The Villas

Last updated December 13, 2024

The Villas, Stoke-on-Trent, is an estate of 24 Victorian houses in Stoke-upon-Trent, England. Originally a distinct settlement set in green fields, it now merges with the late 19th- and early 20th-century suburban sprawl along London Road below Penkhull village on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent and within the ward of Stoke and Trent Vale.

Most dating from 1851 to 1855, The Villas was designed by local architect Charles Lynam,^[1] who became a prominent architect in Staffordshire, building the Minton Hollins tileworks, for example. In designing The Villas, he chose an Italianate style similar to other Staffordshire buildings, such as Trentham Hall and Alton Towers railway station.

In June 1850, a number of prominent inhabitants of Stoke formed "The Stokeville Building Society". The purpose of the building society was to provide the means and the financial capability for its members to erect, and ultimately own, houses on copyhold land outside the town of Stoke-upon-Trent. The land, 'Big Meadow and Barker's Meadow', containing seven acres, two rods and 18 perches, belonged to the Reverend Thomas Minton, brother of Herbert Minton, and son of the founder of Thomas Minton and Sons (later Mintons Ltd), pottery manufacturer of Stoke, and was finally purchased for £1,582 on 3 May 1859.

Conservation

Originally built in three distinct classes, all providing accommodation for servants to “live in”, changing times meant that many were subdivided by the 1940s.

In 1956, a resident of number 15 The Villas, Arnold Machin, received publicity in the national press when he chained himself to the old metal lamp-post on the turning circle in protest at its planned removal.^[2]

Machin's protest, "against the destruction of all the beautiful things which is going on in this country." did not prevent the lamp-post from being replaced by a concrete one; however, it was given to him for his own garden and his wife Patricia unlocked him. A similar lamp has since been restored to the position of the original one.^[3]

The estate subsequently received the distinction, on 19 April 1972, of being the first designated conservation area in Stoke-on-Trent. Some of the houses also receive individual protection as listed buildings. Initially, a couple of the houses were listed, but more houses were listed on 15 March 1993, and The Villas now contains the highest concentration of Grade II listed buildings in the city.

The roadway which leads from London Road to The Villas is unadopted, and it remains unmetalled. Stoke-on-Trent City Council have stated that the ownership of the road is unclear, and have described the pavements as being "in an appalling state of repair".^[4]

The Villas Vampire Case

The area gained national attention in January 1973, when Polish immigrant Demetrious Myicuria was found dead in his bed. Apparently terrified of a vampire attack, Myicuria had strewn his room with salt and garlic in ritual fashion.^[5] A post-mortem examination showed he had choked to death on a pickled onion, although PC John Pye believed it to have actually been a clove of garlic.^[6]

Related Research Articles

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km²). In 2022, the city had an estimated population of 259,965. 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">Arnold Machin</span> British sculptor, coin designer and stamp designer (1911–1999)

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Fenton is one of the six towns that amalgamated with Hanley, Tunstall, Burslem, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, later raised to city status in 1925. Fenton is often referred to as "the Forgotten Town", because it was omitted by local author, Arnold Bennett, from many of his works based in the area, including one of his most famous novels, Anna of the Five Towns.

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Longton is one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Burslem and Stoke-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, England.

Etruria Hall in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England is a Grade II listed house and former home of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. It was built between 1768–1771 by Joseph Pickford. The hall was sold by the Wedgwoods in the 19th century and is now part of a hotel.

The Stoke-on-Trent Regional College of Art was one of three colleges that were merged in 1971 to form North Staffordshire Polytechnic. The College of Art achieved Regional Art College status after the Second World War, but its roots lay in the nineteenth century as it was formed from three of the Potteries’ art schools.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winton Square</span> Square in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

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Ash Bank is a small village in the civil parish of Werrington, in the Staffordshire Moorlands district, in Staffordshire, England, near to Stoke-on-Trent. Located in the village is Ash Hall, an 1830s mansion built by Broad Street Pottery Works Owner, Job Meigh. A large two-storey house in Tudor style, it is a Grade II listed building, as is the single storey lodge which accompanies it. It is now used as a nursing home for the elderly.

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References

↑ "Did you know - Arnold Machin - the sculptor of the "Queen's Head" was born in Stoke-on-Trent". thepotteries.org (Press Cutting: Daily Mail). 12 July 1956. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
↑ "Arnold Machin chained to lamp (scan of press cutting)". The Sentinel. July 1956. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
↑ "Did you know - Arnold Machin - the sculptor of the "Queen's Head" was born in Stoke-on-Trent". thepotteries.org (Press Cutting: Daily Mail). 12 July 1956. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
↑ The Villas : Appraisal, stoke.gov.uk. Accessed 2 October 2022.
↑ Damon Wilson, ed. (March 1998). Myicuria, Demetrious: The Unexplained (Web page extract). Scarlet Books. ISBN 978-1-85487-699-7. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
↑ "Bobby's memories are brought to book". The Sentinel. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

External links

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[1] "Did you know - Arnold Machin - the sculptor of the "Queen's Head" was born in Stoke-on-Trent". thepotteries.org (Press Cutting: Daily Mail). 12 July 1956. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

[2] "Arnold Machin chained to lamp (scan of press cutting)". The Sentinel. July 1956. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2008.

[3] "Did you know - Arnold Machin - the sculptor of the "Queen's Head" was born in Stoke-on-Trent". thepotteries.org (Press Cutting: Daily Mail). 12 July 1956. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

[caa-4] The Villas : Appraisal, stoke.gov.uk. Accessed 2 October 2022.

[5] Damon Wilson, ed. (March 1998). Myicuria, Demetrious: The Unexplained (Web page extract). Scarlet Books. ISBN 978-1-85487-699-7. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 12 September 2011.

[6] "Bobby's memories are brought to book". The Sentinel. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

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