Category: Staffordshire Moorlands

Share Your Story: Who Was Your Favourite Teacher?

We all remember that one teacher who made a lasting difference – the one who inspired us, encouraged us, or simply made school a little brighter. Maybe they sparked your love of a subject, believed in you when you doubted yourself, or had a way of making lessons fun.

We’d love to hear your stories. Tell us about your favourite teacher and what made them special. Was it their kindness, their humour, their passion for teaching, or something they did that you’ve never forgotten?

Your memories can help celebrate the people who shaped our lives and remind us of the power a great teacher can have.

If you went to school in North Staffordshire, you can share your story in Leave a Comment below. Alternatively, you can email it, with or without images, to northstaffordshireheritage@outlook.com

We are sure everyone will enjoy reading your memories of your favourite teacher.

St. Edward’s Hospital

Not far from Leek, the Cheddleton Asylum, later called St Edward’s Hospital, was the third County Asylum to be built in Staffordshire. This vast institution, initially designed to accommodate 618 patients in 16 wards, was intended to relieve chronic overcrowding at the Stafford and Burntwood Asylums. The site at Bank Farm, Cheddleton, near Leek, was decided upon in preference to the original proposal of land at Bramshall Park Farm, Uttoxeter, because it was on elevated land; a criteria considered essential to provide a healthy environment for the patients. 

Inside the asylum: a short history of St. Edward’s Hospital, Cheddleton

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.

Kidsgrove – Biddulph

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.

Photo Walks in the Staffordshire Moorlands

GRAIN Project’s Autumn 2025 Staffordshire Moorlands Photo Walks

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.

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.

Biddulph Grange

One of the wonders of Victorian England, Biddulph Grange Garden is unique. The garden, created by James Bateman, is a major tourist attraction. It will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.

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.

It’s Friday again…

Another working week is almost over. It will soon be time to close the office for the weekend.

North Staffordshire Heritage welcomed the news that the Heritage at Risk Fund has given £1.5 million to help save Bethesda Church and Burslem’s Indoor Market.

We are still concerned about the future of the former colliery at Chatterley Whitfield.

If Chatterley Whitfield had been on the South Wales Coalfield, it would have been made a World Heritage Site many years ago.

It is not too late to save Chatterley Whitfield and make it an international tourist attraction. Regenerating the site and breathing new life into its derelict buildings would revitalise Tunstall, Burslem, Biddulph and Kidsgrove.

With imagination and initiative, Chatterley Whitfield can be the starting point of a North Staffordshire Tourist Trail. A circular trail linking Middleport Pottery, Burslem’s Historic Town Centre, Ford Green Hall and Biddulph Grange with Mow Cop, the Trent & Mersey Canal and the Harecastle Tunnels at Kidsgrove.

We hope you have an enjoyable weekend. Take care and keep safe. See you again on Monday.

The Churnet Valley Railway

The Churnet Valley Railway is a popular tourist attraction. It will help make North Staffordshire’s Heritage Landscape a World Heritage Site.