Hanley

Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. The town is the main business, commercial and cultural hub of the wider Potteries area.

History

Etymology The name Hanley comes from either "haer lea", meaning "high meadow", or "heah lea" meaning "rock meadow".

Municipal origins

Hanley was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888. On 31 December 1894 Hanley became a civil parish, being formed from part of Stoke-upon-Trent. The borough was based at Hanley Town Hall. In 1910, along with Burslem, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent, it was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough. On 1 April 1922 the parish was abolished and merged with Stoke-on-Trent. At the 1921 census (the last before the abolition of the parish), Hanley had a population of 67,891. In 1925, following the granting of city status, it became one of the six towns that constitute the City of Stoke-on-Trent.

Coal mining At one time, there were many coal mines in North Staffordshire. Hanley Deep Pit was opened in 1854. It was the deepest pit in the North Staffordshire coalfield, reaching a depth of 1,500 feet. At its peak in the 1930s it employed some 2,000 men and boys often producing of coal a week. The pit was closed in 1962 but much of the headgear and spoilheaps were left in situ. Then, in the 1980s, the original site was cleared, landscaped and converted into Central Forest Park.Pictures of Hanley Deep Pit History of Hanley Deep Pit from local newspaper extracts Coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the 1842 General Strike and associated Pottery Riots. The College Road drill hall was completed in 1903.

Garden Festival The 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival led to the reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre – including the former Shelton steelworks - which had been derelict since 1978. When the Garden Festival closed the land remained derelict for some time before being redeveloped into public parkland and retail and leisure.

Public transport In 2013, a new bus station opened in Hanley. This replaced the former bus station on Lichfield Street. The new bus station was the first stage in the regeneration project which will see the previous bus station demolished and replaced with a new centre consisting of shops, restaurants and a cinema. The new bus station is bigger than its predecessor and has seen various routes in and out of the city changed to accommodate its location. The bus station features a sheltered waiting area, shop, cafe and toilets and is covered by CCTV, with digital timetables showing information on travel times for the day, as well as Now/Next above the entrance to each bay. Access to the station is controlled by automatic doors at both the pedestrian entrance and coach bays.

The new bus station links Hanley with towns in North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton, Crewe, Shrewsbury, and Stafford. Most services are run by First Potteries, though there are a number of smaller independent operators, such as D&G Bus, and Arriva Midlands. In addition, National Express Coaches connect Hanley with destinations including London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, with additional seasonal services to holiday destinations. As part of the redevelopment of the town and wider city, a new bus interchange was opened on John Street in March 2013, allowing the current station to be demolished to make room for further redevelopment of the town.

Hanley no longer has a railway station but there was once one located on Trinity Street on the Potteries Loop Line, which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway for passengers on 13 July 1864.The North Staffordshire Railway Rex Christiansen & R. W. Miller. David & Charles Newton Abbot 1971 p. 79 The station survived for 100 years but it was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe and the land is now a car park. The nearest railway station is in , south-southwest of Hanley bus station.

Hanley is connected to the waterways network; it meets the Trent and Mersey Canal at Festival Park and it is also connected to the east of the country via the Caldon Canal.

Cultural sites

Hanley has several cultural facilities such as the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (a large ceramics collection, and restored Spitfire), the Victoria Hall, the Regent Theatre and BBC Radio Stoke's studios are based in the town.

Religion

Christian churches and chapels in Hanley include: Bethel Evangelical Free Church (Newhall Street), Bethesda Town Mission (Jasper Street), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Cardiff Grove), Church of Scientology (Warner Street), Congregational Independent Tabernacle Church (High Street), Elim Church (Bucknall Old Road, corner of Mynors Street, Northwood), Etruria Wesleyan Chapel (Etruria Old Road, Etruria), Holy Trinity C of E (Lower Mayer Street, Northwood), Providence Methodist Church (Junction of Town Road, and Hulton Street), St. John's C of E (Town Road, Hanley), St. Luke's C of E (Wellington Terrace), St. Mark's C of E (Broad Street, Shelton), Mt. Zion Pentecostal Faith Temple (Shelton), St. Matthew's C of E (Birches Head), Sacred Heart RC (Jasper Street), Trinity Methodist (Keelings Road, Northwood), and St Simon and St Jude (Seaford Street, College Road (was Victoria Road), Shelton).

