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{{other uses}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = Ingland
|official_name = Burslem
|latitude = 53.042621
|longitude = -2.187889
|population = 14,303
|Twinned with = [[Basra]]
|unitary_england = [[Stoke-on-Trent]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[Staffordshire]]
|region = Wast Midlands
|constituency_westminster= [[Stoke-on-Trent North (UK Pairlament constituency)|Stoke-on-Trent North]]
|post_town = Stoke-On-Trent
|postcode_district = ST5
|postcode_area = ST
|dial_code = 01782
|os_grid_reference = SJ875495
}}
The toun o '''Burslem''', kent as the '''Mother Town''', is ane o the sax touns that [[Federation o Stoke-on-Trent|amalgamatit tae fuirm]] the current ceety o [[Stoke-on-Trent]], in the [[ceremonial coonties o Ingland|ceremonial coonty]] o [[Staffordshire]], in the [[Inglis Midlands|Midlands]] o Ingland.
==Topografie==
Burslem is steidit on the eastren ridge o the Fowlea Valley, the Fowlea bein ane o the main early tributars o the [[River Trent]]. Burslem embraces the auries o [[Middleport, Staffordshire|Middleport]], Dalehall, Longport, Westport, Trubshaw Cross, an Brownhills. The [[Trent & Mersey Canal]] cuts throu, tae the wast an sooth o the toun centre. A little further wast, the [[West Coast Main Line]] railwey an the [[A500 road]] run in parallel, formin a destinct boondar atween Burslem an the abuttin middle-cless toun o [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]]. Tae the sooth is Grange Park and Festival Park, reclaimit bi the [[Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival]].
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==History==
The [[Domesday Book]] shows Burslem (listed as ''Bacardeslim'') as a small [[farming]] hamlet; strategically sited above a vital [[ford (crossing)]] at [[Longport, Staffordshire|Longport]], part of the major [[pack horse]] track out of the [[Peak District]] and [[Staffordshire Moorlands]] to the [[Liverpool]]/London road. As far back as the late 12th century a thriving [[pottery]] industry existed, based on the fine & abundant local [[clay]]s. After the [[Black Death]], Burslem emerges in the records as a [[medieval]] town - the 1536 stone church is still standing and in use. Until the mid-1760s Burslem was relatively cut off from the rest of England; it had no [[navigable]] river nearby, and there were no good & reliable roads. By 1777 the [[Trent and Mersey Canal]] was nearing completion, and the roads had markedly improved. The town boomed on the back of fine pottery production & [[canal]]s, and became known as 'The Mother Town' of the six towns that make up the city. In 1910 the town was [[Federation of Stoke-on-Trent|federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent]], and the borough was granted city status in 1925.
Many of the novels of [[Arnold Bennett]] evoke [[Victorian era|Victorian]] Burslem, with its many potteries, mines, and working canal barges. The Burslem of the 1930s to the 1980s is evoked by the paintings and plays of [[Arthur Berry (playwright)|Arthur Berry]].
Burslem contains Britain's last real working [[industrial district]] (i.e.: where people live within walking distance of the factories of a single heavy industry - in this case, the potteries); and thus much of the nineteenth-century industrial heritage, buildings & character have survived intact.
[[File:Acme marls bourne's bank.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Disused Bottle ovens of Acme Marls on Bourne's Bank, Burslem, [[Stoke-on-Trent]], with St. John's Church, Woodbank Street, in the background whose sandstone tower dates from 1536, May 2008]]
A recent report suggested the concentration of pottery-based heritage makes the area the richest stretch of [[canal]] for industrial heritage in England.
===Trade journals===
"BURSLEM, an ancient town, with a market held for a long period by custom, and subsequently sanctioned by an act of parliament, is about three miles from Newcastle and two from Hanley, entitled to the precedence of other towns in this district, as claiming to be the mother, as it is the metropolis, of the Staffordshire Potteries."
'''1828 journal'''
"In the Domesday Survey - for even in that early date Burslem was a place of some importance - the town appears, as "Burwardeslyn;" and frequent mention is made of it in ancient documents during the Middle Ages."
