Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

History : 20th century : Economy : Transport | Geography | Green belt | Environment | Economy | Transport | Education | Parks and gardens | Traditional market | The Guildhall | The Barracks | Culture | Sport | Religion

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, with a commercial focus. The town has been a BID (Business Improvement District) from 2015, reiterated in 2021. Newcastle-Under-Lyme BID. This business-led vision of investment seeks "to build on… traditions by creating a safe, welcoming, forward thinking town for the whole community".

History Newcastle was not recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book, as it grew up round a 12th-century castle, but it must have gained rapid importance, as a charter, known solely through a reference in another charter to Preston, was given to the town by Henry II in 1173. The new castle superseded an older fortress at Chesterton, about 2 miles (3 km) to the north, whose ruins were visible up to the end of the 16th century.

In 1235 Henry III turned the town into a free borough, granting a guild and other privileges. In 1251 he leased it under a fee farm grant to the burgesses. In 1265 Newcastle was granted by the Crown to Simon de Montfort and later to Edmund Crouchback, through whom it passed to Henry IV. In John Leland's time the castle had disappeared "save one great Toure".

Newcastle did not feature much in the English Civil War, except as a victim of Royalist plundering. However, it was the home town of Major General Thomas Harrison, a Cromwellian army officer and leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men.

An inclosure act in 1816 enclosed the common lands of the borough, and removed their common rights. They were thereafter held in trust for the burgesses of the borough. The Newcastle under Lyme Burgess Lands charity continues to exist, with entitlement to benefits going to those who would have been burgesses before the reforms of 1835: either the son of someone entitled to the trust, who was resident or occupying property within the borough's boundaries.

The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 reformed the borough, creating a new governing charter, repealing the previous charters of 1590 and 1664. The unreformed corporation prior to 1835 had been styled the "Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme", but that act changed the style to "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme".

In 1835, the admission of new burgesses was forbidden by section 13 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 under any criteria expect that of being a ratepayer. This only affected the creation of borough burgesses, and not the entitlement rules of the Burgess Lands Trust, which continued on the historic burgess criteria.

Newcastle sent two members to Parliament from 1355 to 1885, then lost one of its seats.

History: 20th century When Stoke-on-Trent was formed by the 1910 amalgamation of the "six towns" (Stoke, Hanley, Fenton, Longton, Burslem and Tunstall), Newcastle remained separate.

Despite its close proximity, it was not directly involved in the pottery industry and it strongly opposed attempts to join the merger in 1930, with a postcard poll showing residents opposing the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill by a majority of 97.4 per cent. Although passed by the House of Commons, the bill was rejected by the House of Lords.

After the Local Government Act 1972, Newcastle became the principal settlement of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

History: Economy Like neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle's early economy was based around the hatting trade, silk and cotton mills. Later coal mining, brick manufacture, iron casting and engineering rose to prominence. Fine red earthenware and soft-paste porcelain tableware (the first such production in Staffordshire) was produced in Newcastle at Samuel Bell's factory in Lower Street in 1724–1754, when production ceased. Except for a failed enterprise in 1790–1797, which then switched to brewing, there was no further commercial production of pottery within the town. Production of earthenware tiles, however, continued at several locations in the borough. Manufacture of fine bone china was re-established in the borough in 1963 by Mayfair Pottery at Chesterton.

The manufacture in the borough of clay tobacco-smoking pipes started about 1637 and grew rapidly, until it was second only to hatting as an industry. Nationally, the town ranked with Chester, York and Hull as the four major pipe producers. The industry continued until the mid-19th century, when decline set in rapidly, so that by 1881 it had only one tobacco-pipe maker left.

In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the town had a flourishing felt hat manufacturing industry, probably at its peak locally in the 1820s, when a third of the town's population were involved in over 20 factories, but by 1892 there was only one still in production.

In 1944, the Rolls-Royce Derwent 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.

