Category: NewsDesk

Friday NewsDesk

North Staffordshire Heritage has had an uneventful week. We have continued to reorganise our filing system, which holds research projects dating back to the 1990s.

Our research project into the Anglo-Saxon justice system is progressing well.

We have been researching the meaning of the Early English place name ‘Tun’.

Some historians suggest that ‘Tun’ was the name the Saxons gave to a fortified village which they built on the site of a Roman villa or small settlement. It has always been accepted that our Tunstall in Stoke-on-Trent dates from 5th or 6th century. If it was built on a Roman site, Tunstall is much older than anyone thought possible.

We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Take care, and we’ll see you again next week.

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.

New Grant Programme for Museums

The National Archives is launching a new national grant programme for libraries and museums.

The programme, called the ‘Spaces, Places and Belonging’ Community Hub, is being funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

It will support inclusive, community-led research projects throughout the United Kingdom. There will be three grant schemes.

They are: Skills Bursaries, Seed Corn Grants and Project Grants (for more details, click the names of the grants)

Applications for Seed Corn Grants and Skills Bursaries open on Monday, 15 September 2025.

A webinar to launch the grants is taking place on Wednesday, 17 September 2025.

To be part of the webinar, follow this link to Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spaces-places-and-belonging-community-hub-launch-webinar-tickets-1524899849499

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.

Friday Newsdesk

A week with very little news.

Most of the time has been spent reorganising our filing system.

Research into the Anglo-Saxon legal system continues. We have been looking at the Christian Church’s role in the administration of justice.

Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. We’ll see you again next week.

Claybody Theatre to Stay at Spode Works

Stoke-on-Trent’s Claybody Theatre is going to stay at The Dipping House on the historic Spode Works site in Stoke-upon-Trent’s town centre.

The theatre has taken a 15-year lease on The Dipping House, which has been its home since 2023. Deborah McAndrew, the theatre’s co-artistic director, said:

We absolutely delighted to have secured the future of the Dipping House.

The Dipping House has proven to be a great space for us and we have already welcomed thousands of visitors who have come to watch our performances and participate in workshops and other events.

In going forward we will continue to collaborate with the City Council to develop the venue for theatre, arts and community events right in the heart of this incredible and historic site at Spode Works.

Friday NewsDesk

Friday NewsDesk is a new regular weekly post that will tell you about North Staffordshire Heritage’s activities.

Worldwide interest has been shown in Chatterley Whitfield’s future. The creation of a circular heritage tourist trail linking Burslem, Ford Green Hall, Chatterley Whitfield and Biddulph Grange with Mow Cop and Kidsgrove.

North Staffordshire Heritage is continuing to research Mercia and its legal system. This is a long-term project, which is expected to last for eight or nine months.

Our new series of posts about the Township of Tunstall starts in September, and we will give you more details at the end of August.

We hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Take care and stay safe. We’ll see you again on Tuesday.

Image of Biddulph Grange Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)

Can You Help Give Leek’s Nicholson Institute a New Image?

Leek’s Nicholson Institute is looking for people who live in the Staffordshire Moorlands to help shape its future.

If you are enthusiastic about local museums, heritage and culture, this is your chance to help make the Nicholson Museum more vibrant and inclusive.

Since May 2025, volunteers have been meeting to explore how the museum can be given a new image.

Four subgroups have been formed. These are Visitor Experience & Museum Operations, Content Development & Programming, Fundraising & Income Generation and Marketing & Audience Development.

New subgroups are being created to focus on education and the museum shop.

More volunteers are needed to join all these subgroups.

£1.5 million given to help save city’s historic buildings

Regeneration experts in the Potteries are delighted that the Heritage at Risk Fund has given £1.5 million to help save Burslem’s Indoor Heritage Market and historic Bethesda Church in the City Centre.

The money will be used to repair the buildings.

If these buildings can be saved, they will make a significant contribution to the growth of North Staffordshire’s heritage tourist economy.