About Stoke on Trent

The city’s history is intimately bound up with that of the ceramics industry; the Stoke-on-Trent area is, in fact, generally known as the Staffordshire Potteries, or just the Potteries.

The production of pottery dates back to at least the 17th century, and was founded on the area’s abundant supplies of clay; of salt and lead for glazing; and of coal, used to fire the kilns. By the time Josiah Wedgwood set up business for himself in 1759, the area was supplying a wide variety of earthenware and stoneware produced in and around the villages of the area.

Pottery production was also in the process of changing from a cottage-based to a factory-based industry, a transformation that placed the Potteries at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.

Stoke-on-Trent is still the centre of the British ceramic industry, and is the largest clayware producer in the world, other local industries include chemical works, rubber works and tyre manufacturing (Michelin Tyre Co.), engineering plants, paper mills, textile processing, and electronics.

The site of an old colliery and other reclaimed land is being planted as the Central Forest Park. Stoke-on-Trent was the site of the first National Garden Festival in 1985; the site was subsequently developed into the Festival Park, a business area where some 3,000 jobs have been created

The city's rich past can best be explored through visiting one of its many museums & galleries; such as the Etruria Industrial Museum, the Elizabethan Ford Green Hall, the world-class ceramics collection at the main Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Gladstone Pottery Museum (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage) and the newly opened Ceramica in Burslem. Burleigh in Middleport is the world's oldest working Victorian pottery. There are ambitious plans to open the huge Chatterley Whitfield colliery as a Mining Museum, since it has been given Ancient Monument status, ranking it in importance with Stonehenge. Trentham Gardens is in the south of the city and a £100 million refurbishment was completed in 2005.

Tourism is very strong in the Potteries:

Large recent developments include the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley, and the entertainment complex, Festival Park.

The Art Deco Regent Theatre has reopened after renovation,

The Wedgwood Story, a £4.5 million interactive tour, new for 2000 is located at the Wedgwood site.

The theme park Alton Towers is easily accessible from Stoke, while the Peak District National Park and the Staffordshire Moorlands are a short drive from the city.

Living in Stoke on Trent

Stoke on Trent offers a wealth of surprisingly inexpensive accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets whether you prefer rural, semi rural or town and city locations. The city itself, has one of the highest proportions of green space of any city in Europe and the beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands and Peak District are a short drive away.

Stoke on Trent is conveniently situated in the 'Heart of England' and offers easy access by road and rail.

Road - Stoke on Trent is served by the M6 and linked to the M1 by the A50. Birmingham , Manchester and the East Midlands are within a 1 hour drive.

Rail Travel - the recently refurbished and updated main line station is located in Stoke and is a few minutes walk from the Cauldon Campus.

Train travel times to Stoke on Trent:

London Euston - 1 hour 50 minutes
Birmingham - 1 hour
Manchester - 45 minutes
York - 2 hours 20 minutes
Chester - 1 hour