Newcastle-under-Lyme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Population: | 74,427 |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | SJ848459 |
| Administration | |
| District: | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| Shire county: | Staffordshire |
| Region: | West Midlands |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Staffordshire |
| Historic county: | Staffordshire |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Staffordshire |
| Fire and rescue: | {{{Fire}}} |
| Ambulance: | Staffordshire |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | NEWCASTLE |
| Postal district: | ST5 |
| Dialling code: | 01782 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| European Parliament: | West Midlands |
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Newcastle-under-Lyme, known simply as "castle" to many local people, is a busy market town/small city in Staffordshire, England, not to be confused with the larger city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle-under-Lyme is about 17 miles (27 km) north of the county town of Stafford.
The town sits immediately west of the neighbouring city of Stoke-on-Trent, its suburbs running into those of the city. When Stoke-on-Trent was formed by the 1910 amalgamation of the "six towns" (Stoke, Hanley, Fenton, Longton, Burslem and Tunstall), Newcastle remained separate since, despite its close proximity, it was not directly involved in the pottery industry, and it strongly opposed attempts to add it at a later date.[1] Newcastle town centre is just 2 miles (3 km) from Stoke-on-Trent and less than 4 miles (6 km) from Hanley.
In the 2001 census the town had a population of 74,427. The larger Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, formed in 1974 and including semi-industrial and rural areas further north and west, and also the town of Kidsgrove, had a 2001 census population of 122,040. By comparison, the population of Stoke-on-Trent was 240,643. Therefore Newcastle-under-Lyme and the city of Stoke-on-Trent together form a major conurbation with a population of nearly 363,000.
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[edit] History
The town grew up around a 'new' castle which was built by the Normans in the 12th century. It owes its name to the castle and to the fact that it was situated under the forest of Lyme. It is not mentioned in Domesday, but it must early have become a place of importance, for a charter, known only through a reference in a charter to Preston, was given to the town by Henry II of England. The 'new' castle was built to supersede an older fortress at Chesterton about 2 miles to the north, of which the ruins were to be seen in the 16th century. In 1235 Henry III constituted it a free borough, granting a gild merchant and other privileges. In 1251 he leased it at fee-farm to the burgesses. In 1265 Newcastle was granted by the crown to Simon de Montfort, and subsequently to Edmund Crouchback, through whom it passed to Henry IV. In John Leland's time the castle had disappeared "save one great Toure". The governing charter in 1835 was that of 1590 enlarged by that of 1664, under which the title of the corporation, was the "mayor, bailiffs and burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme."
In 1835 Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. In 1932 it took in what had been the Wolstanton United urban district, covering the parishes of Chesterton, Silverdale and Wolstanton, also taking the parish of Clayton from Newcastle under Lyme Rural District.
[edit] Economy
Like neighboring Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle's early economy was based around pottery, and later also coal mining, iron casting and engineering. Very fine red earthenware and also soft-paste porcelain tableware (the first such production in Staffordshire) was produced in Newcastle at Samuel Bell's factory in Lower Street between 1724 and 1754 when all production ceased. With the exception of a failed enterprise between 1790 and 1797, which then switched to brewing, there was no further commercial production of pottery within the town of Newcastle. Production of earthenware tiles however continued at several locations within the borough. Manufacture of fine bone china was re-established in the borough in 1963 by Mayfair Pottery at Chesterton.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries the town had a flourishing felt hat manufacturing industry, which was probably at its peak locally in the 1820's when a third of the town's population were involved in the industry in over 20 factories but by 1892 there was only one manufacturer still producing in the town.
The manufacture in the borough of clay tobacco smoking pipes started about 1637 and grew rapidly and was second only to hatting within the borough. Nationally, the town was ranked with Chester, York and Kingston upon Hull as the four major pipe producers. This industry continued until the mid-19th century when decline set in rapidly and by 1881 only one tobacco pipe maker was left.
In 1944, the Rolls-Royce Derwent jet engine for the Gloster Meteor fighter was made in the borough.
Newcastle's 20th century industries include: iron working, construction materials, clothing (especially military, police and transport uniforms), computers, publishing, electric motors, and machinery.
Today, because of its location in the centre of England and close to the M6 motorway providing easy access to the whole country, it has become a major distribution and warehousing centre.
