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Uttoxeter :: Uttoxeter_and_District
 

Uttoxeter is a small market town in East Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 12,000, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies on the River Dove and is close to the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Lichfield.

History

Uttoxeter's name has had around 80 spellings, since it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Wotocheshede": it probably came from Anglo-Saxon Wuttuceshǣddre = "Wuttuc's heath".

Uttoxeter also saw the last surrender (Royalist to Parliamentarian) of the English Civil War in 1646.

Perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to help out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain (without a hat) as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the town centre and there is also a Johnson Road, which was named after him in the 1930's.

Uttoxeter was the birthplace of Joseph Cyril Bamford (creator of the JCB Empire), who started his small business in a small garage in the town. The International Headquarters are now based in Rocester, a near-by village.

In addition, Mary Howitt (writer of poem 'The Spider and the Fly'), lived in Balance Street, Uttoxeter for a long period of her life. The town had infludenced some of her poems. Howitt Cresent, a residential road in the town was named after her. Recently, three of her poems were displayed in the town's bus shelters by the Uttoxeter Arts Festival Committee to increase the awareness of art within the town.

Economy

The main employers in Uttoxeter are JCB, makers of agricultural machinery and heavy products, at three sites in the local area, and Elkes' (now Fox's) biscuit factory. Also nearby is the Alton Towers Resort, and the Peak District national park.

Another major attraction of Uttoxeter is the racecourse, which is home to the Midlands Grand National.

Transport

Uttoxeter is on the main A50 and has a mainline railway station, Uttoxeter railway station. The bus stop next to the station runs an hourly service to Cheadle and Alton Towers.

Buses to Stafford run every 2 hours; buses to Burton upon Trent run every hour.

At one time it was also the terminus of a branch of the Caldon Canal (aka the Uttoxeter Canal), although most signs of this, apart from an area of Uttoxeter called "The Wharf", have now disappeared - largely because much of the bed of the canal was used in the 19th Century as the route of the North Staffordshire Railway main line from Uttoxeter to Macclesfield (which has now also disappeared).

Schools

Uttoxeter has a three-tier schooling system that consists of several First Schools, three Middle Schools (Oldfields Hall Middle School, Windsor Park Middle School and Ryecroft Middle School, Rocester) and a High School. The High School, Thomas Alleyne's, has over 1,200 pupils and also includes a Sixth Form Centre, and is one of three schools founded by the 16th century priest Thomas Alleyne.

Culture

The Uttoxeter Arts & Food Festival

From 2005, the FLOURISH festival, which celebrates Art, Drama, Music and Food takes place in July. This year 14 different events are taking place over the 8-day period from the 1st to the 8th July (up from 2 in 2005). 3 Art Exhibitions, plenty of music and drama, a food festival and historical re-enactment are all in this year's busy calendar of events.

For more information about FLOURISH | The Uttoxeter Arts & Food Festival, click here.

The Uttoxeter Lions

Also each year, a successful Bonfire and Fireworks Night in November is run by the Uttoxeter Lions, and the Uttoxeter Christmas Cracker (also managed by the Uttoxeter Lions) is run in the town centre every December.

Television Appearances

Uttoxeter also obtained minor fame as the setting of a recurring comedy sketch by comedians Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in their BBC television series A Bit of Fry and Laurie. In the sketch, two obnoxious business entrepreneurs develop grand plans for a popular sports centre. There is indeed a sports centre in Uttoxeter, although it is not run by comedians and the sketch derives its humour from the fact that Uttoxeter is in fact a very quiet and sedate town. The name can also be said with mild humurous effect.

Oldfields Hall Middle School was featured in the film A Room for Romeo Brass, written and directed by Shane Meadows and Paul Fraser, two ex-Uttoxetarians who have risen to fame.

Places of Interest

  • St. Mary's Church.
  • The Uttoxeter Heritage Centre is open to all on Carter Street. Free Entry.
  • The Market Place contains the town's War Memorial, Millennium Monument and the Dr. Johnson Memorial.
  • Uttoxeter Racecourse is one of Uttoxeter's most famous landmarks and is a short walk from the town centre.IMGP0692.JPG
  • Bramshall Road Park is the town's recreational ground and offers tennis courts, skate ramps, a basketball court, a football pitch, a bowling green and two children's play areas, as well as floral arrangements and plenty of grass!
  • The Wedneday and Saturday Markets are held weekly in the town's Market Place.
  • The Spook Market is run every Friday at Trinity Square Car Park.
  • The Alton Towers Resort is around 10 miles from Uttoxeter, allowing one to stay in Uttoxeter after a great visit to Britain's best theme park.
  • The Peak District National Park is a short drive from the town.

Developments

Town Centre Improvements

Uttoxeter is going through an exciting development scheme, with the Market Place, High Street and Carter Street under going a complete transformation from May 2006. The work being carried out by Staffordshire County Council and should be complete in November 2006. The project is a £1.5million initiative of the successful UttoxeterPlus programme. There is also a cinema and bowling alley in development, but they sure are taking their time.

The Cattle Market Development

The old Cattle Market, which closed in November 2005, is currently being demolished to make-way for a retail and housing development, consisting of 20,000sq.ft of retail space. The land was bought from Bagshaws by the Town Council, and sold onto Taylor Woodrow for around £3million.

The start date had been set at November 2005, though due to public pressure to include more car parking and the Town and Borough Councils not being satisfied with the finalised designs, this has now been put back to later in 2006.

The project should be complete in 2009 and will feature retail space, housing and 200 extra car parking spaces.

The new Cattle Market is soon to be built by M.J. Barrett (a local construction, development and property company) on the out-skirts of the town.

External links

See also

Towns in Staffordshire

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Uttoxeter".

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