Fenton, Staffordshire

Fenton
Christ Church, Fenton
Fenton  Fenton shown within Staffordshire
Population	12,070 (2011.Wards)[1][2]
OS grid reference	SJ897446
Unitary authority	Stoke-on-Trent
Ceremonial county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOKE-ON-TRENT
Postcode district	ST4
Dialling code	01782
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Stoke-on-Trent South
List of places UK England Staffordshire

Coordinates: 52°59′52″N 2°09′28″W / 52.9977°N 2.1578°W

Fenton is one of the six towns in the city of Stoke-on-Trent which federated in 1910. In the south-east of the city, Fenton has been dubbed the town Arnold Bennett forgot as he called his fictionalised version of Stoke-on-Trent the Five Towns.

History

Etymology

The name Fenton means 'fen farm'.

Administration

Fenton started to become populated as a group of farms and private small-holdings were built there, alongside a lane running from the southern reaches of Hanley (by 1933 this lane was very busy and given the title of the A50).

Around the 1750s, the land was commonly known as Fenton Vivian. By the 1850s, the area around Duke Street and China Street had become populated during the rapid development of the Potteries.

Potters settled in Fenton in large houses alongside their pot-banks. Such houses include Great Fenton Hall, Fenton House (home of the Baker family), Heron Cottage and Grove House.

The two principal districts, Fenton Vivian and Fenton Culvert – each with their scattered communities, were brought together to make an urban district with its own board of guardians in 1894.

On 1 April 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. By 1925 the area was granted city status.

The Fenton skyline, mostly a residential area, with a prominent church a notable feature. As taken on a cloudy day in August 2010 atop Glebedale Park.

Industry

Fenton has been the home of a number of potteries such as Coalport and Baker & Co, and its architectural heritage includes listed bottle ovens.^[3]

WW I

During the First World War Fenton was bombed by Zeppelin 'L 21'.

Geography

It is within easy reach of the A500, A34 and the A50, a short distance away from Longton, Hanley and Newcastle.

Suburbs

Although Fenton has large industrial plants, particularly from the Potteries trade, it has always been considered more of a residential area.

Fenton includes Heron Cross, Mount Pleasant, Saxonfields, Pool Dole and Fenpark.

Places of interest

Old Town Hall, Fenton

Fenton Manor has a swimming pool, gym and fitness centre, and a 1,300-seater arena. Fenton Park has football pitches, pavilions and playground. The town’s library on Baker Street, a Carnegie library, is now closed. Fenton also had a magistrates court, which served the city from within Fenton’s old town hall, built in 1888 by local pottery owner William Meath Baker at his own expense, to a design by Robert Scrivener. It closed in 2013.

Economy

Fenton differs from the other Potteries towns in that it doesn’t have a town centre. Instead, amenities and shops are spread over a sizeable area.

Notable people

• Frank Bough
• Paul Bown
• Ryan Shotton
• Richard Bolton
• Edward Bolton

Trivia

In the Jorge Luis Borges short story The Garden of Forking Paths, Dr. Yu Tsun goes to a suburb of Fenton to meet Stephen Albert.

References

1. "Fenton East Ward, Stoke MBC population 2011". Retrieved 21 December 2015.
2. "Fenton West and Mount Pleasant ward.Stoke MBC population 2011". Retrieved 21 December 2015.
3. "Listed Buildings in Stoke-on-Trent". Thepotteries.org. Retrieved 2013-02-28.

• Town profile at The Sentinel

External links

• Use interactive maps to find historic artefacts and photographs of old Fenton at exploringthepotteries.org.uk
• Town profile at The Sentinel (local newspaper)