General Sources at Stoke Archives
For family history resources at Stoke-on-Trent City Archives please see: Family History Resources at Stoke on Trent City Archives
Records of Local Government
The City of Stoke-on-Trent is a unique federation of "The Six Towns" - Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-upon-Trent and Tunstall - which had evolved from small hilltop villages into thriving industrial towns based upon the local mineral resources of coal, iron and clay. Since federation in 1910 Stoke-on-Trent has grown further to take in a wider area of north Staffordshire, including parts of Norton-in-the-Moors, Smallthorne, Meir, Weston Coyney and Trentham. Stoke became a City in 1928. The City Archives hold records for the city and its predecessor authorities.
| Area | Records |
|---|
| Stoke-on-Trent |
County Borough/City Council, 1910 to present |
| Burslem |
Commissioners/Local Board of Health/Municipal Borough Council, 1825-1910 |
| Fenton |
Commissioners/Local Board of Health/Urban District Council, 1842-1910 |
| Hanley |
Municipal Borough/County Borough Council, 1857-1910 |
| Longton |
Municipal Borough Council, 1873-1910 |
| Smallthorne |
Local Board of Health/Urban District Council, 1875-1910 |
| Stoke-upon-Trent |
Commissioners/Municipal Borough Council, 1839-1910 |
| Tunstall |
Local Board of Health/ Urban District Council, 1881-1910 |
The City Archives also holds incomplete series of records for the two local poor law unions: Stoke-upon-Trent Poor Law Union and Wolstanton and Burslem Poor Law Union.
Education Records
School log books, admission registers, and committee minutes are held for many schools in Stoke-on-Trent, including the Schools of Art, which furthered the education of some of the brightest and best stars of the Potteries (for example Arnold Bennett, Charlotte Rhead, Susie Cooper and Clarice Cliff).
Methodist Records
Methodism has been a vital part of Potteries life and culture since the eighteenth century. The Primitive Methodist revivals began at Mow Cop on the edge of the present city in 1807. The records of local Wesleyan Methodist, Primitive Methodist and Methodist New Connexion churches and circuits are held by the City Archives, and they contain historical evidence of the lives and beliefs of working people, and about the Temperance and Sunday School movements.
Business Records
Business archives in Stoke-on-Trent City Archives include those of potteries, collieries and shopkeepers. Minutes of the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and of CATU (the Ceramic and Allied Trades Union) are also available here.
Records of Urban Development
Extensive collections of property deeds and maps document the growth and fusion of the Six Towns over the past three hundred years. The Moxon collection is a local solicitor's archive comprising deeds, wills, and other legal documents. The Heathcote collection includes title deeds as part of the archive of a landowning family. The Adams collection was derived from many different sources by Percy Adams during research for his history of the Adams family at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Online Catalogue
Our online catalogue Gateway to the Past is continually growing, as we catalogue all new accessions electronically and more of our older paper catalogues are converted to electronic format each year.