Description:Newchapel is situated in an elevated position right at the northern end of the Potteries about three miles north of Tunstall. It was originally part of the enormous ecclesiastical parish of Wolstanton and included the townships of Thursfield, Chell and Wedgwood and parts of Stadmoreslow and Brerehurst. In 1666 there were approximately 35 households recorded in the Hearth Tax for these places.
The building of a new chapel here early in the 17th century to serve the local population probably gave the place its name and it became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1715. In 1766, the church of St James was rebuilt. It was again rebuilt in brick in 1878 - 1880 by the architectural firm of T Lewis and Son. The cost of the building was £2,675. It was not until 1914 that the chancel was added. Probably the church’s main claim to fame is the fact the James Brindley, the great canal engineer, who lived and died at Turnhurst Hall in 1772, is buried in the churchyard. Brindley’s home at Turnhurst was demolished in 1929.
Local tradition has it that the ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’ lived in the neighbourhood of Turnhurst. While George Frederick Handel was staying at the Hall, the blacksmith is said to have attracted the composer’s attention by his quick and regular striking of the anvil and so inspiring the piece of music, ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’.
There was a strong Wesleyan presence in Newchapel with a Wesleyan chapel built here in 1847. A new chapel was subsequently built in 1873 so allowing the old chapel building to become a Sunday school. The land for the new chapel was acquired from Robert Heath, a local iron master and landowner. This building was later demolished in 1985. A Primitive Methodist chapel was established in 1862. In 1987 a new Methodist Church was opened.
A free grammar school was founded here in 1708 as a result of a bequest from Dr Robert Hulme of Sandbach. It closed in 1877. Primary education was catered for by a National school, built in 1847, and later an elementary school built in 1911 at Packmoor.
Newchapel is also home to the Natural Science Centre, formerly the Newchapel Observatory. This was established in 1964 by Tony and Michael Pace. The building houses a planetarium and observatory and attracts a large number of visitors. A conservation area has also been created on the site.