Tourist's guide to visit Stoke-on-Trent

Visit Stoke-on-Trent – things to do & explore

Overview of Stoke-on-Trent history & facts by Walkfo

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Planning a visit to Stoke-on-Trent?

Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km) In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375 . It is the home of the pottery industry in England and is commonly known as the Potteries .

Stoke-on-Trent history

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Toponymy and etymology

Stoke derives from the Old English stoc, a word that at first meant little more than place, but which subsequently gained more specific – but divergent – connotations . It is not known which of these was intended here, and all are plausible . The most frequently suggested interpretations derive from a crossing point on the Roman road that ran from present-day Derby to Chesterton .

Industry

Since the 17th century, the area has been almost exclusively known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing. Companies such as Royal Doulton, Dudson, Spode (founded by Josiah Spode), Wedgwood (founded by Josiah Wedgwood), Minton (founded by Thomas Minton) and Baker & Co. (founded by William Baker) were established and based there. The local abundance of coal and clay suitable for earthenware production led to the early (initially limited) development of the local pottery industry. The construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal (completed in 1777) enabled the import of china clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware and bone china. Other production centres in Britain, Europe and worldwide had a considerable lead in the production of high-quality wares. Methodical and highly detailed research and experimentation, carried out over many years, nurtured the development of artistic talent throughout the local community and raised the profile of Staffordshire Potteries. This was spearheaded by one man, Josiah Wedgwood, who cut the first sod for the canal in 1766 and erected his Etruria Works that year. Wedgwood built upon the successes of earlier local potters such as his mentor Thomas Whieldon and along with scientists and engineers, raised the pottery business to a new level. Josiah Spode introduced bone china at Trent in 1796, and Thomas Minton opened his manufactory. With the industry came a large number of notable 20th-century ceramic artists including Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper, Charlotte Rhead, Frederick Hurten Rhead and Jabez Vodrey. North Staffordshire was a centre for coal mining. The first reports of coal mining in the area come from the 13th century. The Potteries Coalfield (part of the North Staffordshire Coalfield) covers 100 square miles (300 km). Striking coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the nationwide 1842 General Strike and its associated Pottery Riots. When coal mining was nationalised in 1947, about 20,000 men worked in the industry in Stoke-on-Trent. Notable Collieries included Hanley Deep Pit, Trentham Superpit (formerly Hem Heath, Stafford and Florence Collieries), Fenton Glebe, Silverdale, Victoria, Mossfield, Parkhall, Norton, Chatterley Whitfield and Wolstanton. The industry developed greatly, and new investments in mining projects were planned within the City boundaries as recently as the 1990s. However, 1994 saw the last pit to close as the Trentham Superpit was shut. The Stoke mining industry set several national and international records. Wolstanton Colliery, when modernised, had the deepest mining shafts in Europe at 3,197 ft. In 1933, Chatterley Whitfield Colliery became the first Colliery in the country to mine one million tons of coal. In the 1980s Florence Colliery in Longton repeatedly set regional and national production records; in 1992 the combined Trentham Superpit (Hem Heath and Florence) was the first mine in Europe to produce 2.5 million saleable tonnes of coal. Today the mines are all closed, though the scars of mining still remain on the landscape. Slag heaps are still visible on the skyline, now covered with flora and fauna. The Chatterley Whitfield site reopened as a museum two years after its closure in 1976. The museum closed in 1991 and the site became a local nature reserve. It was declared a scheduled monument by English Heritage in 1993. The abandoned subterranean mines are inaccessible, though they still add complications to many building projects and occasionally cause minor tremors, detectable only by specialised equipment. The Phoenix Trust, an independent not-for-profit foundation, is campaigning to turn Stoke-on-Trent and the wider North Staffordshire Coalfield into a World Heritage Site due to its historic economic significance, its leading role in the industrial revolution, and as the birthplace of Primitive Methodism. The iron and steel industries occupied important roles in the development of the city, both before and after federation. Especially notable were those mills located in the valley at Goldendale and Shelton below the hill towns of Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley. Shelton Steelworks’ production of steel ended in 1978—instead of producing crude steel, they concentrated on rolling steel billet which was transported from Scunthorpe by rail. The rolling plant finally closed in 2002. From 1864 to 1927 Stoke housed the repair shops of the North Staffordshire Railway and was the home of independent railway locomotive manufacturers Kerr, Stuart and Company from 1881 to 1930. Shelton Steel Works and the mining operations were heavily involved in the World War II industrial effort. Central to the RAF’s success was the Supermarine Spitfire designed by Reginald Mitchell who, whilst born at 115 Congleton Road in the nearby village of Butt Lane, had his apprenticeship at Kerr, Stuart and Company’s railway works. The Michelin tyre company also has a presence in Stoke-on-Trent, and in the 1920s built their first UK plant in the city. In the 1980s nearly 9,000 workers were employed at the plant; in 2006 about 1,200 worked there. RAF Meir was located on the outskirts of the city.

