Category: Newcastle-under-Lyme

Newcastle-under-Lyme Workhouse

George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) was one of England’s leading architects. Between 1835 and 1845, George and his partner, William Moffatt, designed over forty workhouses.

One of Victorian England’s leading architects, George Gilbert Scott, designed Newcastle-under-Lyme workhouse.

Born at Gawcott in Buckinghamshire on July 13th, 1811, George was the third son of the Rev. Thomas Scott and his wife, Euphemia.

Educated at home by his father, George became an architect. He went into partnership with William Bonython Moffatt. The firm specialised in building workhouses, and George designed the Newcastle workhouse to accommodate 300 inmates.

Newcastle-under-Lyme workhouse opened in 1840. An Elizabethan-style building in Keele Road, it cost £6,000. The workhouse was enlarged a few years later when an infirmary, workshops and a laundry were erected. Casual wards for vagrants were constructed in 1878.

During the 1880s, a hospital was built on land behind the workhouse.

Newcastle-under-Lyme: A historic market town

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a historic market town rich in heritage and modern charm. This video shows the winding streets of the town centre, where markets have been held for centuries, Queen’s Gardens and Brampton Park. It is a vibrant town, where tradition blends with innovation.

Newcastle-under-Lyme will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.

Burslem and Cobridge in the 1790s

This image shows Wood & Caldwell’s Fountain Place Works in Burslem. In the 1790s the company made Staffordshire figures, earthenware and stoneware. Enoch Wood and James Caldwell were partners in the firm. The firm owned Bycars Colliery, where it mined coal to fire the factory’s bottle ovens and kilns.

A Description of the Country From Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester, a book published in 1795, was compiled by Dr John Aikin. The book tells us about Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire’s pottery towns and villages in the 179os

This edited extract from the book describes Burslem and Cobridge as they were in the 1790s.

Burslem

Burslem is the home of North Staffordshire’s pottery industry. Earthenware has been made there for many centuries. Dr Plot, in his History of Staffordshire, written in 1686, said that the factories making pottery in Burslem were the largest in the district…

The town has two weekly markets. A large market is held on Monday, and a smaller one is held on Saturday. Four or five years ago, cattle markets were established. These markets are well attended by cattle dealers and butchers.

Burslem is a parish in its own right. The parish church, St John’s, has a good organ. The church has recently been enlarged and regenerated.

There are a large number of [Wesleyan] Methodists in the district. The Methodists have built a large chapel in Burslem and erected chapels in several pottery towns and villages. There are many other religious sects in the Potteries. Few areas have such a great diversity of sincerely held religious opinions.

Cobridge

Cobridge is an industrial village where earthenware is made. It is partly in Burslem Parish and partly in Stoke Parish.

Staffordshire History Festival

Staffordshire History Festival celebrates the county’s rich and diverse heritage. During the two-month festival, which ends on October 31, local history talks and exhibitions will be held at libraries and heritage sites throughout Staffordshire.

Councillor Hayley Coles, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture said:

The Staffordshire History Festival is a brilliant chance to explore the stories that shape our communities. Whether you are interested in exhibitions, film screenings or hands-on workshops, there’s something for everyone. No matter where you are in the county, history is just around the corner – so get involved and discover what makes Staffordshire so truly special.

An exhibition, Staffordshire and Slavery, opens on September 16 at the Staffordshire History Centre. A film about the life of Fanny Deakin will be shown at Newcastle Kidsgrove and Biddulph Libraries. For more details of these and other events, please contact the Staffordshire History Centre or your local library.

Bottle Ovens of Staffordshire at the Brampton Museum

A special talk on the Bottle Ovens of Staffordshire will be given by Phil Rowley, a local historian and ceramics expert. The talk will take place at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Brampton Museum on Sunday 7 September at 2.00 pm. Admission £5. For more details, please contact the Museum.