'''1893 journal'''
The Burslem library has, after continuously crackling, Caved in. the council say they will and are doing as much as possible to re-open the library as fast as possible. It is now 2014 and there has not been a single fraction of improvement with the building. surely this is affecting the local readers, children and dis-encouraging the local people from reading and education.
does stoke on Trent really encourage reading? donate to burslem library and bring back many children's time passes and favourite hobbys.
==Population an hoosin==
At the 1991 [[census]] count, the population of Burslem was 21,400. A study by consultants Atkins, working from the [[United Kingdom Census 2001]] data, showed that the Burslem population is steady and has not declined despite a manufacturing decline during the 1980s and '90s.
Traditional [[Victorian architecture]] and [[Edwardian period]] terraced houses dominate the town. New housing developments are underway on the Sadlers Factory site and around Woodbank Street.
Heavy industrial employment (mines, steel & pots) has left a legacy of ill-health among many older people, but there is the Haywood Hospital (High Lane, Burslem) and the new £300-million University Hospital of North Staffordshire is just three miles away by road.
Burslem is a multicultural area of Stoke-on-Trent with a significant Asian population.
==Economy==
Industrial scale pottery production has drastically declined since the 1970s; but specialist makers (Steelite) and smaller producers of high-value ceramics ([[Burleigh (pottery)|Burleigh]], [[Wade Ceramics|Wade]], [[Moorcroft]]) are thriving. Burslem is emerging as a centre for small, freelance creative businesses working in sectors such as fine art, animation and crafts as well as pottery.
Shopping options in the town centre have markedly declined, hit by the impact of nearby out-of-town [[retail park]]s that offer free parking. However, the evening economy is still active with a wide range of bars and restaurants mainly serving English and Indian food.
The Leopard Inn, on Market Place, has become internationally well-known following its appearance on Most Haunted in 2007.
Sometimes known as the 'Savoy of the Midlands' the Leopard Inn in Burslem certainly holds a lot of hidden secrets. The Leopard Inn is one of Stoke-on-Trent's hidden gems. A listed building in Burslem, it is steeped in history and the discovery of tunnels and 58 bedrooms that have been left exactly as they were when they were sealed between the 1930s and 1950s has brought it centre-stage again.
The Leopard Inn dates from the early 1700s. Initially a coaching house and Inn, there has been a working pub on this site for 300 years or more. In 1878 a three storey extension including 57 rooms were built. The ambition was to create in Burslem 'The Savoy of the North'. The rooms to the front of the Leopard are today in use as a pub and restaurant, and to the rear the hotel lies abandoned and purportedly haunted.
At Spring 2002 [[unemployment]] was running at 4.1 percent or 1,526 people in the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency; almost the same rate as the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] as a whole. In Burslem at 2001 unemployment was 3.2 percent and declining.
In 2005, £2-million of new [[business park]] units for the creative industries was announced for the town. New business parks are planned for 2006/7 just to the north (Chatterley Valley, £40m+) and the south (Etruria Valley, £100m+) of the town.
===Media===
In 2007 Burslem saw a social enterprise newspaper, Local Edition, become one of the first newspapers to cover the area regularly. The newspaper covered Burslem, as well as surrounding areas including Tunstall, Middleport and Cobridge, giving a voice to the people in the community. The newspaper ceased publication in 2008 and [http://www.localedition.org.uk its archive is online].
==Tourism==
[[File:Old Town Hall, Burslem - geograph.org.uk - 272797.jpg|thumb|The old town hall, Burslem, built in 1854. Architect: G.T. Robinson.]]
[[File:Clayhangerstreet.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[The Clayhanger Family|Clayhanger]] Street, Burslem, by the side of the [[Wedgwood Institute]] showing the clock tower of Burslem Town Hall in the background, May 2008]]
Around 5 million [[tourist]]s visit Stoke-on-Trent each year, supporting around 4,400 direct jobs. Stoke shows its popularity through the number of repeat visits; around 80 percent of visitors have previously been here. Burslem has a variety of strong tourist attractions; Burleigh, Moorcroft, Festival Park, its many authentic English [[public house|pub]]s, and the Trent & Mersey Canal. Even though ceramica is probably the biggest building in Burslem, not many people know that it was once the town hall.
