View source for Burslem

{{Short description|Town in Staffordshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Burslem
| local_name               = The Mother Town of the [[Potteries Urban Area|Potteries]]
| type                     = [[Federation of Stoke-on-Trent|Federated town]] and [[City district|district]]
| static_image_name        = {{multiple images
 | align = center |total_width = 260|perrow=1 2
 | image1 = St John's Church Burslem 4.jpg
 | image2 = The George Hotel - Burslem - geograph.org.uk - 3990636.jpg
 | image3 = Cross on the summit of Sneyd Hill Park - geograph.org.uk - 5207757.jpg
 | image4 = Burslem - geograph.org.uk - 273995.jpg
 | image5 = Bandstand in Burslem Park.jpg
 | image6 = Festival Park, cycle paths - geograph.org.uk - 5133927.jpg
 | image7 = Queens Theatre, Burslem 1.jpg
 }}
| static_image_caption     = {{ubl
 | Top: Burslem [[St John's Church, Burslem|St John's Church]]
 | Upper: The George Hotel and the Cross at Sneyd Hill Park
 | Lower: Town Centre with the [[Burslem Town Hall|Old Town Hall]] and [[Burslem Park]] Bandstand
 | Bottom: [[Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent|Festival Park]] and [[Queen's Theatre, Burslem|Queens Theatre]]
 }}
| coordinates              = {{coord|53|2|44|N|2|11|53|W|display=inline,title}}
| population               = 6,940
| population_ref           = (2021 Census)<ref>{{cite web |title=Burslem Central (Ward, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westmidlands/wards/stoke_on_trent/E05008723__burslem_central/ |website=www.citypopulation.de |access-date=4 May 2024}}</ref>
| country                  = England
| unitary_england          = [[Stoke-on-Trent]]
| lieutenancy_england      = [[Staffordshire]]
| region                   = West Midlands
| constituency_westminster = [[Stoke-on-Trent North (UK Parliament constituency)|Stoke-on-Trent North]]
| post_town                = STOKE-ON-TRENT
| postcode_district        = ST6
| postcode_area            = ST
| dial_code                = 01782
| os_grid_reference        = SJ875495
| population_demonym       = Boslomite
| parts_type               = Districts of the town
| p1                       = [[Cobridge]] (Part)
| p2                       = [[Longport, Staffordshire|Longport]]
| p3                       = [[Middleport, Staffordshire|Middleport]]
| p4                       = [[Norton le Moors]]
| p5                       = [[Smallthorne]]
}}
'''Burslem''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɜːr|z|l|ə|m}} {{respell|BURZ|ləm}}) is one of the six towns that along with [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]], [[Tunstall, Staffordshire|Tunstall]], [[Fenton, Staffordshire|Fenton]], [[Longton, Staffordshire|Longton]] and [[Stoke-upon-Trent]] form part of the city of [[Stoke-on-Trent]] in [[Staffordshire, England]]. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History {{!}} Burslem.info |url=https://burslem.info/our-history#:~:text=The%20town%20of%20B%20urslem,manufacturing%20areas%20across%20the%20UK. |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=burslem.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=Louise |date=2021-01-22 |title=Burslem in pictures: 21 stunning images of the Mother Town |url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/history/gallery/burslem-pictures-21-stunning-images-1540187 |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=StokeonTrentLive |language=en}}</ref> The population of the town was included under the Burslem Central ward and had a population of 6,490 in the 2021 Census.

==Topography==
Burslem is on the eastern ridge of the Fowlea Valley, the Fowlea being one of the main early tributaries of the [[River Trent]]. Burslem embraces the areas of [[Middleport, Staffordshire|Middleport]], Dalehall, Longport, Westport, Trubshaw Cross, and Brownhills. The [[Trent & Mersey Canal]] cuts through, to the west and south of the town centre. A little further west, the [[West Coast Main Line]] railway and the [[A500 road]] run in parallel, forming a distinct boundary between Burslem and the abutting town of [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]]. To the south is Grange Park and Festival Park, reclaimed by the [[Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival]].

