Lost but not forgotten!
North Staffordshire has seen many well known landmarks come and go over the years. Some have been sorely missed and were only demolished after hardfought campaigns to save them. But with a few others, we couldn’t wait to see the back of them. KATHIE MCINN
ROYAL DOULTON
Royal Doulton was one of the big beasts of the pottery industry and its Nile Street works was once a hive of activity. Its factory in Burslem was opened in the 1870s, using the site previously occupied by Pinder Bourne.
The company continued to grow for much of the following century. But the factory finally closed in 2005, with the loss of more than 500 jobs. The boarded-up building was later all but destroyed by a fire.
But now the 11-acre site is being reborn as a housing development after St Modwen acquired the land. Called Kiln Gate, it will feature 216 homes. And the old ornate Doulton gates are being incorporated into the design.
WESTCLIFFE HOSPITAL
The hospital opened on the site of a former workhouse in Chell, which was built in 1839 and was dubbed by locals as the ‘Bastille’. In the 1980s, the northern half of the hospital – which included most of the old workhouse buildings – was demolished and replaced with a nursing home.
The crumbling hospital itself closed in 2007, partly a victim of cuts to long-stay care beds. It led to a campaign to preserve parts of the remaining Victorian facilities, including the entrance lodge and gates.
But the site , off Turnhurst Road, went on to be redeveloped as a £21.6 million retirement village. The Maple West complex was part of a major investment in extra care facilities in the city. With 140 apartments, it also boasts a shop, newsagents, hair salon and restaurant on-site for residents.
NEWCASTLE MUNICIPAL HALL
Newcastle Municipal Hall graced the Ironmarket for more than 70 years.
It was built in the late 1890s to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Its façade featured life-sized figures that represented art, literature, music and architecture.
During its lifetime, the hall housed the council chamber and was also home to a dance hall and school of art. But the building was controversially demolished in 1967, despite protests from local residents.
The site was later used for Newcastle library. The library has since relocated to a brand new civic HQ, Castle House, and the site has been sold off.
THE PLACE
Billed as Europe’s first discotheque when it opened in 1963, just a handful of people turned up for its opening night, but the word soon spread.
Before long, the nightclub was one of the most popular places in the city. And it drew an enviable list of performers, including The Who and Elton John. A young David Bowie even appeared at The Place as a virtual unknown called David Jones.
The Place, in Bryan Street, Hanley, closed in the 1990s and still holds great memories for people who enjoyed the clubbing scene.
The plot was later bought by the intu Potteries Centre as part of its expansion plan for a cinema and restaurants.
FINE FARE SUPERMARKET
Newcastle’s old Fine Fare supermarket, with its orange, green and white facade, earned the moniker of ‘Britain’s ugliest building’. It was even claimed that pilots approaching Manchester Airport would set their bearings by the garish store.
Built in the 1980s, the supermarket – also dubbed Rubik’s Cube – only lasted a few years before shutting.
In the 1990s, a multi-million pound scheme was unveiled to transform it into a bingo palace. It led to part of the building being demolished. Today, the site is home to the Vue cinema complex and car park.
SILVERDALE COLLIERY
When the final shift of miners clocked off from Silverdale Colliery on Christmas Eve in 1998, it marked the end of an era. It was North Staffordshire’s last remaining deep pit and its closure sounded the death knell for our once proud mining industry.
The Silverdale Company had been formed way back in 1792 to dig for ironstone, and coal was mined there from around 1830 onwards. The pit was one of the first in North Staffordshire to be mechanised and, in 1975, a £1.5 million project gave it the potential to produce up to 750,000 tons of coal a year.
But tough times were ahead and the National Coal Board announced plans to shut it in 1993. Several attempts were made to rescue it, yet ultimately the takeovers couldn’t stop the mine’s demise.
The site has since been redeveloped as Silverdale Country Park, overlooked by new homes in the village.
LEEK ROUNDABOUT
The campaign to save the market town’s floral island hit national headlines a decade ago and Leek residents have never quite got over the loss.