Stoke-on-Trent geography / climate

Stoke-on-Trent is situated between Manchester and Birmingham and adjoins the town and borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is administered separately . The city lies on the upper valley of the River Trent at the south-west foothills of the Pennines, with the Peak District to the north-east . The six towns run in a rough line from north to south along the A50 road – Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton .

Suburbs

Abbey Hulton, Adderley Green, Ball Green, Bentilee, Birches Head, Blurton, Bucknall, Bradeley, Chell, Cliffe Vale, Cobridge, Dresden, Etruria, Fegg Hayes, Florence, Goldenhill, Hartshill, Meir Park and Meir Hay . Blythe Bridge, Werrington and Endon, although outside city’s boundaries, are part of built up area .

Climate

Stoke-on-Trent experiences a temperate maritime climate, lacking in weather extremes . The local area is a little more elevated than much of Staffordshire and Cheshire, resulting in cooler temperatures year round compared to the nearby Cheshire Plain . The nearest Met Office weather station is Keele University, about four miles west of the city centre .

You can visit Stoke-on-Trent, COUNTY/BOROUGH & use Walkfo to discover the best walking places with our free digital tour guide app created especially for Stoke-on-Trent. Walkfo Stoke-on-Trent has 300 locations with history, culture & travel facts, that you can explore the same way you can a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Stoke-on-Trent, being in the moment, without digital distraction and no limitations to a specific walking route – you choose where you want to go, when you want to go and Walkfo Stoke-on-Trent will keep up.

When you visit Stoke-on-Trent

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When you visit Stoke-on-Trent, Walkfo is your digital tour guide while exploring by foot, bike or bus. With numerous walks, hikes, tourist locations & travel destinations available in Stoke-on-Trent, our travel AI guide helps you get the best from your visit to Stoke-on-Trent & the surrounding areas. Our explore Stoke-on-Trent app for iPhone & Android, allows you to experience the hidden history, culture and amazing facts throughout Stoke-on-Trent whilst out walking. The digital tour guide creates interactive audio stories driven by where you walk, so you can exploration Stoke-on-Trent’s National Heritage sites, tourist attractions, historic locations or city streets freely, without the restrictions of a predefined walk & walk map.

“The Walkfo AI has curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 0 audio facts in Stoke-on-Trent alone that form an interactive Stoke-on-Trent walking map for you to explore.”

Best Stoke-on-Trent places to visit

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Stoke-on-Trent has hundreds of places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are five of Stoke-on-Trent’s best destinations to visit when exploring the area. We have condensed the information with much more detail available within Walkfo when you visit the destinations.

Visit Stoke-on-Trent plaques

Experience Stoke-on-Trent audio walks & tours

Visiting Stoke-on-Trent with Walkfo’s things to do interactive map
The “Stoke-on-Trent things to do map” below is a preview of the places you can visit in Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas with our digital audio tour guide app. Each spot has content for a plaque, a building, a street or general area, providing history, culture or tourism information the you can explore.

Interactive ‘Explore Stoke-on-Trent Map’     This Stoke-on-Trent tourism map shows points of interest within a 4km radius of Stoke-on-Trent centre

Walkfo App     Walkfo

Walkfo is free to download & use (for a limited time period), so if you are looking to explore Stoke-on-Trent, go to your App Store to search for “Walkfo” or follow a links below and install on your mobile phone. Walkfo is designed for use with headphones or AirPods, so you can walk & explore whilst learning about the things around you without digital distraction.

  Apple App Store

  Google Play Store

Things to do & visit in Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas

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Getting to / around Stoke-on-Trent – transport links, stations, streets & traffic map

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Getting around in Stoke-on-Trent using public transportation may include roads, streets, trains, undergrounds, buses or trams. Walkfo has the following important Stoke-on-Trent public transport locations with historic / cultural / factual content when you visit:

Stoke-on-Trent Notable Public Transport Stations		Stoke-on-Trent Notable Streets & Roads

Major roads

Stoke-on-Trent is linked to the nearby M6 motorway at junctions 15 and 16 . Locally the A500 is known as the D road, as its loop between the two motorway junctions resembles the shape of a capital letter D . The A50 provides an east–west link between the M6 and the M1 motorway .

Canals

The city is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year . The Caldon Canal branches off from the canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall and Leek .

Attention local Stoke-on-Trent historians, tour guides & Stoke-on-Trent tourism agents