[edit] Transport
Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the M6 motorway to the south and west of Newcastle and by the A500 road to the north and east. There are access points from the M6 at Junctions 15 and 16, to the south and north respectively. The A34 road runs through Newcastle from north to south. There is a large bus station in the town centre.
Newcastle town centre is served by Stoke-on-Trent railway station (three miles), which has trains every half-hour to London, Birmingham and Manchester. The journey to London takes about 90 minutes. The town was once served by the North Staffordshire Railway, its station being on a branch line from Stoke-on-Trent via Newcastle, Silverdale and Keele, to Market Drayton in Shropshire. Newcastle station opened in September 1852 after numerous construction difficulties involving the two tunnels of 605 yards and 96 yards respectively at Hartshill. The section from Silverdale to Market Drayton closed to passengers in May 1956 and the rest in March 1964. Newcastle station site and the Hartshill tunnels are now filled in. Newcastle borough retains Kidsgrove railway station.
The nearest international airports are Manchester Airport, Birmingham International and Nottingham East Midlands Airport.
Newcastle was on the national canal network, but the canal, running from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Stoke-on-Trent to Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal has been disused since 1935 and most of it filled in.
[edit] Politics
Newcastle sent two members to parliament from 1355 to 1885, when it lost one representative. In 2001 Paul Farrelly was elected as the Member of Parliament for the town.
The local council has traditionally been dominated by the Labour Party. However, in the 2006 local elections a coalition of Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors gained a majority.
Up to the time of the passing of the Municipal Reform Act the farce of electing a mock mayor was gone through annually after the election of the real mayor.
[edit] Education
- Newcastle-under-Lyme was chosen for the campus of University College of North Staffordshire, established in 1949 at Keele Hall in the village of Keele, two miles from the town centre, and which was granted full university status as Keele University in 1962. Keele University Medical School is based in the grounds of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire at Hartshill in Stoke-upon-Trent, about a mile from the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
- Newcastle under Lyme College, a Further Education college established in the 1970s.
- Newcastle under Lyme School, an independent school established in the 17th century.
- Blackfriars School[1], a Special Needs School consisting of Primary and Secondary departments based in Newcastle. The School's Further Education Department is based 6 miles away in Bucknall.
[edit] Sites and Attractions
[edit] Parks and Gardens
Newcastle excels in the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition. In 2005 it was the national winner in the ‘small city/large town’ category (35K-100K).
There are several beautiful parks in and around the town centre.
- The Queen’s Gardens, at the bottom of Ironmarket, was awarded the Britain in Bloom Judges’ Award for Horticultural Excellence in 2003 and is a magnet for shoppers as an ideal place to sit and relax.
- Grosvenor Gardens, a ‘sunken treasure’, is an oasis in the centre of one of the town’s roundabouts, hidden away below road level.
- The Queen Elizabeth Garden, on the outskirts of the town is a peaceful garden with a beautifully maintained bowling green. A perfect location to ‘get away from it all’.
[edit] Traditional market
Dating back to 1173, Newcastle’s market is the heart of the town. The market was originally held on Sunday; in the reign of John it was changed to Saturday; by the charter of Elizabeth it was fixed on Monday. Grants of fairs were given by Edward I, Edward III and Henry VI. A flourishing cattle and livestock market was held on Mondays until the third quarter of the 20th century. Today the market is open six-day a week, there are over 80 stalls on this open-air market. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays see an attractive general market, Tuesdays see a very popular antiques market and Thursdays are dedicated to bric-a-brac.
[edit] Theatre
The New Vic Theatre was Europe’s first purpose-built theatre in the round. It is just outside the town centre and offers a full programme of entertainment, whether modern or classic plays or impressive concert performances.
[edit] Museum
Set in eight acres of parkland, the Museum houses a wonderful collection of items. It has superb displays depicting the civic history of the Borough of Newcastle under Lyme and an authentic, life size Victorian street-scene.
[edit] Art Gallery
The Art Gallery hosts work by local and national artists as well as ‘travelling’ exhibitions.
[edit] Sport
The town is home to a wide range of sports clubs and associations.
- Football: Newcastle Town F.C., an association football club currently play in the North West Counties Football League Division One. Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. play in the Northern Premier League First Division.