It also has the legacy of novelist [[Arnold Bennett]], who refers to the town and many of its streets with thinly-disguised names: e.g. Burslem/"Bursley", Swan (Square and Pub)/"Duck". It is the setting for one of his most famous works, the [[The Clayhanger Family|Clayhanger]] trilogy. Burslem's centre benefits from having an almost-intact medieval street-plan and countless fine old buildings, and a townscape which almost-totally escaped re-development during the 1960s and 1970s.
After being under-used for years, the [[Burslem School of Art]] has been refurbished at a cost of £2.1m and offers several large free [[art]] galleries. The free Public Library is currently based in the School of Art, after the [[Venetian Gothic architecture|Venetian Gothic]] [[Wedgwood Institute]] closed for safety reasons early in 2009. [[Ceramica]] was a new award-winning ceramics family attraction, based in the imposing old Town Hall and funded by [[Millennium Commission|Millennium Lottery]] money but due to the loss of council funding has been closed. The Queen's Theatre has regular concerts and an annual pantomime.
There is a traditional Friday street market, and street [[carnival]]s in May and December.
==Sports==
The major [[football (soccer)|football]] club [[Port Vale F.C.]] is based in Burslem at [[Vale Park]]. The team currently plays in League One, England's third division.
Near to the town is Burslem Golf Club - a 9-hole course which once had singer [[Robbie Williams]] as a Junior Captain. It was opened on 28 September 1907 by vaudeville entertainer and golfer [[Sir Harry Lauder]]. On 29 September 2007 his great-nephew Gregory Lauder-Frost as guest-of-honour rededicated it for another century in a formal ceremony.<ref>''[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)]]'' (newspaper), Stoke-on-Trent, 4 October 2007, p. 47 (includes photo).</ref>
Professional darts player, [[Phil Taylor (darts player)|Phil Taylor]] is from Burslem and is one of many associated with the heavy darting culture present in [[Stoke-on-Trent]].
==Eddication==
Burslem is the site of the main campus of [[Stoke-on-Trent College]], the largest [[Further Education]] college in England. The campus specialises in media-production and drama. [[Stoke Studio College, Burslem|Stoke Studio College]], a [[studio school]] for 13-19 year olds is opening at the college campus in September 2013.
Within a six mile radius from Burslem there are three universities; [[Staffordshire University|Staffordshire]] at Shelton, [[Keele University]], and [[Manchester Metropolitan University|Manchester Metropolitan]]'s large Art & Design campus at [[Alsager]].
==The environs==
The town is elevated and is not prone to [[flooding]].
Burslem has a Victorian [[park]] designed by [[Thomas Hayton Mawson]], and a large amount of reclaimed green space, such as the Westport Lakes and the later legacy of the 1986 [[National Garden Festival]], which imaginatively reclaimed part of the Shelton Bar steelworks site. The [[Peak District National Park]] begins just ten miles north-east of Burslem.
==Transport==
The nearby [[A500 road|A500]] gives access to the [[M6 motorway]]. [[Longport railway station]] offers direct connections south into Stoke, east to [[Derby]] and [[Nottingham]], and north to [[Crewe]] & [[Manchester]]. The town is straddled by two major off-road cycle paths, part of the [[National Cycle Network]]. <br />
<br />
The Trent and Mersey canal is said to see over 10,000 [[narrowboat]]s a year using it. The former Burslem Canal was constructed in 1805 and remained open until 1961 when it was breached. The Burslem Canal was a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal running from the junction near to Newport Lane (opposite the old steel works) though to Furlong Lane area of Middleport.
The nearest international airports are [[Manchester Airport|Manchester]] & [[Birmingham International Airport (UK)|Birmingham International]]; each is about 60 minutes away by train.
Burslem was served by a [[railway station]] which was opened by the [[North Staffordshire Railway]] on 1 November 1873.
