Hanley History

HANLEY
Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

"HANLEY, a chapelry, market town, and municipal borough in the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill, county Stafford, 2 miles S.E. of Burslem, and 2½ E. of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Stoke-upon-Trent railway station is about 1½ mile from the town, and the North Staffordshire and Stoke and Biddulph lines have stations here.

This place, which is situated within the populous district of the potteries, is of comparatively recent origin, and is chiefly inhabited by persons employed in those works. It has vastly increased of late years, and is one of the most flourishing of the pottery towns. Its prosperity is entirely dependent on the extensive china and earthenware manufactories, and the numerous iron and coal mines in the vicinity. The trade is greatly facilitated by the Cauldon branch of the Trent and Mersey canal, which passes through the adjoining township of Shelton, forming a channel of conveyance for the various articles manufactured, and for an abundant supply of coal and other things requisite for their production.

The town of Henley, with the adjoining township of Shelton, were incorporated into a borough in 1857, under a mayor, 5 aldermen, treasurer, and 24 common councilmen. All local authority was then vested in the corporation, except the market trust, ceded to the corporation in March 1863, holding property, right of toll, &c., under lease from the lord of the manor.

For parliamentary purposes, Hanley forms part of the borough of Stoke-upon-Trent. The streets are wide, well paved with brick, and lighted with gas. The town is well supplied with water by the Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks Company.

It contains the townhall, a stone building, erected at a cost of £4,500; a mechanics' institute, a new building, erected in 1861 at the cost of £3,000; a government school of design, situated in Pall Mall, and instituted in 1847; North Staffordshire Museum, in Frederick-street, with a good library and reading-room; a savings-bank, situated in Albion-street; two banks, viz: Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company, and National Provincial Bank of England; the theatre, in Brunswick-street; Inland Revenue Office, Stamp Office, assembly and news rooms in the townhall, besides news and reading rooms in Piccadilly; three covered markets for meat, fish, and vegetables; and the North Staffordshire Infirmary, a large building situated in the liberty of Shelton.

In the suburbs, called Etruria, Northwood, Eastwood Vale, and Mount Pleasant, are many residences belonging to the proprietors of the large factories and works.

The county court is held every month at the townhall, and petty sessions every Monday and Thursday; also a copyhold court under the duchy is held every month. The police of the town is under the control of the Commissioners. A new cemetery was consecrated by the bishop in 1860.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lichfield, value £289. The church, a brick structure with a tower containing eight bells, dedicated to St. John, was rebuilt in 1788. The register dates no farther back than 1789, as part of the books were destroyed during the Chartist riots.

There are also four district churches at Northwood, Wellington, Etruria, and Hope, the livings of which are all perpetual curacies, and were all formed out of the townships of Hanley and Shelton for ecclesiastical purposes.

The church of Shelton, dedicated to St. Mark, was erected in 1834 at a cost of £11,000. It is a stone structure, with a tower 120 feet in height. It is stated that there are as many bricks below the surface as above ground in the tower. The E. window contains a rare specimen of stained glass. The parochial charities produce about £18 per annum, including a small school endowment.

The Independents, Presbyterians, Baptists, Primitive Methodists, Wesleyan Association, and New Connexion Methodists, have each several chapels in the town, some of them spacious buildings, particularly Bethesda Chapel, situated in Albion-street, which is one of the largest in the kingdom, being capable of accommodating 3,000 people.

There are Sunday, infant, and ragged schools; also five National schools, and denominational schools belonging to the Presbyterian, Bethesda, and Providence chapels. The weekly newspaper called the Staffordshire Sentinel is published every Saturday. Stoke wakes commence the first Sunday in August. The Queen is lady of the manor. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday. A cattle market of great importance is held on the second Tuesday of every month, besides the usual cattle market every Tuesday."

 

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]