Hanley
Encyclopedia
Hanley, in Staffordshire
, England
, is one of the six major towns that joined together
to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent
in 1910. 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. Hanley was incorporated as a municipal borough
in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888
.
It now acts as the city's main city-centre and shopping centre, the principal attraction being the Potteries Shopping Centre
containing many high street chain stores.
”. or 'Heah Lea' meaning Rock Meadow
led to the reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre area – including the former Shelton steelworks
, which had been derelict since 1978. Ironically, when the Garden Festival closed, the land remained derelict for some time, before being re-developed partly into public parkland and partly for retail and leisure.
, on Lichfield Street, with local buses serving much of North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton
, Crewe
and Stafford
. Most services are run by First PMT, though there are a number of smaller independent operators. 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 will be built on John Street, 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 July 13, 1864. The station survived for 100 years – it was closed in 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe
, and the land is now a car park.
. By 1925 the area was granted city status
.
In recent years, there has been a notable decline in the use of the name of Hanley, owing to the town's increasing role as the city centre. Road signs on major roads into and around the city now refer to the area as 'City centre', although Hanley's name still appears on local road signs. Many documents published by local and national government also refer to the area as the city centre, as does public transport in the region.
In 2009, the City Centre Partnership (a body promoting the development and re-generation of the city centre) proposed officially renaming the town centre (specifically, the area within the ring road) to Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, while keeping the Hanley name for the surrounding area. The Partnership is actively encouraging businesses in the area to remove the name of Hanley from their addresses, and have asked the city council to instruct the Ordnance Survey
to refer to the area as the city centre, instead of Hanley.
The reasoning behind these proposals is that while Stoke-on-Trent has been federated for over 100 years, it is still polycentric. In other words, it has the characteristics of (at least) six overlapping towns, instead of a single city. The current situation can also be confusing for visitors to the city, who regularly end up in the town of Stoke-upon-Trent (which has renaming proposals of its own), thinking it is the city centre.
These trends and proposals have been met with opposition throughout the city. Residents of Hanley see them as a loss of the town's heritage, while residents of the other towns in the city see them as promoting Hanley over their respective towns. However, Hanley still remains the main name in usage for this town; particularly in popular parlance, where the phrase "Up 'Anley duck" is a common local phrase describing going either shopping or for a night out;Hanley being the most common place people go to for these things.
(a large ceramics
collection, and restored Spitfire
), the Victoria Hall, the Regent Theatre, BBC Radio Stoke
's Open Centre and studios, while Piccadilly hosts the annual Sanity Fair
and French Market events. Hanley is also the location of Stoke Pride, an annual pride event for LGBT
people of the city.
1828 journal
"Hanley, the most populous town in North Staffordshire, is generally described as the capital of the Potteries, a title to which it has certainly the greatest pretensions; ........ it has during the present century made such strides in the art, as to overtake and pass all competitors. At the census of 1891, the population of the municipal borough reached the total of 54,846; and such is the prosperity of the district, that at the present time this number has been very largely increased.
1893 journal
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is one of the six major towns that joined together
Federation of Stoke-on-Trent
The federation of Stoke-on-Trent refers to the events leading to the 1910 amalgamation of the six Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history of English local government, this was the...
to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
in 1910. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough. Hanley was incorporated as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
.
It now acts as the city's main city-centre and shopping centre, the principal attraction being the Potteries Shopping Centre
Potteries Shopping Centre
The Potteries Shopping Centre is an indoor shopping centre in Hanley, Stoke on Trent. It is the major indoor shopping centre in the city. The town of Hanley is generally regarded as the commercial city centre of Stoke-on-Trent....
containing many high street chain stores.
Etymology
The name Hanley comes from “haer lea”, meaning “high meadowMeadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
”. or 'Heah Lea' meaning Rock Meadow
Garden Festival
The 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden FestivalStoke-on-Trent Garden Festival
The Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
led to the reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre area – including the former Shelton steelworks
Shelton Bar
Shelton Bar was a major steelworks in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. In its heyday, Shelton Bar employed 10,000 in the steelworks, had five coal mines, a complete railway system, and a by-products processing factory.-The main site:...
, which had been derelict since 1978. Ironically, when the Garden Festival closed, the land remained derelict for some time, before being re-developed partly into public parkland and partly for retail and leisure.
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 1500 feet. At its peak in the 1930s it employed some 2000 men and boys often producing 9000 tons of coal a year. 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 Hanley Forest Park.Public transport
Hanley has a bus stationBus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
, on Lichfield Street, with local buses serving much of North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
and Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
. Most services are run by First PMT, though there are a number of smaller independent operators. In addition, National Express Coaches connect Hanley with destinations including London, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, with additional seasonal services to holiday destinations. As part of the redevelopment of the town and wider city, a new bus interchange will be built on John Street, allowing the current station to be demolished to make room for further redevelopment of the town.
