"In the year 1760, the
more opulent inhabitants set on foot a plan for erecting a public Building,
in the present Market Place; in furtherance of which, they presented a
memorial to Sir Nigel Gresley, Bart., and Ralph Sneyd, Esq., the Lords of
the Manor, praying a grant of a piece of waste land "where the Maypole
did formerly stand," on which to erect a piece of building for a
School, stating that there was but one School in the Town; for which reason,
two parts of the children out of three were put to work without any
learning... But the object for which the grant was solicited. seems to have
undergone some extension; for in the Lease which followed this application,
and bears the date the 24th June, 1761, a piece or parcel of waste ground,
situate in the Town of Burslem, opposite to the dwelling-house of John
Shrigley, containing in length 16 yards, and in breadth 10 yards, is demised
to 30 Trustees, for the term of 500 years, at the yearly rent of sixpence;
with power to such Lessees to erect thereon a public edifice, or building,
for a Market Hall, School, or such other public use and purpose, as should
be thought needful; and to enclose a court, or yard, to the same, from the
adjoining waste land, not exceeding 8 yards in breadth, from the side or end
walls of the building. Thus originated the present Town-Hall of
Burslem.
The exterior has, however,
undergone subsequent improvements, by the coating of Roman Cement, a slated
roof, (supplanting the old tiled one,) with a balustered parapet, an elegant
cupola, and a new clock with four dials, one of them illuminated; and the
building now presents a handsome appearance to the eye of the passing
stranger, as the plate introduced hereafter indicates. The upper story is
partitioned, and the east end used for the Police-Office. The other portion
is a large and handsome room, in which public business is transacted, and
the Magistrates hold their sittings. The arched basement is partly used as
lock-up rooms for delinquents.
The Market commenced about
the time of erecting the Hall, and grew by little and little; some country
butchers, and others, occasionally bringing a carcass or two of meat, and a
few bags of meal and potatoes for sale. Its increase, within the following
30 years was considerable; and tressels and boards were provided by the
Trustees of the Hall, for the use of the butchers and other chapmen, for
which they paid a weekly sum as rent or toll; the income being expended in
keeping the Town-Hall and Market-Place in repair. The original Trustees
having followed one another "to the house appointed for all
living," the regulation of the market devolved on the most influential
and active of the succeeding inhabitants; and Mr. Enoch
Wood, who for more
than half a century occupied such a station in Burslem, and is now the
patriarch of the existing generation of Potters, undertook its chief
management, with the general concurrence of his neighbours, to whom his
accounts, as Treasurer, were submitted periodically. In the year 1816, a
fresh appointment of Trustees was determined upon, and thirty of the most
respectable inhabitants of the day were chosen; to whom the Lease of the
Town-Hall was assigned. These gentlemen continued to superintend the market
concerns, until an Act of Parliament was obtained, in 1825, for regulating
the markets and police, and lighting and watching the Town."
(1714-1837)
The Town Hall
