’s groundbreaking research into the Township of Tunstall enabled her to produce a map of the township as it was in the Middle Ages. English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund praised her historical analysis of Tunstall’s unique Victorian Civic Centre, which secured a grant of £4.3 million to regenerate the town hall and market.

She wrote for newspapers and magazines. Her articles about Stoke-on-Trent’s forgotten aircraft designer John Lloyd, whose experimental flying wings helped to usher in the jet age, were syndicated throughout Canada and the United States.

Before her death, Betty planned to publish her research into Stoke-on-Trent’s heritage. A series of books is being published based on her research. The first books are about Tunstall. They are being written by Lee Wanger and Betty’s husband, David.

David and Lee are working on the first book, The History of Tunstall Town Hall and Market. Other books in the series include The History of the Jubilee Buildings and The Life of Sir Smith Child.

David is a heritage lawyer and historian. He took his A levels at Stoke-on-Trent College of Commerce and studied law and history at the London School of Economics. His hobbies are photography and model railways. He relaxes by listening to traditional English folk songs.

For more information about North Staffordshire Heritage and its research projects, email davidmartin227@outlook.com

(Page Amended January 2024)

The photograph of John Lloyd’s Flying Wing is in the Public Domain. The Photograph of the College of Commerce © Copyright Philip Halling and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.