Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Genealogy

Guide to Stoke on Trent history, family history, and genealogy parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Stoke-on-Trent, often abbreviated to Stoke, is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and is commonly known as the Potteries.

An early proposal for a federation took place in 1888, when an amendment was raised to the Local Government Bill which would have made the six towns into districts within a county of "Staffordshire Potteries". It was not until 1 April 1910 that the "Six Towns" were brought together. The county borough of Hanley, the municipal boroughs of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.

Stoke-on-Trent is situated about half-way between Manchester and Birmingham. The city lies on the upper valley of the River Trent at the south west foothills of the Pennines, ranging from 106 to 213 meters (350 to 700 ft) above sea level. The city is considered to be the southernmost end of the Pennines,[33] bounded by the lowlands of the Midlands to the south, including the Cheshire Plain lying west of Newcastle. The Peak District National Park lies directly to the east, and includes part of the Staffordshire Moorlands District, as well as parts of Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and West and South Yorkshire.

Since the 17th century, the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing. Companies such as Royal Doulton, Dudson Ltd, Spode (founded by Josiah Spode), Wedgwood (founded by Josiah Wedgwood), Minton (founded by Thomas Minton) and Baker & Co. (founded by William Baker) were established and based there. The local abundance of coal and clay suitable for earthenware production led to the early (initially limited) development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal (completed in 1777) enabled the import of china clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware and bone china.

Methodical and highly detailed research and experimentation, carried out over many years, nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries. This was spearheaded by one man, Josiah Wedgwood, who cut the first sod for the canal in 1766 and erected his Etruria Works that year. Wedgwood built upon the successes of earlier local potters such as his mentor Thomas Whieldon and along with scientists and engineers, raised the pottery business to a new level. Josiah Spode introduced bone china at Trent in 1796, and Thomas Minton opened his manufactory. With the industry came a large number of notable 20th-century ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper, Charlotte Rhead, Frederick Hurten Rhead and Jabez Vodrey.

North Staffordshire was a center for coal mining. The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th century. The Potteries Coalfield (part of the North Staffordshire Coalfield) covers 100 square miles (300 km2). When coal mining was nationalised in 1947, about 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke-on-Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath, Stafford and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Mossfield, Parkhall, Norton, Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton. The industry developed greatly, and new investments in mining projects were planned within the City boundaries as recently as the 1990s. However, 1994 saw the last pit to close as the Trentham Superpit was shut.

The iron and steel industries occupied important roles in the development of the city, both before and after federation. Especially notable were those mills located in the valley at Goldendale and Shelton below the hill towns of Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks' production of steel ended in 1978—instead of producing crude steel, they concentrated on rolling steel billet which was transported from Scunthorpe by rail. The rolling plant finally closed in 2002.

The Michelin tire company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent, and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. In the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant; in 2006 about 1,200 worked there.

Cemeteries (Civil)

 * Stoke City; cemeteries

Burslem Cemetery Hanley Road Smallthorne Stoke-on-Trent ST6 1RD

Carmountside Cemetery and Crematorium Leek Road Milton Stoke-on-Trent ST2 7AB

Fenton Cemetery Vivian Road Fenton Stoke-on-Trent ST4 3JG

Hanley Cemetery Cemetery Road Shelton Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2DL

Longton Cemetery Spring Garden Road Longton Stoke-on-Trent ST3 2QS

Smallthorn Cemetery Ford Green Road Smallthorne Stoke-on-Trent ST6 1NX

Stoke Cemetery Queens Road Hartshill Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7LH

Trentham Cemetery Stone Road Trentham Stoke-on-Trent ST4 8NG

Tunstall Cemetery Jacqueline Street Tunstall Stoke-on-Trent ST6 5JA

Parishes
The urban area now known as Stoke-on-Trent has many Anglican parishes. These are listed below:

St Bartholomew's School Lane Stoke-on-Trent ST3 3DU Phone: +44 1782 312163

Christ Church, Fenton 65 Glebedale Rd Stoke-on-Trent ST4 3AQ Phone: +44 1782 412417

Holy Trinity, Northwood Lower Mayer St Stoke-on-Trent ST1 2EA Phone: +44 1782 852280

St James' Church, Audley 1 Wilbraham's Walk Audley, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 8HL Phone: +44 1782 720392

St Mark's Basford Park Rd Newcastle ST5 0PG Phone: +44 1782 623668

St Paul's 131 Longton Hall Rd Stoke-on-Trent ST3 2EL Phone: +44 1782 598366

St Phillip and St. James 190 Baddeley Green Lane Stoke-on-Trent ST2 7EY Phone: +44 1782 534062

Stoke Minster Glebe St Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1LP

Non Conformists
The following other Christian denominations and religions are also well represented in Stoke-on-Trent:


 * Baptists
 * Evangelical
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Christian Fellowship
 * Gospel Hall
 * Greek Orthodox Church
 * Jehovah's Witness
 * Lutherans
 * Methodists
 * Pentecostal
 * Potters' House Church
 * Roman Catholics

Non Christian populations include:


 * Buddhists
 * Jews
 * Muslims
 * Sikhs
 * Taoists

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day.


 * Staffordshire BMD
 * Stoke on Trent BMD certificates
 * free BMD org

Local Histories

 * British History Online; Stoke upon Trent

Maps and Gazetteers

 * google maps: Stoke-on-Trent
 * thepotteriesorg: Stoke on Trent
 * Old maps of Stoke-oon-Trent
 * Gazetteers for Stoke on Trent
 * Gazetteer for Staffordshire

Newspapers

 * The Stoke Sentinel

Occupations
The economy of the Stoke on Trent area was built upon the ceramic and pottery industry. Because a large portion of the ceramic industry has been "offshore'd" to Asia, the volume of manufacturing has been greatly reduced. However Stoke-on-Trent is still the center of the British ceramic industry, and is the largest clayware producer in the world,and this offers many positions for skilled operators, and especially ceramic artists.

To a large extend, tourism has become the largest source of employment, with most of the major manufacturers of ceramics and pottery having large museums and demonstration centers. The area also is home to the National Garden Festival. This has been expanded to become Festival Park, with employment for approx. 3,000 persons.

As an offshoot of the ceramics industry, there are a large number of specialty chemical manufacturers in the region, offering positions for research chemists, and manufacturing engineers and technicians.

Rubber works, and automobile tire manufacturing is also strong in the region, as is a large number of small engineering firms.

Societies
Stoke upon Trent does not have a family history society. Staffordshire county does have some groups, identified below:


 * Forebears: Stoke upon Trent
 * Staffordshire Genealogy Societies
 * Staffordshire Council, Staffordshire History Centre - upcoming

Archives

 * Stoke on Trent City Archives City Central Library Bethesda Street Hanley Stoke on Trent ST1 3RS Phone: (+44) 01782-238420


 * Stoke City Archives
 * The National Archives: Stoke
 * The Potteries.org: Archives

Websites

 * Kingston Upon Hull wikipedia
 * Hull City Council
 * Yorkshire East Riding County Council