The Travellers Rest pub (now closed) on Cheadle Road
Leekbrook was originally a part of the Leek and Lowe township in the Totmonslow hundred of Staffordshire.[5] Originally a small settlement, that grew along the River Churnet.
The village saw developments of housing, retail and industrial due to its proximity to both Leek and the railway lines connecting it to Waterhouses, Uttoxeter, Macclesfield, Leek and Stoke-on-Trent. The village later saw a decline in importance upon closure of the Waterhouses Branch, followed by the Stoke line and the Churnet Valley Line.[9]
After closure of the lines, with the final use of the lines seeing sandstone, limestone and coal traffic running along connecting branch lines to the Caldon Low Quarries until 1988. This also included access to the sidings north of the Oakamoor Tunnel along part of the Churnet Valley Line.[12]
After being purchased by the then-newly formed, Churnet Valley Railway who bought the trackbed between Oakamoor and Leekbrook.[13] They reopened the station at Cheddleton, which continues to operate as the main headquarters of the heritage railway.[14] In 2014, a newly formed company named "Moorlands & City Railway".[15] Purchased the disused Waterhouses and Stoke line for potentitial reopening for freight and passenger operations. This included a proposal to reopen the line between Leek and Stoke to passengers to reconnect Leek to the main railway network.[16]
The line back to Leek finally was completed in 2024, making it the new northern terminus of the Churnet Valley Railway.[17] Work is currently ongoing to reopen the Stoke line[18] and the line to Waterhouses is currently operated as a non-heritage line due to no stations currently planned to be reopened on it. The line currently operates as far as the site of Ipstones station.[19] With potential to reopen towards Caldon Low to serve the quarries[20] and possibly Waterhouses station in the distant future.[21] Should there be a case made for freight and possible passenger use.
Amenities
The village is primarily residential, with an industrial estate and a convenience store. There is also a mixed-use leisure cafe and wall climbing centre.[22] The village had its own pub called "The Travellers Rest". It opened in the 1930s as a rural countryside pub.[23] It closed in 2017 and was demolished in 2023 to make way for residential housing.[24]
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