A History of Burslem

by Matthew

Burslem is situated in the north-west of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, one of the six towns which form the City.

When it was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, Burslem was called Barcardeslim (Burgweard’s Lyme).  It was not a large village consisting of just four households and one plough team. The other resource mentioned is two acres of alder wood. Its value was 10 shillings.

Through the medieval period, Burslem was not a centre of any importance. It was part of the parish of Stoke on Trent and was subject to the Tunstall manor court. A survey in 1563 reported 30 households for the area served by the chapel of St John. The village was agricultural and did not have good communications. However the occupants of the poor farms had beneath their feet mineral resources, which over the next two centuries produced steady growth turning Burslem into…