Near the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the town received major redevelopment to incorporate a new street (Castle Walk) into the town centre, providing Newcastle with a new bus station and bringing in more companies. Various business centres in the town provide offices for companies that operate in the service sector.

The town was classed as a BID (business improvement district) in 2015, reiterated in 2021.

History: Transport The town was once served by the North Staffordshire Railway, its station being on a branch from Stoke-on-Trent via Newcastle, Silverdale and Keele, to Market Drayton in Shropshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station opened in September 1852, after numerous construction difficulties involving the two tunnels of 605 yards (553 m) and 96 yards (88 m) at Hartshill. There were also two halts to the west of Newcastle railway station, located at Brampton and Liverpool Road.

The section from Silverdale to Market Drayton closed to passengers in May 1956 and the rest of the line in March 1964. Only small sections remained from Madeley to Silverdale, and from Silverdale to Holditch, for coal traffic from the local collieries. The line from Newcastle Junction to Silverdale has been removed, and the site of Newcastle railway station and the Hartshill tunnels filled in.

Newcastle was on the national canal network, but the Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal running from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Stoke-on-Trent to Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal has been disused since 1935 and mostly filled in.

Today the town relies on buses for public transport. FirstGroup runs a network of services connecting Newcastle to the towns of the Potteries and to Stafford. Arriva buses run to Shrewsbury via Market Drayton

Geography Situated in a valley alongside the Lyme Brook, the town is just west of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, its suburbs running together. Newcastle town centre is less than 4 miles (6 km) from Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, about 17 miles (27 km) north of Stafford and 5 miles (8 km) south of the Cheshire county border and 10 miles (16 km) from the Shropshire county border.

Green belt Newcastle and Stoke form the main urban area at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an environmental and planning area that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire, to prevent urban sprawl and minimise convergence with outlying settlements. First defined in 1967, most of the area extends into the wider borough, but some landscape features and places of interest within that are covered or surrounded. They include the Michelin Sports Facility, Newcastle golf course, Keele University, Apedale Winding Wheel, Watermills Chimney and Bignall Hill. The West Coast Main Line forms the western boundary of the green belt.

Environment Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council undertakes a range of environmental, sustainability and regeneration projects. As part of its Sustainable Environment Strategy, it processes household and business waste through a 'waste to energy' plant and partnered with Advantage West Midlands in the development of Blue Planet Chatterley Valley, a sustainable logistics facility on the site of a former colliery completed in 2008. The Council also works with the Environment Agency, Walleys Quarry Ltd. and other relevant bodies to regulate Walleys Quarry landfill site in Silverdale.

Economy Newcastle's 20th-century industries include: iron-working, construction materials, clothing (especially military, police and transport uniforms), computers, publishing, electric motors and machinery.

Near the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the town received major redevelopment to incorporate a new street (Castle Walk) into the town centre, providing Newcastle with a new bus station and bringing in more companies. Various business centres in the town provide offices for companies that operate in the service sector.

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 trunk road runs through Newcastle from north to south and was the main road between Birmingham and Manchester until the M6 motorway opened. There is a large bus station in the town centre.

Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station, which was not within the town but towards Water Street on the Stoke to Market Drayton Line, closed in 1964 under the Beeching cuts. The line from Silverdale to Pipe Gate remained open to serve Silverdale Colliery and a creamery at Pipe Gate until 1998, when the line closed to all stone and mineral traffic. It now forms part of a green way from Silverdale to Newcastle-Under-Lyme, with the station site being called "Station Walks". The nearest station to the town is Stoke-on-Trent railway station which is between the town centre of Newcastle and city centre of Stoke-on-Trent and serves the Potteries as a whole. Newcastle is the third-largest town in England (by population) to have no railway station.

Most of the bus network is run by First Potteries Limited and D&G Bus.