==Notable fowk==
Possibly Burslem's current most famous son is [[Robbie Williams]], who is a major shareholder in [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]. His family are still resident in the area.
Other notable figures include the potter [[Josiah Wedgewood]]; the watercolour painter [[James Holland (artist)|James Holland]] (1800–1870); the founder, [[bass guitar|bassist]] and lead singer of one of Britain's foremost rock bands - Ian "[[Lemmy]]" Kilmister of [[Motörhead]] - he was born and spent his early childhood in the town; and [[Darts]] legend and 16-time world champion, [[Phil Taylor (darts player)|Phil Taylor]] who was born, raised and also worked in the town.
In the 17th century, [[Molly Leigh]] was resident of the town before being accused of being a [[witch]] and dying before her trial.
William Frederick Horry owned the George Hotel in the 1860s before murdering his wife Jane at his father's house in Boston, Lincolnshire. Despite pleas for clemency he was hanged at Lincoln Castle on 1 April 1872 and his body interred with other executed felons in the interior of the Castle's Lucy Tower, where it can still be seen.
==In popular cultur==
[[George Formby, Jr.|George Fomby]]'s first sound film, ''Boots! Boots!'', got its world premiere in Burslem in 1934.<ref name="premiere">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Memory-Lane/story-12573418-detail/story.html |title=Memory Lane |accessdate=2012-03-12|work=This Is Staffordshire}}</ref><ref name="Google Books">{{Cite web|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nr-o8xEJSfoC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=%22Boots!+Boots!%22+%22George+Formby%22+Burslem+-wiki&source=bl&ots=4V14JHFpJy&sig=HtJd9Cjigi8wOrZT0C776CCME24&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R6pfT_n1DcOy8gPukpC-Bw&ved=0CGEQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Boots!%20Boots!%22%20%22George%20Formby%22%20Burslem%20-wiki&f=false |title=Popular Music on Film |accessdate=2012-03-12|work=Google Books}}</ref>
The film adaptation of Arnold Bennett's ''The Card'' was partly filmed on location in the town.
Robbie Williams included the song "Burslem Normals"' on his album ''Rudebox'', released in 2006. A short film, "[http://www.goodbyetothenormals.com/ Goodbye to the Normals]" was made.
A song "Waterloo Road" performed by [[Jason Crest]] was written (by Mike Deighan and Mike Wilsh) about the Waterloo Road in Burslem. The song became very popular and even reached no. 1 in [[France]] when the [[French people|French]] [[singer]] [[Joe Dassin]] [[cover version|covered]] it under the title "Les Champs Élysées".
The guitarist Slash, the former lead guitarist of [[Guns N' Roses]], was also an inhabitant of Stoke-on-Trent in his early years.
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==See an aw==
*[[Burslem (UK Pairlament constituency)]], abolished Pairliamentar constituency
*[[Smallthorne]], nearbi aurie
*[[1842 Pottery Riots]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Some of the text on this page is sourced from http://www.middleport.org.uk/aboutmport.html - with full permission for WikiPedia use & licensing granted - if in doubt, please contact author via http://www.middleport.org.uk/form.html
==Freemit airtins==
*[http://www.thepotteries.org/six_towns/burslem.htm Burslem - one of the Six Towns]
*[http://www.thepotteries.org/local_history/gaz_b.htm More on Burslem - in trade journals]
*[http://www.port-vale.co.uk/ Port Vale Football Club]
*[http://www.schoolofart.co.uk/main/index.html Burslem School of Art]
*[http://www.middleport.org.uk Middleport]
<!-- *[http://www.placeopedia.com/?3843 Placeopedia streetmap of Burslem] -->
*[http://www.search.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/engine/GIS/default.asp Use interactive maps to search for historic artefacts and photographs from old Burslem]
*[http://www.localedition.org.uk ''Local Edition'' the local newspaper for Burslem]
{{Stoke-on-Trent}}
{{Staffordshire}}
[[Category:Auries o Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:Touns in Staffordshire]]