People with a Staffordshire Library Card can visit their local library to use its public access PCs to view the British Newspaper Archive. The archive holds over 50 million articles from regional and national newspapers. Using the archives will tell you about national and local newsworthy events as they happened.
Category: NewsDesk
Tunstall News: Stallholders needed for Spooky Market and Halloween Ball
Tunstall Town Centre Community Association needs stallholders for its Spooky Market and Danse Macabre Halloween Ball.
If you would like to have a stall there, please email TUNSTALLTCCA@GMAIL.COM
Tunstall News: Widespread Support for Town Centre Scheme
| There is widespread public support in Tunstall for Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s proposed multi-million-pound scheme to change the character of the town centre. A public consultation was held recently. Seventy-six per cent of the people who took part in it believe the changes proposed for High Street, Tower Square, Butterfield Place and The Boulevard will benefit the town and make it more attractive. The proposed changes are designed to improve accessibility, attractiveness and sustainability, while celebrating Tunstall’s distinct heritage. The two most popular proposals were those for Tower Square and Butterfield Place. Plans for Tower Square include planting new trees, laying new paving and providing new seating. The existing parking spaces will be removed, and new parking facilities will be created behind the clock tower. There will be room for an outdoor market in Butterfield Place and a green space where children can play. Many people want to see the High Street improved. Proposals for High Street include widening the pavements around the town hall and reducing traffic speed to 20mph to make the area safer and more attractive. Councillor Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said the proposals were part of a package of measures aimed at improving the town centre. The improvements will cost £4.6 million. The council hopes to start work on the project early next year. |
£1.9 million facelift for Longton
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s proposed £1.9 million investment plan will change the face of Longton.
If it goes ahead, the Longton Improvement Scheme will give the town better public transport and create welcoming open spaces. An improved bus service will reduce congestion in the town centre, making it easier and safer for people to shop there.
The city council’s cabinet is set to approve the scheme on 16 September.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, said:
Longton has always been more than just a place on the map. It’s a proud town where people raise their families, open their shops, and greet their neighbours in the street.
For generations, people here in Longton have worked hard and looked out for one another. And they deserve a town centre that works just as hard for them.
That’s what this project is about.
We’re making it easier to walk between the bus and rail stations. We’re creating more welcoming public spaces where you can stop and talk to a friend, and we’re building stronger links between the high street and the retail parks. Because when it’s easier and more inviting for people to come into town, local businesses get a real boost.
This is all about giving people a reason to believe in their town again, to feel proud when they bring their family or friends to visit. And if we get this right, the impact will last for years. Because when we invest in our people and our proud spaces, we build something far bigger than bricks and mortar.
Free Access to Ancestry at Staffordshire Libraries
Family Historians who are members of Staffordshire Library can grow their family tree at their local library.
Ancestry, the leading genealogy resource on the internet, is ‘packed full of records’. It can help you trace by giving you hints and tips to guide your research.
For more information, contact your local library.
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.
North Staffordshire Heritage 