==History==
[[File:St John's Church Burslem 2.jpg|thumb|Church of St John the Baptist, Burslem]]
The [[Domesday Book]] shows Burslem (listed as ''Bacardeslim'') as a small farming hamlet, strategically sited above a [[ford (crossing)|ford]] at [[Longport, Staffordshire|Longport]], part of the major [[pack horse]] track out of the [[Peak District]] and [[Staffordshire Moorlands]] to the [[Liverpool]]/London road. The name refers to the Old English personal name ''Burgweard'' and the former [[Forest of Lyme]] (reflected in the nearby town of [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=P. H. Reaney|date=1969|title=The Origin of English Place Names|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul|page=82|isbn=0-7100-2010-4}}</ref> As far back as the late 12th century, a thriving [[pottery]] industry existed, based on the fine and abundant local [[clay]]s. After the [[Black Death]], Burslem emerges in the records as a [[medieval]] town – [[St John the Baptist's Church, Burslem|St John the Baptist's Church]] on Cross Hill, with a stone tower dating from 1536, was extended in the 18th century, and 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 and 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 and [[canal]]s, and became known as The Mother Town of the six towns that make up the city. [[Hill Top Methodist Sunday School, Burslem|Hill Top Methodist Church and Sunday School]] opened on Westport Road in 1836. The [[Burslem railway station|railway station]] opened in 1848. The [[Burslem School of Art]] was founded in 1853. A [[Old Town Hall, Burslem|new town hall]] was built in the market place in 1854, designed by G. T. Robinson of Leamington in elaborate baroque style. In 1906, the [[Burslem United Reformed Church|United Reformed Church]] was opened on Moorland Road, initially named the Woodall Memorial Congregational Church, in memory of [[William Woodall|William Woodall MP]]. 

In 1910, the town was [[Federation of Stoke-on-Trent|federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent]], and the borough was granted [[British city status|city status]] in 1925. The [[Queen's Theatre, Burslem|new town hall]] was built in 1911 on Wedgwood Place, in neo-classical style, designed by Russell and Cooper. 

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 and character have survived intact.

[[File:Disused Bottle ovens of Acme Marls on Bourne's Bank, Burslem.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Disused [[bottle oven]]s of Acme Marls on Bourne's Bank, Burslem with St. John's Church, Woodbank Street, in the background.(Photographed May 2008)]]

===Trade journals===
{{quote|"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]]."|source=1828 journal}}

{{quote|"In the Doomsday 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."|source=1893 journal}}

==Population and housing==
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 and 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.

There were two electoral wards covering Burslem at the 2011 census, Burslem Central and Burslem Park.

At the 2011 census the ethnic demographics of the Burslem Central ward were:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://burslem.info/sites/default/files/pdfs/burslemcentral_wardprof.pdf|title="Ward Profile with 2011 Census data. VERSION 3.0", Aug-16, Burslem Central}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
| White British and White Other || 83.5%
|-
| Asian / Asian British || 9.0%
|-
| Mixed / multiple ethnic groups ||2.7%
|-
| Black / African / Caribbean / Black British ||2.3%
|-
| Other ethnic group || 1.0%
|}

At the 2011 census the ethnic demographics of the Burslem Park ward were:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ukcensusdata.com/|title=Data from the 2011 census in England and Wales - UK Census Data 2011|first=Good Stuff IT|last=Services|website=UK Census Data}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
| White British and White Other || 90.3%
|-
| Asian / Asian British || 5.50%
|-
| Mixed / multiple ethnic groups || 1.92%
|-
| Black / African / Caribbean / Black British || 1.38%
|-
| Other ethnic group || 0.8%
|}

==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.

The number of shops 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 [[Burslem Market Hall|Market Hall]], a Grade II listed building dating from 1879, lying between the market place and [[Queen Street, Burslem|Queen Street]], was in use until 2003, closing after its condition was judged unsafe.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1483420 |desc=Burslem Market  Hall |access-date=26 February 2023}}</ref>

At Spring 2002 unemployment was 4.1% 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% and declining.

In 2005, the building of [[business park]] units in the town. Further business parks are planned for 2006/7 just to the north in Chatterley Valley, and the south in Etruria Valley.