Education The town has a private school: Newcastle-under-Lyme School, which was established in the 17th century, whose alumni includes T. E. Hulme, John Wain and William Watkiss Lloyd. It has a number of primary and secondary schools in the state-funded sector. The latter include Newcastle Community Academy, Clayton Hall Academy, St John Fisher Catholic College, Sir Thomas Boughey Academy and Orme Academy (formerly Wolstanton High School). There is a private Edenhurst Preparatory School, founded in 1961.

The town's largest sixth-form college is Newcastle-under-Lyme College, which was established in 1966.

Keele University main campus is situated 3 miles (5 km) from the centre of the town.

Parks and gardens In 2005 it was national winner in the "small city/large town" category (35K–100K). The town features several parks, including the Queen's Gardens at the east end of Ironmarket, which won the Britain in Bloom Judges' Award for Horticultural Excellence in 2003. Queens Gardens contains a statue of Queen Victoria funded by Sir Alfred Seale Haslam and unveiled by Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia on 5 November 1903. It is the only park within the ring road.

Grosvenor Gardens is in the centre of one of the town's roundabouts, but hidden away below road level. Queen Elizabeth Garden is located outside the town centre and was due for refurbishment using National Lottery Heritage Fund money.

To the north-west of the town centre is Brampton Park, home to a museum and art gallery.

Traditional market Dating back to 1173 Newcastle's market, known as the Stones, operates on the High Street. 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.

Today the market is open six days a week and has over 80 stalls. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays have a general market, Tuesdays an antiques market and Thursdays a sale of bric-a-brac. A cattle and livestock market was held on Mondays until the early 1990s; the site of it is now a branch of Morrison's supermarket.

The Guildhall The current Guildhall was built in 1713 and has undergone a number of changes. Originally the ground floor was open and was used for markets, until the Market Hall was built in 1854. In 1860, to provide more space, the ground floor arches were bricked up and a clock tower with four clocks added. The top rooms in the Guildhall were used for meetings by the Borough council. It is now a grade II listed building.

The Barracks The Italian-style Militia Barracks were built in 1855 of red brick. They were the headquarters of the 3rd King's Own Staffordshire Rifle Regiment until 1880. In 1882 W. H. Dalton bought the Barracks and settled them in trust for use by the Rifle Volunteers of Newcastle, which became the Territorial Force in 1907. In 2002 the Barracks were let to small businesses.

Culture The New Vic Theatre is a theatre in the round. Just outside the town centre, it offers a programme that includes modern and classic plays and concert performances.

The Borough Museum and Art Gallery (Brampton Museum) depicts the civic history of the Borough and an authentic, life-size Victorian street-scene. The art gallery hosts work by local and national artists, and travelling exhibitions.

Notable residents who contributed to the arts and entertainment include Philip Astley, founder of the modern circus. Jackie Trent, the singer and songwriter, was born in the town. Arnold Bennett, the novelist, playwright, and essayist, completed his schooling at the Middle School, and called the town Oldcastle in his Clayhanger trilogy of novels. Dinah Maria Mulock, who wrote under her married name of Mrs Craik, lived in the town (in Lower Street and Mount Pleasant) and attended Brampton House Academy.

E. S. Turner, social commentator, was educated in the town. Newcastle was home to Dr Philip Willoughby-Higson (1933–2012), poet, translator, historian, and author of 33 books. He founded and was president (1974–1992) of the Chester Poets, the oldest poetry group in the North-West. He was also President of the Baudelaire Society of France from 1992 to 2012 – the only Englishman ever to hold that position.

Sport The sports clubs and associations include Newcastle Town F.C., playing association football in the Northern Premier League Division One South East. Rugby is represented by Newcastle Staffs Rugby Union Club.

Cycle Staffordshire organises local cycling events, as does the Newcastle Track Cycling Association. The town has a velodrome used by the Lyme Racing Club,

Newcastle Athletic Club is based at the Ashfield Road track next to Newcastle College. This ash track was constructed in 1964. The club competes in the North Staffs XC League and the Local, National and Heart of England League 3.

The town is home to a volleyball club: Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club. Founded in 1980, it has teams in the National Volleyball League.