- Cricket: The Lyme Valley area is home to Newcastle & Hartshill Cricket Club
- Rugby: Rugby Union is growing in popularity. The largest club is Newcastle, Staffs Rugby Union Club.
- Field athletics: Newcastle Athletic Club is based at the Ashfield Road Track.
- Cycling: Cycle Staffordshire organizes many local cycling events as does the Newcastle Track Cycling Association. The town has its own velodrome.
- Golf: There are two golf courses in town and one in nearby Keele.
[edit] Religion
Records of Christianity in the area go back over 1500 years. A centre of Christian worship was established as early as the seventh century AD. It was located where the River Trent meets Fowlea Brook. The name given to this ancient place of meeting and worship was "Stoke-upon-Trent" or meeting place ('stoc') on the Trent.
Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre has three Anglican churches: The Commissioner's Church of St George's built in 1828, the church of St Paul's built in 1908, which was formed out of the parish of Penkull, Stoke-upon-Trent and the medieval parish church of Newcastle St Giles' dating from 1290. Other Anglican Churches in Newcastle borough include: St. Andrew's in the Westlands, St James the Great in Clayton, St. Thomas's in Butterton, St. Michael's in Cross Heath, St. Margaret's in Wolstanton, St. Barnabas in Bradwell, St. Andrew's in Porthill[2], St. Mary's in Knutton, St. Luke's in Silverdale, Holy Trinity in Chesterton, St James the Great in Audley, St. Martin's in Talke, St. Thomas's in Kidsgrove, St Margaret's in Betley, St John Baptist's in Keele and All Saints in Madeley.
The 'Old Meeting house', connected to the church of St Giles' has been used for many years by the Unitarians, amongst whom were Josiah Wedgwood and his family. It is said monks had a secret passage in the church of St. Giles, but this is more folk-lore than fact.
There are several Catholic churches in Newcastle Borough, most notably Holy Trinity, whose style is Gothic in blue engineering bricks, described as... "the finest modern specimen of ornamental brickwork in the kingdom" at the time. There are also the Catholic churches of Our Blessed Lady and St John the Baptist in Ashley, St. John the Evangelist in Chesterton, Our Lady and St. Werburgh in Clayton, St. John the Evangelist in Kidsgrove, Our Lady of Sorrows in Knutton, the Sacred Heart in Silverdale and St. Wulstan in Wolstanton.
In the seventeenth century John Wesley made repeated visits to the area which was becoming more industrialised. He recruited many residents to Methodism. This is reflected in the large number of methodist churches. A particular form of methodism known as Primitive Methodism was formed in the area.
There are other places of worship including 'Newcastle's Faith' which is an old non-conformist place of worship. The largest Baptist church in North Staffordshire is in Newcastle.
Records of Jewish residents of the area stretch back into the nineteenth century. In 1873 they purchased an old Welsh chapel to be used as a synagogue. In 1923 a new synagogue was built in Hanley. This was closed in 2004 and the congregation moved to a smaller synagogue in Newcastle.
Newcastle is gradually becoming more ethnically diverse. There a small Muslim community and other small religious groups.
[edit] Famous people
This section provides a historic look at some of the famous people from or who have close links with the Newcastle-under-Lyme area.
[edit] Arts
- Philip Astley (1742-1814): Founder of the ‘modern’ circus.
- Arnold Bennett (1867-1931): Novelist, playwright, and essayist; completed his schooling at the Middle School and called the town Oldcastle in his novels.
- Arthur Berry (1925 - 1994): an English playwright, poet, teacher and artist.
- Vera Brittain (1893-1970): Writer and mother of Liberal Democrat Shirley Williams was born here.
- T.E. Hulme (1883-1917): Writer; attended Newcastle under Lyme School.
- William Watkiss Lloyd (1813 - 1893), a writer, attended Newcastle under Lyme School.
- Dinah Maria Mulock (1826-1881), who wrote under her married name of Mrs. Craik, lived in the town from 1831 in Lower Street and Mount Pleasant and attended Brampton House Academy.
- Jackie Trent (b1940) - Singer and songwriter.
- ES Turner (1910-2006) - Popular social historian.
