This review gives a comprehensive description of the Doubletree by Hilton Stoke-on-Trent. It also introduces its readers to Middleport Pottery, the Emma Bridgewater Factory, the Gladstone Pottery Museum and Biddulph Grange Gardens.
Category: Heritage and Culture
Keep Walsall Leather Museum Open
North Staffordshire Heritage supports the campaign to save Walsall Leather Museum. This fascinating and unique museum must be saved. It is a local and regional asset that can easily be transformed into a significant national and international heritage tourism attraction. North Staffordshire Heritage takes no pleasure in reminding the local council that a town or city that destroys its heritage is a town or city without a future. We ask everyone in the UK who cares about our country’s history and heritage to sign the Petition to keep the museum open. Remember that once it’s gone, it’s gone!
National Trust to Take Over Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Celebrate Diwali at the Potteries Museum
Visit the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday, October 18, to celebrate Diwali.
Diwali is the colourful and vibrant Hindu and Sikh Festival of Lights.
Visitors will see different traditional Indian dances performed by professional and semi-professional artists. They will show you Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kaikottikali, Bhangra and Bollywood dances which come from different parts of India.
There will be stalls in the foyer where you can buy Indian clothes, jewellery and vegetarian street food.
The celebration starts at 11.00am and ends at 5.30pm. Free Admission.
World Heritage: The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Government Refusing to List Heritage Buildings
The government’s refusal to list historic buildings that Historic England has recommended for listing worries the Victorian Society.
Ignoring Historic England’s advice can erode trust in the listing process and put heritage buildings at risk.
Historic England recommended listing the part of Medlock Mill in Manchester, which was built in the 1790s or early 1800s. The government refused to list them.
There have been other instances where the government has decided to reject Historic England’s recommendations.
The Victorian Society and similar groups want to see greater public accountability in the way the government makes its decisions.
Celebrate Black History Month at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
Come to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday, 4 October to celebrate Black History Month.
The event is a creative cultural day that celebrates the art, music and food of people of African or Caribbean descent.
This year, Black History Month’s theme is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’, a tribute to the resilience, strength, and unwavering commitment to progress that define the Black community.
During the day, there will be a wide range of events including craft workshops, dancing, music and singing, Ghanaian acrobatics, stalls and many more things to enjoy.
The celebration starts at 11 am and ends at 5 pm. Admission is free.
Open Day at Hilderstone Dig
There is a free open day at Stoke-on-Trent Museum Archaeological Society’s dig on Hall Lane, Hilderstone. The whole excavated area will be uncovered and many interesting finds will be on display. The site was originally believed to be the location of a multi-phase house dating from the 17th century. During deeper excavations this year, Roman and Medieval finds have been made. What could have been a ring ditch has been discovered, and it is possible that the site is prehistoric.
The site is open on Sunday, 28 September, from 11 am to 3 pm. Entry is free. Parking is available at Hilderstone Garage, Hall Lane.
A Walk from Kidsgrove to Biddulph via Mow Cop
Mow Cop’s craggy high point is crowned with Mow Cop Castle, an artfully ruined folly, constructed on the instruction of Randle Wilbraham, the lord of nearby Rode Hall ,in 1754. Since 1937 the castle and the gritstone rocks it sits upon have been owned and managed by the National Trust. These days the site is a country park.
Beneath Mow Cop Castle, it is very evident where gritstone was quarried over the centuries. These days, the village appears to be a quietly affluent place, but historically, quarrying meant that it was once an industrial hub.
Mow Cop, the birthplace of the Primitive Methodist Church, and Biddulph Grange Gardens will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.
Heritage Open Days 2025
As in previous years, several hundred industrial heritage sites will be opening their doors for free to the public, whilst dozens more events, from talks to walks, will look at the stories of industrial archaeology, history, and the people involved across England. With the ‘Railway 200’ anniversary celebrations for the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 culminating at the end of September, it seems appropriate that there are over a hundred railway-related sites and events available this year.
North Staffordshire Heritage 