Norton le Moors is in the north-east of the city of Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England, mostly within the city boundary, with the rest in the

Staffordshire Moorlands Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The ...

district.

Geography

The suburb borders Ball Green in the north, Stockton Brook in the east,

Norton Green Norton Green is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest ...

in the north-east, Milton in the south, and

Bradeley Bradeley is a village in Staffordshire, England, in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but became more established as a mining community for the local coal pits in Norton and Chatterley Whitfield. A hostel exis ...

in the west.

History

The civil parish of Norton le Moors was established in 1837. It was abolished in 1965 and incorporated into the parishes of Bagnall,

Brown Edge Brown Edge is a village and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,406, increasing to 2,486 at the 2011 census. The village is on the fringe of The ...

and Stoke-on-Trent. Two years, later Norton Parish Council obtained permission to change its name to

Parish Council. Norton le Moors appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Nortone, meaning North town. At the time of the

Domesday Survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

the village was held by

Robert de Stafford Robert de Stafford ( 1039 – c. 1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, the first feudal baron of Stafford in Staffordshire in England, where he built as his seat Stafford Castle. His many landholdings are l ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the area developed due to its location on the road from Leek to

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, 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. ...

, later turned turnpiked as the Leek to Newcastle road.

Population

In 2001, the population for the ward of Norton and

stood at 11,157. However, the population for Norton le Moors itself has significantly changed over time. The UK national census revealed that in 1801 the total population for the parish was 1,480 and up until 1891 the population continued to increase. In 1901 the population of the parish had dropped from 9,919 in 1891 to 4,600, a drop of 5,319 people. The population started to increase again for the next 20 years until there was a decline in 1931. Since then the population has been steadily increasing. Figures from the 2001 census show that the ward for Norton and

have 38.89% of economically active between the ages of 16–74 in full-time employment, 10.83% in part-time employment and 17.37% are retired.

Occupations

Statistics from the 1881 census data shows that the vast majority of employment and industry was in various mineral substances, which mainly employed men, however women were also employed although in small numbers. Although occupation figures for women were mainly unknown in 1881, the top occupation was in the domestic service or offices sector.

Church of St Bartholomew

Norton le Moors' most noticeable landmark is the Church of St Bartholomew, on Norton Lane. Built in 1737 (although significantly rebuilt in 1915), the brick and stone parish church was built by Richard Trubshaw. The church of 1737 forms the western end of the present building. The building was doubled in size when the eastern half was added in 1915. To this day it remains as one of the oldest surviving buildings in the

Staffordshire Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...

. The church's location perched on top of a hill makes for expansive views out towards neighbouring areas such as

Smallthorne Smallthorne (population: 5,827 – 2011 Census) is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is in the north-east of the city, near Burslem. Smallthorne borders Bradeley and Chell in the north, Norton-in-the-Moors in ...

and

to the west as well as views to the

in the south and the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

beyond to the east making for an attractive location.

Norton Gateway Memorial

The "Gateway of Norton le Moors", on the corner of Ford Green Road and Knypersley Road, is dedicated to the men, women and children who worked in the mining and ceramics industries. It was opened by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Jean Edwards, on 29 September 2006. Three coal wagons are placed nearby. The memorial is situated opposite the Norton Arms, where the inquiry into the explosion at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in 1881 was held. The gateway bears a plaque in recognition of

Walter Sylvester Walter Sylvester (18 December 1867 – 30 October 1944) was an English inventor, known for the "Sylvester", a device for safely removing pit props in mines. Life Sylvester was born in 1867 in Newbold, Derbyshire; his father was a coal miner. The f ...

, the local inventor of a device for safely removing pit props in mines.

Education

Location in the north of Stoke-on-Trent Excel Academy has a

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

from the neighbourhoods of Norton-le-Moors,

Sneyd Green Sneyd Green is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in the north-east of the city, from Hanley. Sneyd Green borders Smallthorne in the north, Milton in the east, Birches Head in the south, and Cobridge in the west. ...

, Milton, Baddeley Green and Ball Green. Established in 1963 to accommodate 450 pupils the school has enlarged and established over the years and now accommodates over 1200 pupils aged 11–16.

Transport

Norton le Moors is accessible through a range of lanes such as Norton Lane, Endon Road and Knypersley Road. The main road that runs parallel to the village is Leek New Road (A53) which leads to Newcastle-under-Lyme and Leek.

Sport

The local Football League team is

Port Vale F.C. Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

but a minority support their arch rivals Stoke City who got promoted to the Premier League in 2008 and have remained in the top division for the last few years. The area is represented in non-league football by

Norton United F.C. Norton United F.C. was a football club based in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. They were established in 1989 and joined the Staffordshire Senior League in the same year. They were the Midland League champions three times, No ...

, although the club's ground is in fact located in the neighbouring suburb of

References

{{Stoke-on-Trent Areas of Stoke-on-Trent