Stoke-on-Trent, North Staffordshire 

 Facts and figures about Stoke-on-Trent

Facts and figures

Stoke-on-Trent

  Formation of the city
Stoke-on-Trent is a federation of six much older towns forming a linear city almost twelve miles long with an area of 36 square miles.
On 31st March 1910 a single county borough called Stoke-on-Trent was formed.
It consisted of the county borough of Hanley, the municipal boroughs of Burslem, Longton and Stoke, together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton.
 

 Arms were granted to the new county borough in 1912. They were made up of devices previously used by the constituent six towns.

The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior
"United Strength is Stronger"

 

On 5th June, 1925 the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent was elevated to rank of City.

See the following links for details of the six towns:-

Tunstall
Burslem
Hanley
Stoke
Fenton
Longton

 

  The City - geographical location
Stoke-on-Trent is a city in the north of the County of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.
The city is a modern federation of six much older towns forming a linear city almost twelve miles long with an area of 36 square miles.
Stoke-on-Trent is situated approximately half-way between the cities of Manchester and Birmingham and the city adjoins the town and borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is administered separately.
 


Map of the counties of England
The county of Staffordshire is shown in light green.
The City of Stoke-on-Trent is shown in red.


Stoke-on-Trent is located close to J15 and J16 off the M6 Motorway
- click for bigger map -

   

  Population

In 1958 the population stood at 272,000. (Stoke-on-Trent handbook).

2001 census showed total of 240,643 broken down into 117160 males and 123483 females.

This was a decline of almost 9,000 people, 3.5%, since the 1991 census.

From the city council web site in 2006 the population of Stoke-on-Trent is 240,000.

Together the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and city of Stoke-on-Trent form a conurbation with a population in excess of 360,000. (2004).

 

  Expansion
In 1922 the boundaries of the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent were extended to the east and south adding 9,635 acres. Further additions in 1929 brought the area to 21,190.
In April 1965 alterations to the city boundaries increased the total acreage of the city to 22,916.

 

  The River Trent around Stoke-on-Trent
As it travels through the city the River Trent is only 2-3ft deep and 4-6ft wide.

The Trent rises to the north-west of Stoke-on-Trent between Biddulph and Mow Cop at about 700 feet above sea level. The stream almost immediately, passes into Knypersley Pools, where several streams unite, with the surplus water proceeding from Biddulph Moor.
The Trent now flows on 3 miles to Norton, below which (in Stoke town) a considerable tributary comes in called the Fowlea Brook which rises near the Trent source, and flows through a parallel valley. The united stream flows about 3 miles to Stoke-upon-Trent, passing the town of Hanley and a long line of thickly-populated country, which it leaves to the west.
Beyond Stoke it flows 2 miles further to Hanford, where it receives the Lyme from the north, a brook about 5 miles long flowing near Newcastle. A short distance from this it enters Trentham Park, where it forms a lake of about 80 acres. After leaving Trentham it flows near Barlaston, being fed by waters from the high lands about Hilderstone, and passing west of Stone it flows southeast near Sandon, Salt and Weston-on-Trent.

 

  Elevation
The Potteries lie in a shallow depression on the south west edge of the Pennines. On the northwest side of the county of Staffordshire an elevated ridge continues past Cloud Hill and over Congleton Edge and Mow Cop, and the elevation in many places is over 1,000 feet above the sea. Mow Cop is half in Staffordshire and half in Cheshire. At nearly 1091ft (almost 335 metres) above sea-level.

The highest point in the city is Goldenhill, north of Tunstall, at 700ft above sea-level.
The Chells (Little & Great Chell) lie on the ridge east of Scotia Brook, at  mainly 600ft and Tunstall around 500ft.

The eastern part of the borough of Burslem lay along a north-south ridge between 600 and 700 feet above sea-level. From this ridge two spurs slope westwards to below 400ft, with Burslem on one spur and Cobridge on the other. Middleport is about 420 ft above sea-level.

Hanley encompasses a large change in height from 400ft along the route of the Trent, on the north-east, to over 600ft on the Birches Head side of the town. At nearly 600 feet above the sea level, Hanley is accounted one of the highest market towns in England. Etruria canal junction is 408ft above sea level.

Stoke town, around the River Trent and Fowlea Brook area is below 350ft but it rises steeply to over 525ft around Penkhull and Hartshill.

In the northern part of Fenton there is open country which rises to over 600ft. In the south, below Grove Road the land rises to 500ft.

Newcastle-under-Lyme is situated on a ridge to the north-west of the city of Stoke-on-Trent and stands at about 500ft. The pithead wheel at Apedale Country Park near Newcastle stands 750 feet above sea-level.

 

  Geology


The geology of North Staffordshire
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 Alternate layers of coal and sandstone underlie the area of Stoke-on-Trent.
Gravel and red sandstone form the basis of Park Hall and Trentham.

Stoke-on-Trent lies at the point of erosion where the coal seams have been preserved but are close enough to the surface to be easily mined.
There also happens to be coarse and fine clays and ironstone.

This combination of geological features gave rise to the North Staffordshire Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent.

 

 

  Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor holds the position of First Citizen of Stoke-on-Trent and is the City's ceremonial ambassador. Not every town or city has a Lord Mayor since the position is specially conferred by the Monarch. The title of Lord Mayor was first conferred on the City of Stoke-on-Trent by King George V on 10 July, 1928.
The role is largely ceremonial and involves representing the City at important events and meeting VIPs and other visitors who he or she receives in the Lord Mayor's Parlour. The Lord Mayor carries out, on average, 800 engagements a year. The Lord Mayor chairs the Council Meetings but has no executive powers and can not make decisions relating to council business. The Lord Mayor wears a gold chain of office and has ceremonial robes which may be worn on special occasions.
The Lord Mayor is chosen from one of the 60 elected councillors who vote on who will be the new holder of the office. Once chosen the Lord Mayor takes up office in May and serves for one year.

 
  Sources
Stoke-on-Trent handbooks 1958 and 1977.
Stoke-on-Trent council Internet site (2006).
The Making of the Six Towns - ISBN 0 905080 42 4
The Victoria History of the County of Stafford vol VIII
'Urban Studies in Stoke-on-Trent' - Staffordshire Education Committee.
2001 national UK census.

 

  [ Questions / Comments / Contributions ? email: Steven Birks ]