Hanley no longer has a railway station
Hanley railway station
Hanley railway station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway as part of the Potteries Loop Line and served the town of Hanley, Staffordshire....
but there was once one located on Trinity Street, on the Potteries Loop Line, which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
for passengers on July 13, 1864. The station survived for 100 years – it was closed in 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, and the land is now a car park.
Decline of name
On 1 April 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-TrentFederation of Stoke-on-Trent
The federation of Stoke-on-Trent refers to the events leading to the 1910 amalgamation of the six Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history of English local government, this was the...
. By 1925 the area was granted city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
.
In recent years, there has been a notable decline in the use of the name of Hanley, owing to the town's increasing role as the city centre. Road signs on major roads into and around the city now refer to the area as 'City centre', although Hanley's name still appears on local road signs. Many documents published by local and national government also refer to the area as the city centre, as does public transport in the region.
In 2009, the City Centre Partnership (a body promoting the development and re-generation of the city centre) proposed officially renaming the town centre (specifically, the area within the ring road) to Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, while keeping the Hanley name for the surrounding area. The Partnership is actively encouraging businesses in the area to remove the name of Hanley from their addresses, and have asked the city council to instruct the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
to refer to the area as the city centre, instead of Hanley.
The reasoning behind these proposals is that while Stoke-on-Trent has been federated for over 100 years, it is still polycentric. In other words, it has the characteristics of (at least) six overlapping towns, instead of a single city. The current situation can also be confusing for visitors to the city, who regularly end up in the town of Stoke-upon-Trent (which has renaming proposals of its own), thinking it is the city centre.
These trends and proposals have been met with opposition throughout the city. Residents of Hanley see them as a loss of the town's heritage, while residents of the other towns in the city see them as promoting Hanley over their respective towns. However, Hanley still remains the main name in usage for this town; particularly in popular parlance, where the phrase "Up 'Anley duck" is a common local phrase describing going either shopping or for a night out;Hanley being the most common place people go to for these things.
Cultural sites
Hanley also offers several cultural facilities such as The Potteries Museum & Art GalleryPotteries Museum & Art Gallery
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free.One of the four local authority museums in the City, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum, Ford Green Hall and Etruria Industrial Museum, The Potteries Museum & Art...
(a large ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
collection, and restored Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
), the Victoria Hall, the Regent Theatre, BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke is a BBC Local Radio station in England, for the area of North and Mid Staffordshire, north east Shropshire and South Cheshire. The station began broadcasting programmes on 14 March 1968 as BBC Radio Stoke-on-Trent....
's Open Centre and studios, while Piccadilly hosts the annual Sanity Fair
Sanity Fair
Sanity Fair is a festival that takes place each year in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. The reason for the day is to tackle the issues of mental illness, raise awareness, and celebrate emotional well-being.- Information :...
and French Market events. Hanley is also the location of Stoke Pride, an annual pride event for LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people of the city.
Religion
Christian Churches and Chapels in Hanley include: Bethesda Town Mission (Jasper 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), 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 (was Victoria) Road, Shelton).Hanley in old Trade Journals
"HANLEY a large modern town and chapelry, in the parish of Stoke, is about two miles east by north of Newcastle [under-Lyme], and ranks next to Burslem in size, extent and opulence. The town is in an elevated situation, and the streets forming which are irregular, but many of the houses are well built. The chapelry contained, in 1821, 5,622 inhabitants."1828 journal
"Hanley, the most populous town in North Staffordshire, is generally described as the capital of the Potteries, a title to which it has certainly the greatest pretensions; ........ it has during the present century made such strides in the art, as to overtake and pass all competitors. At the census of 1891, the population of the municipal borough reached the total of 54,846; and such is the prosperity of the district, that at the present time this number has been very largely increased.
1893 journal
Notable people
- Terry AlcockTerry AlcockTerrence "Terry" Alcock is an English former professional football defender.He played for Port Vale from 1963 to 1967, before spending nine years with Blackpool. He played over 100 appearances for Port Vale in the Football League and almost 200 appearances for Blackpool...
, former professional footballer - Arnold BennettArnold Bennett- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
, novelist - Stanley MatthewsStanley MatthewsSir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
, former professional footballer - Edward Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic
- Harold PerkinHarold PerkinHarold James Perkin, , was a British social historian and founder of the Social History Society ....
, social historian