53°00N 2°10W, pop (2001e) 240 600. Industrial city and (from 1997) unitary authority in Staffordshire, C England, UK; part of the Potteries urban area; on the R Trent, 217 km/135 mi NW of London; an amalgam (1910) of the former Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Fenton, and Longton municipal authorities; railway; University of Keele (1962) nearby; Staffordshire University (1992, formerly Polytechnic); clayware (largest producer in the world), coal, steel, chemicals, engineering, rubber, paper; birthplace of Josiah Wedgwood and Arnold Bennett; Wedgwood museum at Barlaston (7 km/4 mi S); Alton Towers theme park nearby; football league teams, Stoke City (Potters), Port Vale.
Stoke, or to give it its full name, Stoke-upon-Trent is a town in the City of Stoke-on-Trent, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire in the United Kingdom.
Confusion
Confusion can arise over the similarity of this town's name to that of its parent city. The reasons for naming the city after Stoke, rather than one of the other constituent towns, are primarily historical and practical. It was the site of the first church in the area, built of wood around the year 670. A significant small town grew up around this church. The main railway station for the area was built there in 1848, and named after Stoke. It therefore made sense to name the city after the oldest and most commonly recognised name, even though it was not then the most significant town from a commercial perspective.
Stoke Minster
The wooden church of 670 was replaced by a stone building in 805 and this was further extended over the years. The present parish church was designed by Trubshaw and Johnson and built from 1826 and consecrated on October 6, 1830. There are ceramic memorials in the church to many of the great potters of the district and there is a fine modern memorial to the great football player Sir Stanley Matthews. The ancient and unusual dedication of the church comes from San Pietro in Vincoli in the city of Rome and in Britain it shares this name with the Chapel Royal at the Tower of London and with the chapel of Owain Glyndŵr at Pennal in Wales amongst several other ancient churches.
The title of "Stoke Minster" was conferred on the parish church of St. Peter ad Vincula by The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield, at a ceremony on May 17, 2005.
The King's Hall
Assembly hall, ballroom, exhibition hall and theatre built in 1910-11 at the time of the Federation to the design of T. This was built on Glebe Street, opposite the parish church to the design of Henry Ward . The entire Town Hall/King's Hall complex serves the City of Stoke-on-Trent well as its chief administrative offices including the Lord Mayor's Parlour combined with all the facilities of the King's Hall for the City's formal entertainment.
The Potteries
In the 19th century, Stoke had a thriving pottery industry, hence its nickname, "The Potteries".
Stoke today
Stoke itself, despite being the nominal central administrative town, is now far outclassed by its neighbouring town, Hanley; Stoke does, however, have:
the mainline railway station Championship Football Team - Stoke City the main campus of Staffordshire University, its library and halls of residence (these are actually located on land that was originally part of Hanley) a long-established purpose-built art house cinema a purpose-built repertory theatre the Irish centre the Trent & chamber - clustered in and around the Town Hall the Minster church and Stoke Approach area and the outdoor artworks The King's Hall music &
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