In 2019 it was reported that the town's last bank had closed, leaving the town without any free to use [[Automated teller machine|cash machines]], making it the first large town in the UK without one.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/18/burslem-stoke-trent-becomes-first-large-town-without-free-atm/|title=Burslem in Stoke on Trent becomes UK's first large town with no free bank ATM|first=Katie|last=Morley|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=18 February 2019|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>

===Media===
Local television services is provided by ''[[BBC Midlands Today]]'' and ''[[ITV News Central]]''.

Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Stoke]], [[Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire]], [[Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire]], [[6 Towns Radio]] and [[The Hitmix|HitMix Radio]], a community based radio station.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehitmix.co.uk/|title=The HitMix|access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref>

In 2007 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 its archive is online.

===Leopard Inn===
[[File:Leopard Inn, number 21 Market Place, Burslem - geograph.org.uk - 344929.jpg|thumb|The Leopard in 2001]]
The Leopard public house, also known as the Leopard Inn, dates to the late 18th century. The building was refronted about 1830<ref name=listing>{{NHLE|num=1297964 |desc=Leopard Public House |access-date=1 July 2024|fewer-links=y}}</ref> and expanded in the 1870s with the addition of more than 50 bedrooms in the rear.<ref name=RHS>{{cite web |author=Jenna Goodwin |url=https://www.theredhairedstokie.co.uk/theleopardburslemend/ |title=The Leopard, Burslem - A Rich History to a Bitter End |website=The Red Haired Stokie |date=26 January 2023 |access-date=1 July 2024 }}</ref><ref name=potteries>{{cite web |url=https://www.thepotteries.org/inns/burslem/leopard.htm |title=The Leopard Inn - Burslem |website=The potteries: Pubs of Stoke-on-Trent |access-date=1 July 2024 }}</ref> In 1765 it was the location of the first meeting between [[Josiah Wedgwood]], [[Thomas Bentley (manufacturer)|Thomas Bentley]], [[Erasmus Darwin]] and [[James Brindley]] to discuss the building of what became the [[Trent and Mersey Canal]]; as The Tiger, it appears in several of [[Arnold Bennett]]'s "Five Towns" novels.<ref name=potteries/><ref name=core>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-60117043 |title=Leopard pub fire: Venue 'core' to Stoke-on-Trent's history |publisher=BBC News |date=24 January 2022 }}</ref> It was a coaching inn and after the rear extension, a major commercial hotel, but reduced demand for rooms led to the extension being closed off in 1956.<ref name=RHS/><ref name=potteries/> The rediscovery of this section of the building in 2007 led to tales of hauntings and ghost tours.<ref name=RHS/><ref name=Sent>{{cite news |first=Hayley |last=Parker |url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/take-terrifying-tour-leopard-stoke-5041164 |title=Take a terrifying tour of The Leopard as Stoke-on-Trent's 'most haunted' pub set to reopen with luxury flats |newspaper=Stoke Sentinel |date=25 February 2021 }}</ref>

[[Bass Brewery|Bass Breweries]] bought The Leopard in 1965 and renovated the restaurant, which they named the Arnold Bennett Suite.<ref name=RHS/><ref name=potteries/> The building was [[Grade II listed]] on 18 April 1972.<ref name=listing/> In the 21st century it became a live music venue and was extensively renovated, but it did not reopen after the [[COVID-19 pandemic in England|COVID lockdown]].<ref name=RHS/><ref name=Sent/> In January 2021 it was sold to a development company who proposed redeveloping the rear into luxury apartments while retaining the pub; in February 2021 [[Stoke-on-Trent City Council]] declared it an Asset of Community Value.<ref name=RHS/><ref name=Sent/>  The following January, an illegal [[cannabis]] grow was discovered inside the vacant building,<ref>{{cite news |first=Ruby |last=Davies |url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/cannabis-factory-found-inside-one-6508679 |title=Cannabis factory found inside one of Stoke-on-Trent's best-known pubs |newspaper=Stoke Sentinel |date=18 January 2022 }}</ref> and it was then badly damaged in a suspected [[arson]] fire.<ref name=RHS/><ref name=core/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-60098850 |title='Heartbreaking' fire at historic pub in Burslem |publisher=BBC News |date=22 January 2022 }}</ref> The city council announced the formation of a Heritage Congress to protect historic properties in Stoke-on-Trent.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-60171473 |title=Stoke-on-Trent pub fire prompts heritage protection plan |publisher=BBC News |date=28 January 2022 }}</ref> In June 2024, the owners submitted a proposal to convert the building to a shop and 17 one-bedroom [[assisted living]] flats.<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Price |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nnkzg1yjjo |title=Shop and flats plan for fire-ravaged historic pub |publisher=BBC News |date=4 June 2024 }}</ref> It was reported in March 2025 that this proposal had been withdrawn, and an amended application would be submitted in the summer.<ref>{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Corrigan|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cge1g4we998o |title=Fire-ravaged pub's renovation plan withdrawn |publisher=BBC News |date=4 March 2025 }}</ref> Re-Form Heritage, the owner of [[Middleport Pottery]], was reported in April 2025 to be carrying out a viability study into restoring the building and exploring options for its future use. The study is funded by [[Historic England]] and the [[Architectural Heritage Fund]], and would be completed in the summer of 2025.<ref>{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Corrigan|url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/leopard-must-rise-ashes-options-10130634|title=Leopard 'must rise from ashes' as options to save fire-hit hotel explored |publisher=Stoke-on-Trent Live |date=25 April 2025 }}</ref>

