Towns and Villages

Funky Facts about Leek...

The famous artist William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, hung out here for a few years because he was interested in textile dyes - for colours he could produce in his own designs for wallpaper and tapestry etc. Apparently he thought it was very cold though. And he's right!

Morris' best friend in Leek was the silk-dyer Thomas Wardle. Wardle's hobby was writing hymns.

James Brindley, the 18th century engineer who built most of the canal network, was probably one of Leek's most famous inhabitants. The Brindley Mill tourist attraction is named after him of course.

It's believed that one of England's greatest poets lived at the Dieulacres Abbey, just outside Leek. But no one knows his name! The fourteenth century writer is simply named after his most famous poem as 'The Gawain Poet'.

The town's 'Quiet Woman' pub has an interesting sign outside it. It shows a woman carrying her head under her arm...

Weblinks

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Some of Your Comments

Pipper enjoys the outdoors and argues the best thing about Leek has to be "any of the many country nature walks within a few miles of Leek."