The roundabout at the bottom of Derby Street was bulldozed on the back of Sainsbury’s winning planning permission for a new store. Staffordshire County Council wanted to use the developer’s funding for community facilities to improve the road layout. Thousands joined a campaign to save the landmark near the Nicholson War Memorial – and even camped out on the island for two weeks before a judge intervened.
The road changes were to prove yet more controversial as a ‘shared space’ area was installed, which meant pedestrians and vehicles shared the road and pavement. Campaigners claimed this was particularly dangerous for people with sight problems.
The actual highways work was also branded ‘shoddy’ after the road started to crack and sink.
BROWNHILLS HIGH SCHOOL
Brownhills High was one of the first schools to be built in Stokeon-trent after the end of the First World War. Then known as Tunstall High School for Girls, the building was completed in 1929 and its façade was neo-georgian. For many years, an impressive mansion, Brownhills Hall, stood alongside it. But the hall was demolished in the 1950s. Renamed Brownhills High School, it was a girls’ grammar school before turning comprehensive. The site was later earmarked for a £21.4 million new academy as part of Stoke-on-trent’s Building Schools for the Future programme.
Co-op Academy Stoke-on-trent – initially known as Co-operative Academy At Brownhills – opened in 2010 in the old building before the stylish new facilities were ready in 2012. The handsome old façade of Brownhills then disappeared from the city’s skyline.
CERAMICA
Ceramica was designed to be a celebration of the city’s ceramic industry and ended up being an abject failure. Ceramica opened as a tourist attraction and museum in 2003, supported by £1.59 million of National Lottery funding provided by the Millennium Commission.
Part of it was housed in the historic Burslem Town Hall. But it also featured a pointy glass extension, which attracted much derision for its design.
Ceramica closed in 2011 following a significant drop in visitors and the trust which ran it was wound up. The glass annexe was subsequently demolished.
In 2017, Stoke-on-trent City Council started work on a £500,000 scheme to transform the land, with new paving, seating and lighting. While the town hall was taken over by City College, Haywood Academy’s sixth form.
THE KINGS ARMS
The Kings Arms pub in Meir was rebuilt in 1935, although a pub occupied this site from as far back as the 19th century. At the time, it was considered a flagship hostelry. There was even
a bowling green on the site. But its fate was sealed when Stokeon-trent Primary Care Trust bought the pub so it could create an £11 million health centre. The new centre was due to bring together seven GP surgeries and a pharmacy.
Campaigners fought a spirited battle to save the historic pub from demolition. They lost and the building was torn down in 2008.
Today, the primary care centre still operates on the site, which overlooks the roundabout linking Weston Road and Sandon Road.
ZANZIBAR
Zanzibar was the night spot of choice for many revellers in North Staffordshire.
It was originally built as a snooker hall in the 1950s on the site of a former coal yard. The building was transformed into the Crystal Ballroom dance hall in 1958.
It later became the Zanzibar nightclub and closed its doors for the last time in 2004.
The building, with its distinctive curved frontage and exotic figure towering over the entrance, lay derelict for many years.
There were several failed attempts to redevelop the site, including plans to turn it into an antiques dealership and restaurant.
It was finally snapped up by Aspire Housing and was recently demolished to make way for a £15 million housing development.
JUBILEE BATHS
Jubilee Baths was used by generations of children, who learnt to swim there. Overlooking Nelson Place, it became a landmark in Newcastle.
The facilities opened way back in 1906 and were initially known as the King Edward VII memorial baths. At the time, they were the largest baths in the Midlands.
The pool was renamed in 1979 to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
Plans were unveiled in 2008 to replace the ageing swimming facilities with a brand new leisure centre. The £10 million Jubilee 2 complex officially opened in 2012 next door to the old baths.
The original Jubilee site was bought to turn into student accommodation, known as the Sky Building. But the project collapsed and the student flats are still lying half-built years later.