==Tourism==
[[File:Burslem Old Town Hall 2018 1.jpg|thumb|upright|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&nbsp;million tourists visit Stoke-on-Trent each year, supporting around 4,400 direct jobs. Stoke shows its popularity through the number of repeat visits; around 80 per cent of visitors have previously been here. Burslem has a variety of strong tourist attractions; Burleigh, Moorcroft, Festival Park, its many [[public house|pub]]s, and the Trent & Mersey Canal. The [[Old Town Hall, Burslem|Old Town Hall]] is one of the largest buildings in Burslem.

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, Burslem|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 [[association football|football]] club [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] 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.

==Education==
Burslem is the site of one of the two campuses of [[Stoke-on-Trent College]]; the College states that it is the largest [[Further Education]] college in Stoke and North Staffordshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stokecoll.ac.uk/welcome-to-stoke-on-trent-college/ |title=Welcome to Stoke on Trent College|website=Stoke on Trent College |access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref> The campus specialises in media-production and drama. Stoke Studio College, a studio school for 13- to 19-year-olds opened 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 environment==
The town is elevated and is not prone to flooding.

===Parks===
====Burslem Park====
{{Main|Burslem Park}}
[[File:Bandstand in Burslem Park.jpg|thumb|Bandstand in Burslem Park]]
The town's [[municipal park]], designed by the landscape architect [[Thomas Hayton Mawson]], was opened in 1894. It is protected by a Grade II* designation on the [[Register of Parks and Gardens]]. It was laid out on derelict land next to the [[Potteries Loop Line]]. Mawson also used reclaimed land as the site of [[Hanley Park]], which he designed around the same time. Both parks include water features.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/burslem-park|title=Burslem Park|first=Parks and|last=Gardens (en)|website=Parks & Gardens}}</ref> 

====Other parks====
There are also later examples of reclaimed green space near Burslem, such as the [[Westport Lake, Stoke-on-Trent|Westport Lake]], a 1970s project, and the legacy of the [[Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival|1986 National Garden Festival]], which imaginatively reclaimed part of the site of the [[Shelton Bar|Shelton Bar steelworks]].

The [[Peak District National Park]] begins just ten miles north-east of Burslem.

===Burslem cemetery===
The cemetery, to the east of Sneyd Hill Park, was laid out in 1879 as a combined burial ground and recreational park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/burslem-cemetery|title=Burslem Cemetery|publisher=Parks and Gardens UK|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> It covers 11.4 acres, and comprised walks, rides, lodges and a chapel, situated at the centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1523874&sort=4&search=all&criteria=trent&rational=q&recordsperpage=10&p=22&move=p&nor=817&recfc=0&resourceID=19191|title=Burslem Cemetery Chapel|publisher=Historic England|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> The chapel was demolished by the council in 2008 on the basis of lack of use and the costs of maintenance and repair.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://potteries.staffspasttrack.org.uk/Details.aspx?&ResourceID=35339&PageIndex=1&SearchType=2&ThemeID=124|title=Exploring The Potteries|publisher=Staffordshire Past|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> The ashes of the novelist [[Arnold Bennett]] were interred in his family tomb in the cemetery, following his death in 1931.<ref name="auto"/>

==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]] and [[Manchester]]. The town is straddled by two major off-road cycle paths, part of the [[National Cycle Network]].