- John Wain (1925-1994): Novelist, dramatist, critic and biographer; attended Newcastle under Lyme School.
[edit] Military
- Major Thomas Harrison (1606-1660): Cromwellian army officer, leader of the fanatical Fifth Monarchy Men and an unrepentant Regicide.
- Sergeant Fred ‘Buck’ Kite (1921-1993): World War II Hero.
- Reginald Mitchell (1895-1937): Creator of the Spitfire aeroplane; native of the village of Talke.
[edit] Politics
- Janet Bloomfield (nee Hood) (b. 1953): peace and disarmament campaigner who was chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) from 1993 to 1996.
- Sir Joseph Cook (1860-1947): Former Australian Prime minister; born in the village of Silverdale.
- Fanny Deakin (1883-1968): campaigner for better nourishment for babies and young children and better maternity care for mothers.
[edit] Religion
- John James Blunt (1794 - 1855): an English divine and Anglican priest.
- The Venerable Hugh Bourne (1772-1852): Founder of the Primitive Methodist Movement.
[edit] Science
- Dr Henry Faulds (1843-1930): Pioneer of forensic fingerprinting; retired to Wolstanton.
[edit] Sport
- Dominic Cork (b 1971): English cricket player.
- Simon Pickford (b 1963): Diver.
- Robbie Earle: Retired footballer.
[edit] Other Newcastles
The town is part of a world-wide network of towns and cities with the name Newcastle. These include:
- Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.
- Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- Neufchâteau, France.
- New Castle, Indiana, USA.
- New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
- Shinshiro, Japan.
This small international network of just eight towns, formed in 1998, is designed to encourage friendship and co-operation between the towns and to this end a school in the South African town benefited in 2004 from gifts of computing equipment surplus to Newcastle-under-Lyme's needs. The annual Newcastles of the World Summit was held in Newcastle-under-Lyme for six days from June 17, 2006 Official Report.
[edit] References
- ^ Stoke-on-Trent Bill: Extension of the City. The Times. May 2, 1930
[edit] Bibliography
Jenkins, JG (1983). 'A History of Newcastle-under-Lyme'. Staffordshire County Library, Stafford.
Briggs, J. (1973). 'Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1173-1973'. Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.
Morris, D. (1987). 'The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. A Portrait in Old Picture Postcards'. Brampton, Loggerheads.
Adams, D. (1988). 'Wartime Newcastle-under-Lyme'. Hendon Publishing, Nelson.
Adams, D. (1986). 'Newcastle-under-Lyme as it was'. Hendon Publishing, Nelson.
[edit] External links
- Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council
- Newcastle-under-Lyme local life
- The Potteries
- Keele University
- Local Information from The Sentinel newspaper
- North Staffordshire Railway
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service
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- Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
- Aerial image from TerraServer
- Satellite image from WikiMapia
| Ceremonial county of Staffordshire | ||
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| Unitary authorities: | Stoke-on-Trent | |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Cannock Chase • East Staffordshire • Lichfield • Newcastle-under-Lyme • South Staffordshire • Stafford • Staffordshire Moorlands • Tamworth | |
| Cities/Towns: | Biddulph • Burntwood • Burton upon Trent • Cannock • Cheadle • Eccleshall • Hednesford • Kidsgrove • Leek • Lichfield • Newcastle-under-Lyme • Penkridge • Rugeley • Stafford • Stoke-on-Trent (Burslem • Fenton • Hanley • Longton • Stoke • Tunstall) • Stone • Tamworth • Uttoxeter See also: List of civil parishes in Staffordshire |
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| Districts of the West Midlands |  |
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Birmingham | Bridgnorth | Bromsgrove | Cannock Chase | Coventry | Dudley | East Staffordshire | Herefordshire | Lichfield | Malvern Hills | Newcastle-under-Lyme | North Shropshire | North Warwickshire | Nuneaton and Bedworth | Oswestry | Redditch | Rugby | Sandwell | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Solihull | South Shropshire | South Staffordshire | Stafford | Staffordshire Moorlands | Stoke-on-Trent | Stratford-on-Avon | Tamworth | Telford and Wrekin | Walsall | Warwick | Wolverhampton | Worcester | Wychavon | Wyre Forest |
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Counties with multiple districts: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire |
