| Wolstanton | |
|---|---|
 St Margaret's Church | |
  Wolstanton Location within Staffordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ856480 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newcastle |
| Postcode district | ST5 |
| Dialling code | 01782 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Wolstanton is a village on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the Newcastle-under-Lyme district, in the county of Staffordshire, England.
The Roman road the Rykeneld Street passed through Wolstanton.
Wolstanton is mentioned in the Norman Domesday book where it is listed amongst the lands belonging to the King. [1] The land consisted of work for 2 ploughs, 14 villeins, 2 bordars and a priest (who had his own plough). Woodland then was measured as being a league by a furlong. When tax had been paid (by Ælfgar before the conquest) then it was set at six pounds.
Wolstanton Church, dedicated to St Margaret, is of red freestone. Rebuilt in 1860, it incorporated the layout and substantial elements of the old medieval church that had occupied the same site.
In 1931 the parish had a population of 15,002. [2] On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Newcastle under Lyme. [3]
One of the village's many notable buildings is located on the corner of High Street and Nelson Street. During World War II and for some years afterwards, it was owned by the renowned Carr's Café and was daily frequented by the owners of many Stoke-on-Trent potteries who resided in the village. Ownership then passed to the District Bank (later incorporated into NatWest Bank) and subsequently Barclays Bank. Now it is known as Bank House, [4] and is a retail outlet. A memorial plaque was unveiled there by Staffordshire Police in the summer of 2007 [5] to commemorate the work of Henry Faulds, the fingerprint pioneer, who retired to live in the village at number 1 James Street and is buried at St Margaret's Church.
The architect Absalom Reed Wood (1851–1922) designed some of Wolstanton's grander buildings, including St Andrew's Church at the top of Porthill Bank and several of the houses along the High Street, just before the Porthill 'border'. [6]
Wolstanton Colliery was sunk in 1916. Originally an iron ore and coal mine, it was located just to the east of the village. Redeveloped in the 1960s, the shafts being deepened to reach the lowermost coal seams produced 1 million tons in 1963. The towering concrete structures located at the top of the shafts contained the 3 'Mine Winders', each winder motor rated 3300 horse power. The shafts at 1,265 Yards, were noted as the deepest in Britain and the coal working depth extending further as the deepest in Western Europe. The mine was connected underground with neighbouring Hanley Deep, Sneyd and Whitfield collieries. By 1986 it was closed completely, eventually replaced by Wolstanton Retail Park. [7] Recorded between 1923 and 1946, pre-nationalization, some 14 miners are listed fatally injured. Between 1947 and 1985, some 38 Wolstanton miners were fatally injured. A memorial plaque is located on the approach road to the local Asda superstore that opened in 1989, and a commemorative 'winding wheel' features the newly opened Marks & Spencer flagship Superstore.
The large Asda store and the Wolstanton Retail Park now covers the main part of the former mine, and the colliery's former sports field is now—after some not inconsiderable opposition—being redeveloped with housing. A new road (originally proposed in 1978) has been built connecting the A500 with the A527 through the village, following for the most part the old colliery approach road (Grange Lane). Paid for by the developers of the site, Bloor Homes, this road finally opened to the public on 24 January 2008. In April 2012 planning permission was granted for a regional flagship Marks & Spencer store to be built on Wolstanton Retail Park. At 140,000sq ft its one of the largest in the UK. [8]
A remarkable grave is located in the churchyard of St Margaret's. The headstone of Sarah Smith (deceased 1783) includes a short poem written in the first person in which Sarah suggests that she was murdered; 'with half a pint of poyson he came to visit me' and then provides a clue to her killer, 'it was C___s B___w who brought me to my end'.
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276. Most of the town is in the Kidsgrove ward, whilst the western part is in Ravenscliffe.
Henry Faulds was a Scottish doctor, missionary and scientist who is noted for the development of fingerprinting.
Thurnscoe is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Dearne North ward of the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village is approximately 9 miles (14 km) from Barnsley and 8 miles (13 km) from Doncaster. It is served by Thurnscoe railway station with bus links provided by Stagecoach. In 2011 it had a population of 8687.
Easington Colliery is a town in County Durham, England, known for a history of coal mining. It is situated to the north of Horden, a short distance to the east of Easington Village. The town suffered a significant mining accident on 29 May 1951, when an explosion in the mine resulted in the deaths of 83 men.
Bradford is a district of east Manchester, England, two miles north east of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 15,784. Historically in Lancashire, after the closure of its heavy industries Bradford was for many years an economically deprived area but has undergone regeneration with the building of the City of Manchester Stadium which hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games and is now home to Manchester City F.C. Bradford is neighboured by Beswick to the south and the two areas are sometimes referred to as Bradford-with-Beswick. The River Medlock and the Ashton Canal run through Bradford.
Madeley is a village and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire, England. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley. In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 4,386, decreasing to 4,222 at the 2011 Census.
Chesterton is a former mining village on the edge of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the Newcastle-under-Lyme district, in Staffordshire, England.
Gosforth is an affluent suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a population of 23,620.
Silverdale is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a self contained ward of Newcastle Borough Council returning 2 Councillors. Historically, the village was dominated by the coal industry and records indicate coal was mined in the area as long ago as the 13th century. The last colliery, Silverdale Colliery, closed in 1998. Brick-maker Ibstock also operate a large clay quarry next to the former colliery.
Cortonwood was a colliery near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The colliery's proposed closure was a tipping point in the 1984-85 miners' strike. The site is now a shopping and leisure centre.
Halmer End is a small village in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, neighbouring the small hamlet of Alsagers Bank and the larger village of Audley.
Basford is a suburb which sits on high ground between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.
Newchapel is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kidsgrove, in the Newcastle-under-Lyme district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. In 1951 the parish had a population of 4135.
Glasshoughton is a neighbourhood of Castleford in West Yorkshire, England, that borders on Pontefract. The appropriate Wakefield ward is called Castleford Central and Glasshoughton. It is home to the Xscape leisure centre and ski slope, the Junction 32 Outlet Shopping Village, a B&Q, a hotel, several pubs and a number of fast food restaurants, which were built on the site of the former Glasshoughton Colliery and coke coking plant. This area also contains the Glasshoughton Wheel of Light, a former pit winding wheel now made into a sculpture as a memorial to the miners of Glasshoughton.
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent, England. It was the largest mine working the North Staffordshire Coalfield and was the first colliery in the UK to produce one million tons of saleable coal in a year.
Caerau is a former mining village in the community of Maesteg, Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located approximately 2 miles north of the centre of Maesteg town in the Llynfi Valley. Caerau, surrounded by mountainous terrain and forestry, is one of the border points between Bridgend County Borough and Neath Port Talbot County Borough, bordered to the north by Croeserw and Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot. Caerau, borders Dyffryn and Spelter to the south in Nantyffyllon, Maesteg.
Marley Hill is a former colliery village about six miles to the south west of Gateshead, near the border between Tyne and Wear and County Durham. It has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead since 1974. Prior to this it was part of Whickham Urban District. It lies within the Whickham South & Sunniside electoral ward of the Blaydon parliamentary constituency.
Chell is a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, England, that can be subdivided into Little Chell, Great Chell and Chell Heath. It lies on the northern edge of the city, approximately 1-mile (1.6 km) from Tunstall, 2 miles (3.2 km) from Burslem and 3 miles (4.8 km) from the county border with Cheshire. Chell borders Pitts Hill to the west, Tunstall to the south west, Stanfield and Bradeley to the south, with the outlying villages of Packmoor and Brindley Ford to the north and Ball Green to the east. Since 2011 the area has been divided into the electoral wards of Bradeley & Chell Heath, Great Chell & Packmoor and Little Chell & Stanfield.
Garth is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Garth is situated to the east of the town of Maesteg, and lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley. During the 19th century Garth was an industrial coal-mining village which contained its own colliery, the Garth Merthyr Colliery.
St Margaret's Church is an Anglican church in Wolstanton, Staffordshire, England, and in the Diocese of Lichfield. The building is Grade II* listed.
