Moneto House, Ricardo Street, Dresden

Moneto House, Ricardo Street, Dresden

picture: © Matthew Rice - The Lost City of Stoke-on-Trent

Moneta House, No 53 Ricardo Street, was built in 1865 to the design of R C Sutton, of Nottingham. This is a large villa built of red and yellow brick ornamented with stone complete with a prominent tower surmounted by ironwork.

"...situate in the best street in Dresden. The Premises consist of a villa residence which is highly artistic and ornamental, of good design, and was built a few years ago after designs by R C Sutton, Esq., Nottingham. It comprises a spacious entrance-hall and noble staircase, large dining and drawing rooms, with good bay windows to Ricardo-street; breakfastroom, china closet, four bedrooms (one easily convertible into two), and several closets, kitchens, and cellars. The back part of the house looks out onto ornamental garden ground......"

Moneto House
photos: May 2008

detail of the entrance to Moneto House

a view of Longton from the large houses on Ricardo Street
photo: 1971 - Ken & Joan Davis

The street in the foreground is Cobden Street - not long after this photo was taken many houses in Cobden, Villiers, Russell and Peel Street were demolished and replaced with new houses and bungalows.

Between the two houses at the bottom right can be seen the old bridle path which ran from Ricardo Street at the top to Belgrave Road at the bottom - the route of this path was retained on the new housing development.

In the background can be seen coal tips and bottle kilns. On the far right is the Church of St. James and to the centre left can just be seen the tower of of St. John the Baptist, just off Times Square, which was demolished in 1979.

the bridle path which runs from Ricardo Street to Belgrave Road

Longton Freehold Land Society

Freehold land societies came into existence in the 1840s as part of a politically inspired movement, organised by Liberal radicals to effect Parliamentary reform. Both Longton and Burslem formed their own independent societies in 1850.

The Longton Freehold Land Society acquired its first estate in the middle of 1850, when, for £5,000, it bought Spratslade Farm, situated half a mile or so to the south of the town, from T. Fenton-Boughey and L. Armistead - this was laid out as the Dresden Estate.  

Apart from the obvious names for some of the streets (e.g. Queen, after Queen Victoria; Albert, after her consort; Taylor after Rev James Taylor of Birmingham), most were called after either prominent national Liberals

— Richard Cobden M.P., founder of the Anti-Corn-Law League; Charles Pelham Villiers M.P. and John, 1st Earl Russell, M.P. and Prime Minister (1846-52)

— or leading local Liberals: John Ayshford Wise, of Clayton Hall, M.P. for Stafford and John Lewis Ricardo, M.P. for Stoke-upon-Trent.

contents: 2011 photos

Related pages..

Moneto House, Dresden
Fred Hughes takes a look around the house and speaks to the owners

Bridle Path
A 'walk' down the bridle path

also see..

Dresden and the Longton Freehold Land Society

Freehold land societies came into existence in the 1840s as part of a politically inspired movement, organised by Liberal radicals to effect Parliamentary reform.

Advert of the Week
Potworks of the Week