Local History

Richard Talbot, one of North Staffordshire’s most well-known historians, tells us how he came to make another film about the history of his local area.
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I hope my latest film, which is in the form of tour around Penkhull, will be seen as a well illustrated history of the village, as never seen before.

Richard Talbot

The film which I have called ‘The Last Penkhull Circular’ is my third, in a series.
It follows on from my second, ‘Whatever Happened to Old Penkhull?’. In this third film, I explore development in the district, as it changed from a rural country hamlet into a suburb of Stoke.

The Last Penkhull Circular (the bus's destination board was entitled The Penkhull Circular) follows the old bus route from the town of Stoke, through Oakhill to Penkhull then as it returns to Stoke via Hartshill.
In order to put the whole set of historical information into context, an old 1937 P.M.T. bus was brought out of retirement (all the way from Taunton), to re-run the old route of what was to become known as the Penkhull Circular.

Together with memories of the passengers we explore many features of Penkhull’s history.
I look at how the village changed from its once Neolithic origins over time and as a centre used for Pagan worship.
I also discuss its role as part of the Manor of Newcastle-under-Lyme with the Manor Courts being held from c1530 (after the castle at Newcastle was by this time in ruin) in what is now the Greyhound Inn with the old Penkhull lock-up beneath the court room floor which held prisoners until 1829.
Like the other two in the series, I have decided to make it so that local residents can buy it on video or DVD. 

There was no shortage of local residents - who were coming forward dressed in typical 1930/40s costume!
They were keen to fill the bus, and at set intervals talked about their memories of old Penkhull and their war-time experiences travelling on the old bus route during the black-out. This proved to be an invaluable record of the period, luckily, now preserved.
Other local residents also helped to describe what was Penkhull Infants School - from slate boards, stove pots and gas lighting in the 1920’s and 30’s. 

History

The village of Penkhull sits neatly overlooking the junction of the River Trent and the Lyme Brook at Hanford.
As the first settlement in the area, it was also an ideal site for prehistoric invaders entering the area from the valley of the Trent.

Penkhull was the scene of the 1842 Chartists Riots in the Potteries. This involved a group setting about ransacking the large Georgian home of Mr Thomas Bailey-Rose, at Beech Grove, who was the only stipendiary magistrate for Stoke-on-Trent. The history shows the building restoration.

Any village is not complete without its church and chapel, and in this history I recount the history of both the Parish Church where the full congregation takes part and the Methodist Chapel which in its day was the hub of village activity.

I even re-produce many early films of the Pantomimes. Oh yes I have!

For the first time a full history of Penkhull Garden Village is given, that group of houses at the top of Trent Valley Road built from 1910. Here I discuss the large estate, play recordings, display many old photographs and maps, even re-produce a film of King George and Queen Mary making a visit there in 1913.

The village

Records show that Penkhull remained as a Royal Manor until 1308, after which it became absorbed into the Royal Manor of Newcastle-under-Lyme. 
The Manorial Court Records have survived from the 14th century. For the last twenty years I have concentrated in acquiring an almost complete transcribed copy of all the records from that date and placing them into a huge data-base of six hundred years of history, the only one in the world.
Even Major John Harrison, second in command to Cromwell, sat in judgment at this court as head of the Manor.

It is this abundance of previously unknown material that has allowed a unique insight into the history of Penkhull as part of the Manor of Newcastle.

Previous work

From the age of eighteen I became a hardened enthusiast of history, reading as much as I could soak up at any one time. It didn’t matter what period, all was fascinating, and to delve into the past to discover a by-gone age was something remarkable.

One of the most important decisions I have made came six years ago, when I decided to switch from recording history in book to recording on film. This different method of communication was an instant success.

My first film, ‘Farming throughout the Ages’ traced farming within a community from 1086; and the video recording of the last farm left in the area, Penkhull Farm, together with many recordings, plans, documents and photographs formed much of the content.

Three years later I filmed a second film ‘Whatever Happed to Old Penkhull?' This covered not only its early history as an introduction but moves on quickly to record the period when the City Council placed a clearance order on most of the village to be replaced by council house property in the 1960.
I record fully the huge public outcry that followed and the conflict shown between the previous Vicar Rev. V.G. Aston and the new Vicar Rev. A. Perry, all neatly wrapped around hundreds of old photographs and unique cine film of the old village and its demolition.

Richard Talbot

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More information, and details on how to obtain the videos mentioned in this article, can be obtained from: richard.talbot88@btinternet.com; or from The DIY Shop in Newcastle Lane in Penkhull; or from Webberleys Bookshop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.
The cost price is £12.95 (£15.00 inc p&p), or for overseas £20.

If you are interested in the research conducted by Richard and his students at Stoke College into the history of Penkhull, see the 'Penkhull Research' link at the top right-hand corner of this page.