5 June: Stoke on Trent

On this date in 1925, Stoke on Trent became a city. 10 things you might not know about Stoke on Trent:

1. Where is it? It's in Staffordshire, about half-way between Manchester and Birmingham.
2. It's actually made up of six towns which were amalgamated: Stoke, Hanley, Burslem, Longton, Tunstall and Fenton.
3. It's called Stoke on Trent because Stoke was the original ancient parish. Stoke derives from an Old English word, stoc, which basically just meant "place". Later on the word took on other meanings such as dairy farm, summer pasture, crossing place, meeting place and place of worship. Any of them could have been the reason for it being applied here; nobody knows. Needless to say, Stoke was quite a common name for villages and towns and so they usually had something added to distinguish them from all the other Stokes. In this case, the name of the river.
4. Sometimes, it's referred to as "the city of five towns", a name coined by local novelist Arnold Bennet, because it's the only polycentric city in the UK. Bennet set several of his novels in the city, although he called Stoke "Knype". Why five towns when there were six? Purely because Bennet thought "Five towns" sounded better than "six towns" and so he left Fenton out. Fenton is sometimes referred to as "the forgotten town".
5. The first Michelin tyre factory was built here in the 1920s, but the most significant industry was pottery. In fact, the area is sometimes referred to as "The Potteries". Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and is commonly known as the Potteries. Thanks to an abundance of coal and clay in the area, companies such as Royal Doulton, Dudson Ltd, Spode, Wedgwood, Minton (famous for ceramic tiles. The tiles on the floor of the Houses of Parliament were made in Stoke-on-Trent, by Minton) and Baker & Co. were established and based there.
6. Stoke City Football club once had a vicar in midfield. His name was Father Elijah Smith and he played for the team in the 1880s.
7. The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior meaning United Strength is Stronger.
8. When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent initially applied to the Home Office for city status it was turned down by the Home Office on the grounds it didn't have a big enough population. Undeterred, the borough, believing that it should be a city because its importance as the centre of the pottery industry, appealed to a higher authority. King George V agreed with them, so city status was granted.
9. A common term of endearment in the area is "duck". It's said to come from the Saxon word 'ducas' from which the title of duke was derived, rather than referring to quacking birds.
10. Famous people from Stoke on Trent include presenters Frank Bough, Anthea Turner, Nick Hancock and Bruno Brookes; actor Neil Morrissey, Edward Smith, the captain of the Titanic, and Robbie Williams.

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