Notable people

Joseph Glass (1670 – 1701 at least), potter, worked in slipware Henry Heath (1828–1908), Latter-day Saint (Mormon) pioneer, explorer, settler and lawman in the frontier Utah Territory Thomas Twyford (1849–1921), pottery maker, invented the single piece, ceramic flush toilet Sarah Benett (1850–1924), Suffragette, member of WSPU, social reformer worked in Hanley Edward Smith (1850–1912), Merchant Navy officer, captain of the RMS Titanic, who went down with the ship Sir Albert Edward Bowen, 1st Baronet (1858–1924), businessman, "No. 32178", The London Gazette (Supplement), 1 January 1921, p.2 retrieved 19 February 2018 spent time in Argentina Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), writer and novelist Arnold Bennett: The Edwardian David Bowie?, BBC News, Entertainment & Arts, 23 June 2014 retrieved 19 February 2018 John Gilbert Dale (1869–1926), scientist and prominent trade union and political activist Eleanor Lodge (1869–1936), academic and sister of Oliver, Richard and Alfred Lodge Mabel Mary Spanton (1874–1940), landscape painter, worked in watercolour Hilda Ormsby (1877–1973), academic and geographer Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880–1942), ceramicist, Frederick Hurten Rhead, www.pottery-english.com website retrieved 19 February 2018 figure in the Arts and Crafts movement Raymond Coxon (1896–1997), artist, Painting(s) by or after Raymond Coxon, at the Art UK site retrieved 19 February 2018 had retrospective exhibition at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in 1987 George Henry Evans Hopkins (1898–1973), entomologist International Society of Phthirapterists (ISoP), Hopkins, G.H.E retrieved 19 February 2018 Hanley Stafford (born Alfred John Austin, 1899–1968), an actor principally on radio. IMDb Database retrieved 20 May 2021 Goddard Lieberson (1911–1977), president of Columbia Records 1956–1971 and 1973–1975 Henry Joseph Gallagher (1914–1988) was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallantry during the Korean War. James Bostock (1917–2006), painter, printmaker and wood engraver John Forrester (1924–2007), Labour Party politician,UK Parliament website, John Forrester, MP, 31 March 1966 – 11 June 1987 retrieved 19 February 2018 MP for Stoke North 1966–1987 Harold Perkin (1926–2004), social historian Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Perkin, Harold (1926–2004) retrieved 19 February 2018 and founder of the Social History Society (1976). Ken Whitmore (born 1937), author of radio and stage plays, short stories and poetry Jeff Kent (born 1951), academic,The Stone and Eccleshall Gazette, 9 October 2015, A man in high places retrieved 19 February 2018 musician, author and historian.

Sport Bill Rowley (1865–1939), footballer, Bill Rowley at Englandstats.com retrieved 19 February 2018 124 appearances for Stoke City F.C. as goalkeeper. Horace Austerberry (1868–1946), football manager, Stoke City managers at stokecityfc.com retrieved 19 February 2018 managed Stoke City F.C. 1897–1908 Alf Underwood (1869–1928), footballer, Underwood, Alf, National Football Teams retrieved 19 February 2018 played 130 times for Stoke City F.C. Tom Holford (1878–1964), footballer, SoccerBase Database retrieved 19 February 2018 474 appearances for Stoke City F.C., Manchester City F.C., and Port Vale F.C. Arthur Box (1884–1960) footballer who played as a goalkeeper, over 100 appearances for Port Vale F.C., Stoke City F.C. and Birmingham City F.C. Sir Stanley Matthews, (1915–2000), footballer, SoccerBase Database retrieved 19 February 2018 693 appearances for Stoke City F.C. and Blackpool F.C. Les West (born 1943), cyclist The Telegraph, 30 Aug 2004, West still hooked on adrenalin retrieved 19 February 2018 Terry Alcock, (born 1946), footballer, Portland Timbers, USA, stats retrieved 19 February 2018 played 330 league games mainly for Port Vale F.C. and Blackpool F.C.

See also Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley 1842 Pottery Riots Hanley Town F.C.

References

External links

Hanley – one of the Six Towns The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Hanley Use interactive maps to find historic photographs and objects of old Hanley Town profile at The Sentinel (local newspaper)