Longton

Last updated 16th, January, 2009

LONGTON is the youngest of the six towns which make up Stoke-on-Trent.

It was known as Longshaw in Arnold Bennett’s famous books about the Potteries, but in real life is sometimes referred to as Neck End, because it rests at the southernmost tip of Stoke-on-Trent.

Longton started life as a farming village in around about the 13th century, but it began to become an industrial hub from about 1759 when the main road from Derby to Newcastle, through Uttoxeter, was built. The improved transport links allowed the town to join the Industrial Revolution and coal mining and iron works were the first to be founded in Longton.

Then, in the 1890s, the pottery industry, which was already well established in other areas of Stoke-on-Trent, came to Longton. Famous bone china manufacturers like Aynsley, Paragon China and the world-renowned Beswick all found a home in Longton, as the town developed a reputation for ceramics production.

But the decline of the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent during the late 20th century took its toll on Longton. Royal Doulton shut its Beswick factory in 2002, followed by its Regent works in 2003. In 2006, Wedgwood announced the closure of the Tuscan works, and in the same year historic mug-maker Tams collapsed with the loss of around 150 jobs.

As the industry took a battering in the town, Longton was left with a major unemployment problem, which even led to some people moving out of the area in search of a better life.

But despite the gloom, companies like Aynsley China, Hudson and Middleton and Hartley Greens have all survived. And the town’s industrial heritage remains a huge tourist draw. The Gladstone Pottery Museum – which offers visitors the chance to wander around a working pottery factory which still has its original bottle kilns and workshops – attracts around 50,000 visitors a year. Longton’s factory shops also bring in their own share of visitors.

In fact, Longton as a whole has enjoyed something of a renaissance. The chronic congestion which the town suffered was removed at a stroke in 1996 with the opening of the A50 dual carriageway. And in 2003, Tesco announced it was to develop an 80,000 sq ft Extra store in Baths Road. Its presence attracted a host of other names to the town’s retail park, including Next, Matalan and Wilkinsons.

But, although the new retail park has attracted more people to Longton, town traders have complained the one-way system causes visitors to swiftly move on, rather than stay to see what else Longton has to offer.

The problem is alleviated by banning cars from The Strand between Transport Lane and Times Square, a proposal which was first suggested in 2005.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has recently suggested expanding the pedestrianised zone in Longton up to Gold Street. But those proposals cannot come to fruition until developer St Modwen completes its plans for the former Phoenix timber yard in Baths Road. The company has permission to develop the site into five new warehouses, and also wants to create a DIY store.

So it seems there are big plans to regenerate Longton. The North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP), of which the city council is a part, promised to pump at least £12.1 million into improving the town, as well as Tunstall, Burslem and Stoke. Urban Vision are also trying to revitalise the town and the design consultants launched the I Love Longton project last year to come up with a master-plan to make the area more vibrant and attractive.

Currently, the impressive Longton Town Hall dominates the town centre, which has a lively mix of independent stores and high street names.

Longton has been known as a market town for more than 200 years, and its current market hall, which was built in 1844, then refurbished in 1991, boasts almost 100 stalls. They trade three days a week – Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Although house prices in the town are still below the average of other areas of the city, developers have been quick to move onto Longton and new homes have been built at the former Churchill China factory, Bridgwood Street, and at Churchill Gate.

The 2001 census records that semi-detached homes make up almost 57 per cent of Longton’s housing market, while about 17 per cent of all properties and terraced, 18.5 per cent are detached and 7.6 per cent flats.

For entertainment, Longton has plenty of friendly pubs and a number of places which serve a good meal, including Pizza Hut. Every week music fans flock to Bidds, on Southern Road, which is a popular venue on the country music circuit. And families are well served by Longton Park on Trentham Road, where visitors can play crown green bowls, go fishing, play football, basketball or tennis, or simply enjoy the lake and play area.

The main route in and out of Longton is by car, on the busy A50, but Longton railway station serves the Crewe to Derby line and has been improved with CCTV cameras, travellers’ waiting rooms and better information. It is next to the new bus station, which has good links all across the city.