Secret Trentham

The Staffordshire townships of Trentham and neighbouring Dresden have a fascinating history. Trentham was a large village on the Duke of Sutherland's estate until the growth of the Potteries towns in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries joined it to Stoke-on-Trent. The pottery industry has left its imprint on the area, the original name of Spratslade being changed to Dresden in honour of the German centre of porcelain manufacturing. In this book readers can discover the history of Trentham and Dresden with a difference, from accounts of life in Trentham Hall, the country seat of the Dukes of Sutherland, to the foundation of the settlement of Dresden in 1851 by the Longton Freehold Society on farmland in order to house pottery workers and shopkeepers, as well as the well-to-do potworks owners. Secret Trentham explores the lesser-known episodes in the history of Trentham and its neighbour Dresden through the years, bringing to life tales of those who have lived in these places. Many of the stories are taken from contemporary accounts of ordinary people and paint a picture of all the aspects of life – sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, and sometimes celebratory – and of remarkable characters and unusual events in the history of these towns in the Potteries.