Fenton

Last updated 15th, January, 2009

FOR generations Fenton has been stuck with the undignified title “The town that Arnold Bennett forgot”.

The controversy came about because the great Stoke-on-Trent author refused to mention it as one of the Potteries towns in his novels.

Instead, the six towns which in reality make up the Potteries were cut down to five in Bennett’s stories, causing confusion for years to come.

But although Fenton might not have achieved the same recognition as, say, the Mother Town of Burslem, or Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent’s city centre, it is the largest of the six towns.

The name Fenton means flat, marshy land. It started life as a group of farms and private small-holdings, alongside a pleasant lane running from the southern reaches of Hanley.

Almost 250 years ago, the land was commonly known as Fenton Vivian. A hundred years later, the area around Duke Street and China Street had become populated during the rapid development of the Potteries.

Potters settled in Fenton in large houses alongside their pot-banks. Examples of the houses include Great Fenton Hall, Heron Cottage and Grove House.

The two principal districts, Fenton Vivian and Fenton Culvert – each with their scattered communities – both lay within the ancient parish of Stoke-on-Trent. Then, in 1894, they were brought together to make an urban district with its own board of guardians.

By 1902, the growing town may not have been prominent enough to make an appearance in Bennett’s novel, Anna of the Five Towns, but it was certainly on the up.

By 1933 the pleasant lane from Hanley, called Victoria Road in tribute to the monarch, was attracting so much traffic it was given the number A50.

Fenton is still considered a sprawl of villages by many, and it includes Heron Cross, Mount Pleasant, Saxonfields and Pool Dole.

It has seen dramatic changes, with the appearance of retail and business estates, along with a growing number of modern housing developments adding to the existing stock of terrace homes.

Residential hot spots like Fenpark and Saxonfields have served to enhance the traditional properties expected in a town like Fenton.

And although Fenton has had its share of big industry, particularly from the Potteries trade, it has always been considered more of a residential area.

In fact, in the late 1990s, Fenton was at the forefront of Britain’s property boom, with house prices soaring by 57 per cent between 1996 and 1999, up to a then-average of £42,138. This put it to eighth place in a national league table of 1,700 towns and cities.

Now, even in an age of falling house prices, the average three bedroom Fenton home will cost £99,629.

Fenton differs from the other Potteries towns in that it doesn’t have a centre. Instead, amenities and shops are spread over a sizeable area.

A market, with about 25 stalls, is based in City Road every Thursday. Along Victoria Road, there are DIY shops, home furnishing and electrical stores, while at the retail park, also on Victoria Road, chains include Dunelm Mill and Curry’s.

But Fenton residents are well served by a swimming pool, gym and fitness centre at Fenton Manor, stores selling furniture, electrical goods and numerous other products, together with hairdressers, takeaways and pubs.

Fenton is notorious among the criminal fraternity of Stoke-on-Trent, as it has a magistrates court, which serves the whole city from within Fenton’s old town hall.

On Baker Street, visitors can find the town’s library, based within the Carnegie building.

Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College has also been an integral part of the everyday life in Fenton for many years, but it is set to relocate away from Fenton and will be replaced by a multi-million pound leisure centre. There has been much speculation about the type of facilities to be featured. They could include tennis nets, astro-turf football pitches, or even an indoor ski centre.

Fenton already has Fenton Manor Sports Complex, which boasts the biggest swimming pool in Staffordshire and a 1,300-seater arena.

Fenton Park is also popular with families, and has its own football pitches, pavilions and playground.

It lies in a key geographical location, within easy reach of the A500, A34 and the A50, and is just a short distance away from Longton, Hanley and Newcastle.