page_title: Tunstall, Staffordshire
section_title: Other information
hierarchical_section_title: Tunstall, Staffordshire / Other information
caption_attribution_description: English: Christ Church, in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, seen from the south.
context_page_description: Tunstall is a constituent town in the area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern, and fourth largest town of the Potteries. It is situated in the very northwest of the city borough, with its north and west boundaries being the city limit. It stands on a ridge of land between Fowlea Brook to the west and Scotia Brook to the east, surrounded by old tile making and brick making sites, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.
context_section_description: The outskirts of Tunstall became home to a new public art statue called Golden in 2015. The 69 ft (21 m) steel work of art by Wolfgang Buttress was privately funded with £180,000 Section 106 monies secured during the construction of the Blue Planet eco-warehouse.
  The Phoenix Trust, an independent not-for-profit foundation, is campaigning to turn Tunstall and the wider North Staffordshire Coalfield into a World Heritage Site due to its historic economic significance, leading role in the industrial revolution and status as the birthplace of Primitive Methodism.
  Tunstall has had a rise in well-known shops in recent years, notably with the construction of Alexandra Retail Park. These developments have, however, been felt to be to the detriment of Tunstall's traditional town centre shops and market. The town's shops got together in 2003-4 to buy a good amount of Christmas décor and now it is traditional to go and watch Tunstall lights have their grand switch on.
  A recognisable Tunstall, renamed Turnhill, features in the novels of Arnold Bennett.
  There are a number of Grade II listed buildings in Tunstall, notably: Tunstall Market Hall, Tunstall Town Hall, Christ Church, Church of the Sacred Heart, the world's first Primitive Methodist chapel, the Clock Tower in Tower Square, Tunstall library & public baths, Victoria Park and structures, and the Lodge & canal portals at Harecastle Tunnel. There are also three conservation areas: Tower Square, Park Terrace and Victoria Park & surrounding housing.
  By closing years of the 19th century, most urban areas in the UK were suffering from pollution and poor health. To this end Tunstall Urban district began a series of improvements works shortly after its foundation, including the Victoria Public Baths- opened in 1897. In this year, work commenced on Victoria Park, also known as Tunstall Park. The park was devised by the council's architect Absalom Reade Wood (1851–1922). By 1914 the park had largely taken its present form, covering 21 acres. It is now Grade II listed. Tunstall Victoria Park Trust, a registered charity, was founded in 2009 to engage the public and help decide how the money donated by the Reginald Johnson Foundation for improving the park should be used.
  The Golden Torch, on Hose Street, was a famous Northern Soul club, founded by Christopher Burton, a contemporary of Ivor Abadi (founder of the Twisted Wheel club), and Russ Winstanley of the famous Wigan Casino. It opened on 30 January 1965 with the headline act of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Initially a mod club, it did not begin regular soul nights until 1969. It played host to DJs such as Peter Stringfellow. Following the closure of Manchester's Twisted Wheel soul club, in 1971 The Torch began putting on its own Soul All-Nighters. However, it became a victim of its own success, with regular police presences, drug taking and over crowding. When the club came to renew its licence on 16 March 1973 Stoke-on-Trent council refused the renewal, without a licence the club simply fizzled out, paving the way for the Wigan Casino.
  The Tunstall Wakes were held on the first Sunday after the feast of St. Margaret (20 July), the saint to whom Wolstanton church is dedicated. The wakes were abolished in 1879, but soon revived by popular demand.
  Tunstall was home to the independent Frink School of Figurative Sculpture, which occupied a fine old factory (and former Old Court) in Roundwell Street for a number of years until about 2004. The Frink School was named after Elisabeth Frink, British sculptress, and was a small intimate academy with a specific discipline of study closer in spirit to a master and apprentice structure than an educational institution. This has since moved to nearby Leek.
  Today, the area is served by many primary schools, and secondary schools include The Co-operative Academy of Stoke-on-Trent, Ormiston Horizon Academy and St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy.
caption: Christ Church, Tunstall
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A2300", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2018:05:06 08:43:34", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2302", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9124", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4312", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:05:06 08:43:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:05:06 08:43:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "287/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "2037/200", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "1600", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "1200", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8962", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "800000/121", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "600000/91", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4156"}