Everything about Newcastle-under-lyme totally explained
Newcastle-under-Lyme, known simply as
"castle" to many local people, is a
market town in
Staffordshire,
England, and is the principal town of the
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of
The Potteries Urban Area and
North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944. It isn't to be confused with the larger city of
Newcastle upon Tyne.
Geography and climate
Situated in a valley alongside the
Lyme Brook, the town is immediately
west of the neighbouring city of
Stoke-on-Trent, its
suburbs running into those of the city. Newcastle town centre is just 2
miles (3
km) from Stoke-on-Trent and less than 4 miles (6 km) from
Hanley. Newcastle-under-Lyme is about 17 miles (27 km) north of the county town of
Stafford.
These are the average rainfall and temperatures from the
Met Office weather station at
Penkridge, some 24 miles (39km) south. They show the averages from 1971 to 2000.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
Average max. temperature
°C (°F) | 6.5
(43.7) |
6.9
(44.42) |
9.5
(49.1) |
12.0
(56) |
15.7
(60.26) |
18.4
(65.12) |
21.1
(69.98) |
20.8
(69.44) |
17.5
(63.5) |
13.5
(56.3) |
9.5
(49.1) |
7.4
(45.32) |
13.3
(55.94)
|
Average min. temperature
°C (°F) | 1.0
(33.8) |
1.0
(33.8) |
2.5
(36.5) |
3.5
(38.3) |
6.2
(43.16) |
8.9
(48.02) |
11.1
(51.98) |
10.9
(51.62) |
9.0
(48.2) |
6.4
(43.52) |
3.3
(37.94) |
1.8
(35.24) |
5.5
(41.9)
|
Rainfall
mm (inches) | 62.7
(2.46) |
44.4
(1.75) |
51.2
(2.02) |
48.5
(1.91) |
52.7
(2.07) |
59.3
(2.33) |
46.7
(1.84) |
57.7
(2.27) |
63.6
(2.50) |
60.5
(2.38) |
62.0
(2.44) |
66.8
(2.63) |
676.0
(22.61)
|
Sunshine
(hours per month) | 45.3 |
59.0 |
89.9 |
129.9 |
179.5 |
160.8 |
183.5 |
168.6 |
122.1 |
94.6 |
58.5 |
38.4 |
1330.1
|
Source: Met Office |
History
Etymology
The Newcastle part of the name derives from being the location of a 'new'
castle, built in the 12th century by . The Lyme section could refer to the Lyme Brook or the extensive
lime forests that covered the area in
mediæval period. which created the
Newcastle-under-Lyme Municipal Borough absorbed the previous borough created through the charters of 1590 and 1664, under which the title of the corporation, was the "mayor, bailiffs and burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyme." with a postcard poll showing residents opposing it by a majority of 97.4%. Although passed by the
House of Commons, it was rejected by the
House of Lords.
There have been two particularly notable
Members of Parliament (MPs).
Josiah Wedgwood IV was a
Liberal, Independent and
Labour Party MP, who served as
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the
cabinet of
Ramsay MacDonald, in the first ever Labour government. He was MP from 1909 to 1942.
John Golding was elected as a Labour MP for
Newcastle-under-Lyme at a by-election in 1969. He served in the governments of
Harold Wilson and
Jim Callaghan, as PPS to
Eric Varley as
Minister of Technology, a Labour whip in opposition, and
Minister for Employment, stepping down in 1986. The current MP is
Paul Farrelly.
Transport
The town was once served by the
North Staffordshire Railway, its station being on a branch line from Stoke-on-Trent via Newcastle, Silverdale and Keele, to
Market Drayton in
Shropshire. Newcastle station opened in September 1852 after numerous construction difficulties involving the two tunnels of 605 yards and 96 yards respectively at Hartshill. The section from Silverdale to Market Drayton closed to passengers in May 1956 and the rest of the line in March 1964. The line from Newcastle junction to Silverdale has been removed, with the site of Newcastle station and the Hartshill tunnels being filled in. Newcastle was on the national
canal network, but the
canal, running from the
Trent and Mersey Canal at Stoke-on-Trent to
Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal has been disused since 1935 and most of it filled in.
