Middleport, Staffordshire

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Middleport
Middleport - Pottery (Geograph-2410937-by-Dave-Bevis).jpg
Middleport - Pottery
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Middleport
Location within Staffordshire
OS grid reference SJ864496
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STOKE-ON-TRENT
Postcode district ST6
Dialling code 01782
Police Staffordshire
Fire Staffordshire
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Staffordshire
53°02′37″N2°12′12″W / 53.0436°N 2.2034°W / 53.0436; -2.2034

Middleport is a residential and industrial district in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Middleport lies to the west of Burslem, between Burslem and the Newcastle-under-Lyme district of Porthill. To the north is Tunstall and to the south Cobridge and Etruria. Middleport conjoins Longport.

Middleport is primarily residential, with distinctive Victorian terraced houses. However, it also a working industrial district and contains several potteries: ranging from Middleport Pottery, owned by the Prince's Regeneration Trust and claimed to be the only working Victorian pottery remaining in the city, [1] and Steelite, a large manufacturer of hotelware.

The Trent and Mersey Canal and a key path of the National Cycle Network run through Middleport. The line of the canal through the City of Stoke-on-Trent is a linear conservation area. Middleport contains one of the nation's richest stretches of canalside industrial heritage. Since 1990 the canal area has benefited from around £1m of Groundwork funding, and £4m of Townscape Heritage funding. Clarice Cliff's Newport Pottery, where she produced some of her most famous work, was adjacent to the canal and an artist-designed 12-foot steel markerpost identifies the location.

Middleport is an area that is strategic to the regeneration of the city, as it sits in the centre of a ring of imminent projects totalling around £250m: the Chatterley Valley scheme, the Etruria Valley scheme, the regeneration of Burslem town centre, and a proposed major "park and ride" interchange and business-park on the site of the old Shelton Bar steel rolling-mill.

Middleport piloted a community warden service in 2002 & 2003; as a result, crime dropped by 80 per cent. The service was subsequently extended across Stoke-on-Trent and adopted in other cities.

Middleport features in several of the novels of Arnold Bennett, and the film version of his The Card was filmed in Middleport with Alec Guinness.

Middleport Park Bowling Club has a national reputation and has won several national trophies.

Middleport Matters (founded 2015) is a local community action group dedicated to improving the lives of those who live and work in Middleport and the surrounding areas.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire</span> County of England

Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent and Mersey Canal</span> Canal in England

The Trent and Mersey Canal is a 93+12-mile (150 km) canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middlewich, it is a wide canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-upon-Trent</span> Human settlement in England

Stoke-upon-Trent, also called Stoke, is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-on-Trent</span> City and unitary authority in England

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 258,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove and Biddulph, which form a conurbation around the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruria Works</span>

The Etruria Works was a ceramics factory opened by Josiah Wedgwood in 1769 in a district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which he named Etruria. The factory ran for 180 years, as part of the wider Wedgwood business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanley</span> Human settlement in England

Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burslem</span> Human settlement in England

Burslem is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.

Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunstall, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Tunstall is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Hanley and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern, and fourth largest town of the Potteries. It is situated in the very northwest of the city borough, with its north and west boundaries being the city limit. It stands on a ridge of land between Fowlea Brook to the west and Scotia Brook to the east, surrounded by old tile-making and brick-making sites, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longport railway station</span> Railway station in Staffordshire, England

Longport railway station serves the areas of Longport, Middleport, Tunstall and Burslem, all districts in the northern part of Stoke-on-Trent, England. The station is served by trains on the Crewe to Derby Line, which is also a community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station also has two trains a day on the Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester Piccadilly line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladstone Pottery Museum</span> Industrial museum in Staffordshire, England

The Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium-sized coal-fired pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century to the mid 20th century. It is a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burleigh Pottery</span>

Burleigh Pottery is the name of a pottery manufacturer in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent. The business specialises in traditionally decorated earthenware tableware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longport, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Longport is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the location for Longbridge Hayes industrial estate.

Basford is a suburb which sits on high ground between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliffe Vale, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Cliffe Vale is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and lies to the immediate south of Etruria and just east of Basford and Hartshill. Cliffe Vale is in the valley of the Fowlea Brook, now better known as Etruria Valley. There are industrial and employment uses along the A500, and new residential developments along the Trent and Mersey Canal. The Shelton New Road (B5045) passes through from east to west. The area is sometimes called Cliff Vale by the city council, and is part of the Hartshill electoral ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedgwood Institute</span>

The Wedgwood Institute is a large red-brick building that stands in Queen Street, in the town of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is sometimes called the Wedgwood Memorial Institute, but it is not to be confused with the former Wedgwood Memorial College in Barlaston. It achieved listed building status in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruria Industrial Museum</span> Museum in Etruria, Staffordshire, England

The Etruria Industrial Museum is located in Etruria, Staffordshire, in England. The museum is a typical and well-preserved example of a nineteenth century British steam-powered potter's mill. It is situated between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Etruria staircase locks of the Caldon Canal. The museum has a modern entrance building, leading into a Grade II* listed building which was formerly the Etruscan bone and flint mill. The mill is also a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanley Park</span>

Hanley Park is an urban park in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Officially opened on 20 June 1897, it occupies about 63 acres (25 ha) of land. The park was developed by the town of Hanley over a period of five years and cost approximately £70,000. It has been described as a good example of a late Victorian municipal park, and is listed Grade II* in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fowlea Brook</span> Stream in Staffordshire, England

Fowlea Brook rises in Staffordshire and flows through the northern parts of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is a tributary stream of the River Trent, and is 6 miles (9.7 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleport Pottery</span>

Middleport Pottery was built in 1888 by Burgess & Leigh Ltd. It is located at Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, England. The buildings, which still house an active pottery, are protected for their historic interest. Middleport Pottery is owned and operated by Re-Form Heritage.

References

  1. Tyler, Richard (2011). "Burleigh pottery saved". Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2014.