5 reasons why Stoke-on-Trent is unique
By Tom Chadwick
Stoke-on-Trent is currently bidding to become the UK City of Culture 2021. The City is hoping tobeat off other cities from the UK to become the 3rd winner of the title, taking over from Hull. Theofficial site of the bid states that “We love Stoke-on-Trent and believe that becoming city ofculture will bring huge benefits for the area, the people who live and work here, the businessesthat are based here and for our children — the future generations.”
Here is a list of uniqueness about Stoke-On-Trent suggesting why it would be a worthy winner.
1. The Pottery industry
Hence the name the ‘Potteries’, Stoke-on-Trent is world famous for itspioneering pottery industry. Bottle kilnssuch as those photographed havedominated the skyline here since theearly 1800’s. At the peak of the potteryindustry it has been estimated that therewere around 4000 bottle kilns and over300 independent pottery companies thatprovided jobs for thousands of locals. Inthe late nineteenth century the citybecame the world hub for ceramicproduction which put Stoke-On-Trent onthe map.Now the industry has died down, but there remains a celebrated history of the potteryproduction and still many households across the world will find they own a little bit ofStoke-on-Trent with names such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Moorcroft and manymore tucked away in cupboards or pride of place on the mantelpiece.The photograph is taken at Gladstone pottery museum and Roslyn works in Longton.The bottle kilns shown are typical average sized kilns that are a few hundred years old,they aren’t in working order now, however Gladstone has its own pottery museum that isopen to the public.
2. Close proximity to Picturesque settings
In the city you are never far away from thetypical British countryside. Local Transportlinks mean it’s practically impossible todrive far without stumbling across views ofgreen for miles or dense woodland andfields.Not known for its beauty, there are actuallymany places where you might think you’vewondered into as setting from a DisneyFilm. The picture was taken at TrenthamGardens which attracts over 3 millionvisitors a year. It also was the winner of theBBC’s UK garden of the year.There are many other scenic places to gothat are in close proximity to the City suchas Barlaston Downs, Consal Valley, MowCop, Biddulph Grange Gardens and much,much more.
2. Local Cuisine
Stoke on Trent and northStaffordshire are home totraditional local delicaciesincluding the North StaffordshireOatcake and a stew like dishcalled ‘Lobby’.The Oatcake is a savourypancake made from Oatmeal,flour and yeast. It is usually usedas a savoury accompaniment toan English breakfast or can beused to house any type of food,but usually Sausage, bacon,cheese, beans, choppedtomatoes, black pudding or egg. There are many oatcake shops in the area, you can get them from the Oatcake boat that docs in the Etruria canals or even a 14-inch Oatcake from Castle oatcakes shop basedin Newcastle-Under-Lyme.Lobby (Pictured) is essentially a stew made from meat, potatoes, veg and gravy. Theterm ‘Lobby’ comes from the term ‘lob’, as people used to lob leftovers in to a large potand leave it stewing for a few hours or even all day. The dish is usually made in winter towarm you up after a hard day’s work, it is said to have healing powers, my Grandma would always make me one if I had a bit of a sniffle! A rich list of notable people from Stoke-on-Trent.
There is a large list of peoplewho have made a considerablecontribution to society fromStoke-On-Trent. To name afew, Stanley Matthews(Pictured), Reginald Mitchel,Josiah Wedgwood, CaptainEdward Smith, Slash andRobbie Williams all hail fromthe city and are names to berecognised around the world.Stanley Matthews was the firstfootballer to be knighted whilestill playing and inauguralwinner the Ballon d’or, an award given to the best player in Europe. Not only did hisincredible playing career span across 32 years, but after he went into coaching and ashort spell with Port Vale, he flew to Africa to coach in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana,Uganda and Tanzania. In 1975 he took a team made of black players outside of SouthAfrica for the first time, ignoring apartheid and helping make the players dreams ofplaying in brazil a reality. He remains one of the most well respected sportsmen of alltime.Other names such as Reginald Mitchel may not be as glamorous, but Mitchel in factplayed a huge role in the outcome of World war II after designing the Spitfire which helpdefend the British in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Mitchel was, and still is a well-respected aircraft designer across the world and has gone down in history as one ofBritain’s most important people.There are many more notable people from the City, there must be something in the soil!
5. The People
The people of Stoke-On-Trent are said bymany to be very friendly and work as a closeknit community. Most of the locals come froma very working class background whichmeans they are down to earth and veryapproachable. Many people come to the cityand are surprised by how welcome they aremade.
Deborah Rogers came to Stoke to study atStaffordshire University in the early 90’sdecided to live in the City after the end of herdegree. She says a large factor in herdecision to stay was her relationship withpeople from the city and she felt that thepeople here were unique compared to herhome town in Wolverhampton.
“When I came to Stoke I felt as though it was my home. The people are such a tight knitcommunity that are from a working class background but very friendly. There is anatmosphere that is infectious and I didn’t feel that in Wolverhampton.”
Deborah helped found non-profit organization ‘The Cultural sisters’ that concentrates onCreativity, Participation and Wellbeing. She has an art shop in the centre of Stoke and isan advocate of the bid.
Deborah isn’t the only Staffordshire University graduate doing their bit for the City ofculture bid. Hanley’s cultural quarter has seen a small gathering of Ex Staffs studentsjoin together to help revive the quarter by starting new businesses.
Klay is a pizzeria that is Owned by 2 ex Staffs graduates Georgia and Andy, Georgiesays that it is the team work and spirit of the people that have helped make thebusinesses work and come together to rejuvenate a once outdated cultural quarter.
“We all met at the Sugarmill basically, we had jobs but were getting quite fed up. I wenttravelling to Sweden and whilst there was inspired to make fresh pizzas that you couldhave as one portion. I came back and said to the guys that I wanted to start up thebusiness. We haven’t looked back since and we work with guys in the other shops like‘Ntrprnrs’, ‘Rawr’, ‘Tspn’ and ‘Wavemaker’. There is a great spirit between us where wewill always pop in to see each other, if I’m trying something new on the menu I’ll nip overto them and see what they think.”
‘Ntrprnrs’ is a clothing store set up by 3 ex staffs students Tom, Rob and Andy. Tomsays that although they want a successful business they also put a lot of time into backing the bid as they have galleries in the disused pottery factory floors to promotecreativity in the area. “We are very rarely all in the shop in the same time and all haveour own things to do on the side, however it is our mission to help bring the culturalquarter back to life and to make people to want to come to Hanley.”
It’s not only Ex members of the University that feel the people of Stoke-On-Trent areunique. Monique Strachan, currently studying Business at the university and works atHanley nightclub, ’Fiction’, says that she has come from London and the people here arevery different. “Even today I was walking home with some shopping and an elderly ladystarted speaking to me about her day. I was thinking how nice it was and how it neverhappens where I’m from in London. People here seem to care about you whereas backhome they are very much concentrated on their own lives. I have been here for over 2years now and I can’t imagine living without being with my Stokie friends.”
She is also passionate about The culture of city bid as she says “When you talk aboutculture Stoke has a lot of history but also there is a lot of varied culture mixing here rightnow. In a lot of other places that is frowned upon but I think it should be celebrated. Ialso think it would be good for the City to have a boost in the economy, there are a lot ofnice and old unused buildings that could be used for something to do the people herejustice”
Stoke-On-Trent winning the bid would be a chance for the city to celebrate after so manyyears in the dark. The once cocooned city is ready to break out of its shell and spread itswing.
