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.
Category: Staffordshire Moorlands History and Heritage
Photo Walks in the Staffordshire Moorlands
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.
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.
North Staffordshire Heritage 