Blurton

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Date:1086 - 2015 (c.)

Description:Once a small rural community, Blurton is now a suburb of the City of Stoke on Trent and is situated about one mile south of Longton and two miles east of Trentham. Originally it included the small hamlets of Cocknage, Spratslade and Cold Ridding. The place name Blurton is a descriptive one meaning “village on a hill”. In the Middle Ages, it was called “Bloreton”. The name Cocknage means “a land of delight”.

Blurton does not feature separately in the Domesday Survey of 1086. However it was certainly in existence by 1348, when it appears in the Cartulary (or charters) of Trentham Priory. The village originally formed part of the Dukes of Sutherlands’ North Staffordshire estates and they were the main landowners in this area.

In the Hearth Tax assessment of 1666, a total 29 households were assessed in Blurton as liable for the payment of the tax. The largest property was that of George Coleclough, gentleman, who had five hearths.

There was a church at Blurton well before the 16th century. This was very probably a chapel of ease to Trentham Priory during the Middle Ages. The present parish church is dedicated to St Bartholomew. Its core dates from the early 17th century but it was enlarged and restored by the local architect, Charles Lynam, in 1867 in memory of the Reverend John Hutchinson, who was the vicar of Blurton for many years. There was further restoration in 1891. Originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of Trentham, Blurton became a separate parish in 1821. A mission church was later established at Rough Close.

Until the mid 20th century, Blurton was largely a farming community, supplying food for the nearby Pottery towns and there were a number of farms and smallholdings in the area. In the early 20th century, farming was supplemented by two tileries. In 1924 Hem Heath Colliery was opened, so bringing a new form of employment to Blurton.

Blurton’s main period of development took place largely in the second half of the 20th century. Between 1945 and 1958, the land belonging to Blurton Farm and Newstead Farm was acquired for large housing estates. The big influx of population into the area as a result of these new houses led to the building of schools. A total of eight schools were opened in Blurton between 1948 and 1956, with the Sutherland Infants and Junior Schools being named after the Dukes of Sutherland and the Newstead schools being named after Newstead Farm. A library was also opened in 1955 in response to housing development.

In 1919, Blurton House hosted a large garden party to celebrate the end of the First World War, an event which was captured in photographs at the time.