Newcastle Under Lyme Leasing

Did You Know?

In the Middle Ages towns sometimes grew up by castles because they offered protection and because the garrison provided a market for the townspeople's goods. Newcastle Under Lyme may have been a new town, deliberately created by the Lord of the Manor. At any rate the town was first mentioned in 1162 and by the early 13th century Newcastle was prospering.

The "Newcastle" part of the name derives from being the location of a new castle in the 12th century. The "Lyme" section could refer to the Lyme Brook or the extensive Forest of Lyme that covered the area with lime trees in the mediaeval period

By the 14th century there was an iron industry in Newcastle making things like nails. However Newcastle Under Lyme was a small town in the Middle Ages, even by the standards of the time. It probably had a population of about 800.

In the 17th century an industry making felt hats grew up in Newcastle. There were felt makers and hatters. Another industry was making clay pipes (for smoking). In the 18th century there was a pottery industry in Newcastle Under Lyme but it failed to 'take off' in the 19th century. The age old industry of iron working continued.

When Stoke-on-Trent was formed by the 1910 amalgamation of the "six towns" (Stoke, Hanley, Fenton, Longton, Burslem and Tunstall) Newcastle Under Lyme remained separate. Despite its close proximity, it was not directly involved in the pottery industry, and it strongly opposed attempts to add it in 1930 with a postcard poll showing residents opposing the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill by a majority of 97.4%. Although passed by the House of Commons, the Bill was rejected by the House of Lords.

There were a number of improvements in Newcastle Under Lyme in the 19th century. From 1819 it had a supply of gas for lighting. The railway reached Newcastle in 1852. The first cemetery opened in 1866 and the first public library opened in 1876. However like all towns in the mid 19th century Newcastle Under Lyme was dirty and overcrowded.

The manufacture in the borough of clay tobacco smoking pipes started about 1637 and grew rapidly and was second only to hatting within the borough. Nationally, the town was ranked with Chester, York and Hull as the four major pipe producers. This industry continued until the mid-19th century 

The town was once served by the North Staffordshire Railway, its railway station being on a branch line from Stoke-on-Trent via Newcastle, Silverdale and Keele, to Market Drayton in Shropshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme railway station opened in September 1852, after numerous construction difficulties involving the two tunnels of 605 yards (553 m) and 96 yards (88 m) respectively at Hartshill.