Two Film Shows at the Brampton Museum

Two Film Shows at the Brampton Museum in September, telling the story of North Staffordshire’s Pottery and Textile Industries.

There are two film shows at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Brampton Museum in September.

The first film, The Pottery Industry – 20th Century to Today, will be shown on Sunday, 14 September at 2.00 pm. Admission Free.

The second film, Leek and the Story of Silk Twisting, will be shown on Thursday, 18 September at 2.30 pm. Admission £5. The film marks the start of an autumn programme called Textile Take Over at the Brampton Museum. The programme will include exhibitions, talks and events relating to North Staffordshire’s textile industry.

Tunstall in the 1790s

The sketch above shows William Adams’ Greengates Pottery in Tunstall. The factory built between 1779 and 1781 was one of the largest in the Potteries. It manufactured tableware, stoneware and jasper ornaments for the luxury market. William Chaffer, the author of ‘Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain’, said some of the jasper made at Greengates was ‘equal to, if not superior’ to that produced by Josiah Wedgwood at Etruria.

A Description of the Country From Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester, a book published in 1795, was compiled by Dr John Aikin. The book tells us about Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire’s pottery towns and villages in the 1790s.

This edited extract from the book describes Tunstall as it was in the 1790s.

Tunstall is the pleasantest village in the Potteries. It stands on high ground, commanding extensive views of the surrounding countryside. Pottery manufacturers in the village produce good-quality ware and do considerable business. There was a church here, and human bones have been dug up. But such is the effect of time that no trace of either the church or the bones remains today. A small chapel has recently been built here. There is a considerable number of brick and tile works. They use local clay to make blue bricks, which look as well on the roofs of houses as moderate slate. Tunstall is four miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme and nine miles from Congleton. The turnpike road from Lawton to Newcastle-under-Lyme runs through Tunstall, where the turnpike road to Bosley in Cheshire begins [near the Wheatsheaf Inn].

Newfield and Smithfield in the 1790s

Smithfield Hall, which is shown above, was built in 1791 by Burslem pottery manufacturer, Theophilus Smith. In 1793, he built an industrial hamlet called Smithfield near the hall. Theophilus was declared bankrupt in 1800. He attempted to murder John Wainwright and was remanded to Stafford prison to await trial. When his wife and daughter visited him there, he murdered them and committed suicide. In 1801, the hall was bought by Jesse Breeze, who renamed it Greenfield Hall.

A Description of the Country From Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester, is a book published in 1795, compiled by Dr John Aikin. It describes Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire’s pottery towns and villages as they were in the 1790s.

This edited extract from the book tells us what Newfield and Smithfield, two hamlets in the Township of Tunstall, were like in the 1790s.Newfield

Newfield is well situated for manufacturing purposes because there is plenty of coal nearby.

The hamlet belongs to Admiral Smith Child. He has a handsome estate there and lives at Newfield Hall. Smith Child owns Newfield Pottery. He is unlikely to allow more factories to be built in the hamlet in the foreseeable future.

Smithfield is the best place in the Potteries to manufacture earthenware. There are several strata of coal and clay, which are needed to make pottery. Smithfield belongs to Theophilus Smith. He owns a pottery and coal mines there. It is unlikely that there will be further industrial development in the hamlet.

Post Industrial Picturesque at the Brampton Museum

A Post Industrial Picturesque, an exhibition at Newcastle’s Brampton Museum, runs until Sunday 7th September. The exhibition highlights the artist’s response to the fascination of derelict industrial buildings in the urban landscape.

Free Admission. The exhibition is open 10am to 5pm (Tuesday to Saturday), and from 1.30 to 5pm on Sunday.

Arthur Berry: The man who was Stoke-on-Trent’s Poet Laureate

Arthur Berry, who has been called Stoke-on-Trent’s Poet Laureate and the Potteries’ Lowry, was an artist, author, playwright and poet. In this video, he shares his unique and sometimes controversial views about the people he painted and wrote about. Use our Comments section to share your memories of Arthur.