Newcastle-under-Lyme College is home to Castle Korfball Club, one of the nation's older such clubs.

The town has a swimming club; Newcastle (Staffs) Swimming Club, which was founded in 1908.

There are golf courses at Kidsgrove, Wolstanton, Keele and Westlands.

Keele University is home to one of the UK's first quidditch teams, the Keele Squirrels. It hosted the first ever quidditch game in the UK in 2011 against the Leicester Thestrals.

Religion The town was the birthplace of John James Blunt, a divine and Anglican priest. Josiah Wedgwood was a Unitarian and he and his family attended meetings at the Old Meeting House, adjacent to St Giles' Church, which is still in use for the purpose.

The town has a number of Anglican churches, including St Giles, a medieval parish church dating from 1290. There are several Catholic churches, 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.

In the 18th century John Wesley made repeated visits to the area, which was becoming industrialised, and recruited many residents to Methodism. This is reflected in a number of Methodist churches. There is a Baptist church in Clayton.

Of interest is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), across from Brampton Park, which serves as the "Stake Centre" for the church in the region and has an on-site Family History Centre, where the public can research their ancestry at little or no charge.

Europe/London/Staffordshire 
<b>Europe/London/Staffordshire</b>
Image: Photo by William Hook on Unsplash

Newcastle-under-Lyme has a population of over 75,082 people. Newcastle-under-Lyme also forms the centre of the wider Newcastle-under-Lyme District which has a population of over 129,441 people. It is estimated there are around 2,760 businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

To set up a UBI Lab for Newcastle-under-Lyme see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Newcastle-under-Lyme has links with:

🇩🇪 Neuburg an der Donau, Germany 🇨🇭 Neuchâtel, Switzerland 🇫🇷 Neufchâteau, France 🇺🇸 New Castle, USA 🇺🇸 New Castle, USA 🇺🇸 New Castle, USA 🇿🇦 Newcastle, South Africa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle upon Tyne, England 🇯🇵 Shinshiro, Japan
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

  • Reginald Thelwall Longden |

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Architect/Interior/Furniture Designer Reginald Thelwall Longden is associated with Newcastle-under-Lyme.

  • Joseph Emberton |

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Architect/Furniture Designer Joseph Emberton is associated with Newcastle-under-Lyme. In the 1930s Emberton designed some iconic buildings of the Modern movement in Britain.

Antipodal to Newcastle-under-Lyme is: 177.772,-53.011

Locations Near: Newcastle-under-Lyme -2.2278,53.0109

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stoke-on-Trent -2.183,53 d: 3.2  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stoke on Trent -2.175,53.03 d: 4.1  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sandbach -2.367,53.146 d: 17.7  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leek -2.027,53.107 d: 17.1  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Crewe -2.44,53.099 d: 17.2  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stafford -2.117,52.807 d: 23.9  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Macclesfield -2.127,53.256 d: 28.1  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Cannock -2.006,52.706 d: 37  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wythenshawe -2.264,53.392 d: 42.4  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Uttoxeter -1.86,52.898 d: 27.7  

Antipodal to: Newcastle-under-Lyme 177.772,-53.011

🇳🇿 Dunedin 170.474,-45.884 d: 19064.1  

🇳🇿 Christchurch 172.617,-43.517 d: 18893.3  

🇳🇿 Canterbury 171.58,-43.543 d: 18868  

🇳🇿 Invercargill 168.373,-46.413 d: 19019.2  

🇳🇿 Wellington 174.767,-41.283 d: 18691.7  

🇳🇿 Queenstown 168.658,-45.033 d: 18908.5  

🇳🇿 Hutt 174.917,-41.217 d: 18686.2  

🇳🇿 Lower Hutt 174.917,-41.217 d: 18686.2  

🇳🇿 Upper Hutt 175.05,-41.133 d: 18678.6  

🇳🇿 Porirua 174.84,-41.131 d: 18675.9  

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