Today
Demographics
| Comparative Census Information |
| 2001 UK Census |
Newcastle-under-Lyme |
Borough |
England |
| Total population |
73.944 |
122,030 |
49,138,831 |
| White |
97.8% |
98% |
91% |
| Asian |
0.6% |
0.6% |
4.6% |
| Black |
0.2% |
0.2% |
2.3% |
| Christian |
78.2% |
78.5% |
72% |
| Muslim |
0.7% |
0.5% |
3.1% |
| Hindu |
0.2% |
0.2% |
1.1% |
| No religion |
14% |
13.1% |
15% |
| Unemployed |
2.3% |
2% |
3.3% |
Of the 73,944 residents recorded in the 2001 census, 51.7% (38,210) were female and 48.3% (35,734) male. 78.2% (57,819) stated their religion was
Christian, with 12.9% (9,570) saying they'd no religion.
Muslim,
Jewish,
Buddhist and
Sikh all recorded less than 1% of the population. 97.8% of the population defined themselves as
White, with the balance being
mixed race (0.6%),
Indian (0.4%),
Pakistani (0.2%),
Black (0.2%),
Chinese (0.2%) with other ethnic groups forming 0.4%. The largest employment types are
manufacturing with 7,058 (21.5%),
wholesale and
retail 6,157 (18.7%),
health and
social work 4,097 (12.5%) and
financial,
real estate &
business activity 3,823 (11.6%). In 1873 they purchased an old Welsh chapel to be used as a synagogue. In 1923 a new synagogue was built in Hanley. This was closed in 2004 and the congregation moved to a smaller synagogue in Newcastle.
Economy
Newcastle's 20th century industries include: iron working, construction materials, clothing (especially military, police and transport uniforms), computers, publishing, electric motors, and machinery.
Near the turn of 21st century, the town received a major redevelopment to incorporate a new street (Castle Walk) in to the town centre, providing Newcastle with a new bus station and bringing in more companies.
A large number of pubs, clubs and bars provide Newcastle with a relatively strong nightlife, with student night being on Wednesdays.
Transport
Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the
M6 motorway to the south and west of Newcastle and by the
A500 road to the north and east. There are access points from the M6 at Junctions 15 and 16, to the south and north respectively. The
A34 trunk road runs through Newcastle from north to south and was the main road between
Birmingham and
Manchester until the M6 motorway opened in . There is a large bus station in the town centre.
Newcastle
does not have its own railway station, with
Stoke-on-Trent railway station being the main station, located on the West Coast Main Line.
Education
The town has an extensive number of both
primary and
secondary schools in the
state sector. There is also
Newcastle-under-Lyme School, an
independent school established in the 17th century whose alumni includes
T. E. Hulme,
John Wain and
William Watkiss Lloyd. The town has a
further and
tertiary education Newcastle-under-Lyme College established in the 1966. There is also a special school located in Newcastle-Under-Lyme called Blackfriars School.
Sport
The town is home to a wide range of sports clubs and associations.
Newcastle Town F.C., an
association football club currently play in the
North West Counties Football League Division One. The Lyme Valley area is home to
Newcastle & Hartshill Cricket Club. The largest Rugby Union club is
Newcastle, Staffs Rugby Union Club.
Cycle Staffordshire organizes many local cycling events as does the Newcastle
Track Cycling Association. The town has its own
velodrome.
Lyme Racing Club is a popular local cycle club with over 150 members with and increasing junior membership. The club is active in many areas of cycling including Time trials, Track racing, Road racing, Audax riding, Mountain biking as well as regular Sunday club runs and general leisure cycling. Newcastle Athletic Club
(External Link)is based at the Ashfield Road Track and there are two golf courses in town.