The Trent and Mersey canal is said to see over 10,000 [[narrowboat]]s a year using it. The former [[Burslem Port Trust|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) through to the Furlong Lane area of Middleport.

The nearest international airports are [[Manchester Airport|Manchester]] and [[Birmingham Airport|Birmingham]]; each is about 60&nbsp;minutes away by train.

[[Burslem railway station]] which was opened by the [[North Staffordshire Railway]] opened on 1 November 1873 on the [[Potteries Loop Line]]. It closed in the 1960s and the site and trackbed are now a greenway.

==Notable people==
Burslem's most famous sons include the potter [[Josiah Wedgwood]], the watercolour painter [[James Holland (artist)|James Holland]] (1800–1870), Ian "[[Lemmy]]" Kilmister, the founder, bassist and lead singer of [[Motörhead]], and [[Robbie Williams]], who was a major shareholder in [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] and whose family are still resident in the area. [[Darts]] legend and 16-time world champion [[Phil Taylor (darts player)|Phil Taylor]] was born, raised and also worked in the town.

In the 17th century, [[Molly Leigh]] was resident of the town, she was accused of being a [[witch]] before her death in 1748. Painter [[James Astbury Hammersley]] also came from Burslem.

[[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.

[[William Clowes (Primitive Methodist)|William Clowes]], one of the founders of [[Primitive Methodism]], was born in Burslem as was [[John Bennett (potter)|John Bennett]] the potter. [[Sarah Benett]] (1850–1924), the [[Suffragette]], member of the [[Women's Social and Political Union|WSPU]] and social reformer lived in Burslem from 1894.

[[William Boulton (engineer)|William Boulton]]'s Providence Works and Foundry was based in Burslem, which designed and made the machinery that revolutionised the pottery industry in the second half of the 19th century.

==In popular culture==
[[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]]'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 |access-date=12 March 2012|work=This Is Staffordshire}}</ref><ref name="Google Books">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/popularmusiconsc0000mund |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/popularmusiconsc0000mund/page/151 151] |quote=Boots! Boots! George Formby Burslem -wiki. |title=Popular Music on Film |date=4 June 1999 |access-date=12 March 2012|publisher=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The [[The Card (1952 film)|1952 film adaptation]] of Arnold Bennett's ''[[The Card]]'' was partly filmed on location in the town. Bennett’s classic 1908 novel, [[w:The Old Wives' Tale|The Old Wives’ Tale]], was set in a fictionalized version of Burslem, there referred to as Bursley.

Robbie Williams included the song "Burslem Normals"' on his album ''[[Rudebox]]'', released in 2006. A short film, ''Goodbye to the Normals'' was also 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 singer [[Joe Dassin]] [[cover version|covered]] it under the title "Les Champs Élysées".

The guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]], lead guitarist of [[Guns N' Roses]], was also an inhabitant of Stoke-on-Trent in his early years.

==See also==
*[[1842 Pottery riots]]
*[[Burslem (UK Parliament constituency)]], abolished Parliamentary constituency
*[[The Duke William, Stoke-on-Trent|The Duke William]], a Grade-II listed public house in Burslem
*[[Smallthorne]], nearby area

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*Some of the text on this page is sourced from [https://web.archive.org/web/20050114094714/http://www.middleport.org.uk/aboutmport.html Middleport, England - a concise overview] – with full permission for WikiPedia use & licensing granted – if in doubt, please contact author via [https://web.archive.org/web/20041220161005/http://www.middleport.org.uk/form.html Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent - Email form]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[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.search.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/engine/GIS/default.asp Use interactive maps to search for historic artefacts and photographs from old Burslem]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120313061011/http://www.localedition.org.uk/ ''Local Edition'' the local newspaper for Burslem]

{{Stoke-on-Trent}}
{{Staffordshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Areas of Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:Towns in Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Staffordshire]]