Penkhull
Penkhull is a township within Stoke-upon-Trent in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the English county of Staffordshire. The township is part of the Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and the Stoke Central parliamentary constituency. Penkhull is one of 20 or so conservation areas in Stoke-on-Trent, and includes Grade II listed buildings such as the church and "The Greyhound Inn" public house and restaurant. The Village Hall, situated in Trent Valley Road, provides a venue for a variety of community events and activities. History. The authoritative "The Victoria history of the county of Stafford : Volume 8" (1965) suggest the origins of the name - that it arises from the British "pencet" ('end or head of the wood') and the Old English "hyll" (hill). Ward (1843) also mentioned the possibility of the use of the Celtic British "Pen" (head) and "Kyl" (kiln). The idea of a 'head' or 'end' is topographically apt, since the village is sited on the elevated end of a long strip of valley-side woodland which begins at the ancient Bradwell Wood five miles to the north. The early origins date from 2500 BC, and there have been three archaeological finds from  this period. A study by the local city Council stated of Penkhull that... "it has held a settlement for over four thousand years". The Domesday Book records it as two hides of land in the Hundred of Pirehill and that it was held by Earl Algar. Penkhull was a Royal Manor from the time of William the Conqueror 1086, and the last record of its title as a Royal Manor was in 1308 under King (Edward II). Penkhull was developed by Josiah Spode II as a dormitory suburb of Stoke-upon-Trent, the town from which the city of Stoke -on-Trent took its name. The Church. The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1844 when the church of St. Thomas was built. The church is by Scott and Moffatt. The Revd Thomas Webb Minton, the son of Thomas Minton and Rector of Darlington, gave the sum of £2,000 to be invested from which the interest provided an income for the Vicar. The aisles were added in 1892 by Edward Prioleau Warren. The Village Hall was built at the same time and was at that time a Church of England school for the poor . Music and Performing Arts. Penkhull has a number of annual music and performing arts events, including annual Mystery Plays and an annual community pantomime. Details can be found on the Residents Association website. There is also the annual Penkhull Music & Arts Festival