Hanley, Staffordshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 53°01′29″N 2°10′22″W / 53.0246°N 2.1729°W
| Hanley | |
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  Hanley shown within Staffordshire |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Ceremonial county | Staffordshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOKE-ON-TRENT |
| Postcode district | ST1 |
| Dialling code | 01782 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Stoke-on-Trent Central |
| List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire | |
Hanley, Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
The name Hanley comes from “hean lea”, meaning “high meadow”.
[edit] Garden Festival
The 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival 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.
[edit] 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.[1][2]
[edit] Public transport
Hanley has a bus station, 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.
Hanley once had a railway station located on Trinity Street, on the Potteries Loop Line, opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on July 13, 1864.[citation needed] 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.
[edit] Cultural sites
Hanley also offers several cultural facilities such as The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (a large ceramics collection, and restored Spitfire), the Victoria Hall, the Regent Theatre, BBC Radio Stoke's Open Centre and studios. While picadilly holds the area for the annual Sanity Fair and French Market events. Hanley is also location to Stoke Pride an annual pride event for LGBT of the city.
[edit] Religion
There remains just one place of worship of the main Christian denominations in Hanley: the Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, Jasper Street, situated near the Victoria Hall and the bus and coach station.[3]
[edit] 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
[edit] Notable people
- Terry Alcock, former professional footballer
- Stanley Matthews, former professional footballer
- Edward Smith, captain of the tragic RMS Titanic
[edit] References
[edit] 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)
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