Dominic Cork, the
cricket player and
Robbie Earle a now retired footballer were both born in the town.
Sites and attractions
Parks and gardens
Newcastle excels in the
Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition. In 2005 it was the national winner in the ‘small city/large town’ category (35K-100K). The town features several parks including the
Queen’s Gardens, at the eastern end of Ironmarket, was awarded the Britain in Bloom Judges’ Award for Horticultural Excellence in 2003 and is the only park within the
ring road.
Grosvenor Gardens in the centre of one of the town’s roundabouts, hidden away below road level. The
Queen Elizabeth Garden is located outside the town centre and is to undergo refurbishment using
National Lottery Heritage Fund money.
To the north west of the town centre is
Brampton Park, home to the museum and art gallery.
Traditional market
Dating back to 1173 Newcastle’s
market known as
The Stones operates on the High Street. The market was originally held on Sunday; in the reign of
John it was changed to Saturday; by the charter of
Elizabeth it was fixed on Monday. Grants of fairs were given by
Edward I,
Edward III and
Henry VI. Today the market is open six-day a week, there are over 80 stalls on this open-air market. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays see a general market, on Tuesdays there's an antiques market and Thursdays are dedicated to bric-a-brac.
A
cattle and
livestock market was held on Mondays until the third quarter of the 20th century.
Culture
The
New Vic Theatre was Europe’s first purpose-built
theatre in the round. It is just outside the town centre and offers a full programme of entertainment, whether modern or classic plays or impressive concert performances.
The Museum depicts the civic history of the Borough of Newcastle under Lyme and an authentic, life size Victorian street-scene whilst the art gallery hosts work by local and national artists as well as ‘travelling’ exhibitions.
Notable residents who contributed to the arts and entertainment include
Philip Astley, founder of the ‘modern’ circus.
Jackie Trent singer and songwriter was born in the town.
Arnold Bennett the novelist, playwright, and essayist completed his schooling at the Middle School and called the town Oldcastle in his novels.
Dinah Maria Mulock who wrote under her married name of Mrs. Craik, lived in the town in Lower Street and Mount Pleasant and attended Brampton House Academy.
E S Turner, the social commentator was educated in the town.
Religion
The town has a long religious history. It was the birthplace of
John James Blunt, a
divine and Anglican priest.
Josiah Wedgwood was a
Unitarian and he and his family attended meetings at the 'Old Meeting house', connected to the church of St Giles', which is still in use for this purpose.
The town itself has a large number of
Anglican churches including St Giles Church, the mædiavel parish church dating from 1290, as well as several
Catholic churches, most notably
Holy Trinity, whose style is
Gothic in blue engineering bricks, described as... "the finest modern specimen of ornamental brickwork in the kingdom" at the time.
In the eighteenth century
John Wesley made repeated visits to the area which was becoming more industrialised. He recruited many residents to
Methodism. This is reflected in the large number of Methodist churches. The largest Baptist church in North Staffordshire is in Newcastle.
Of interest also is
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located across from the Brampton Park, which serves as the 'stake centre' for the church in the region and has an on-site
Family History Centre open to the public, where one can search for their ancestors for little or no charge.
International network
The town is part of a world-wide network of towns and cities with the name
Newcastle. These include
Neuburg an der Donau (Germany),
Neuchâtel (Switzerland),
Neufchâteau (France),
New Castle, Indiana (USA),
New Castle, Pennsylvania (USA),
New Castle, Delaware (USA),
Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and
Shinshiro (Japan).
This small international network of just eight towns, formed in 1998, is designed to encourage friendship and co-operation between the towns and to this end a school in the South African town benefited in 2004 from gifts of computing equipment surplus to Newcastle-under-Lyme's needs. The annual
Newcastles of the World Summit was held in Newcastle-under-Lyme for six days from
June 17 2006.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Newcastle-under-lyme'.
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