Uttoxeter

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 close to the River Dove and is near to the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Lichfield. It is twinned with Raisdorf in Germany.

 

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". Some historians point to pre-Roman settlement here and bronze age axes have been discovered in the town (now in display in Hanley museum.) It is highly likely that Uttoxeter had some form of Roman activity due to its strategic position on the River Dove and closeness to the large garrison forts at Rocester between 69 and 400, and recently discovered fort at Stramshall.

Uttoxeter also saw the last surrender (Royalist to Parliamentarian) of the English Civil War in 1646, when the Marquis of Hamilton surrendered to General Lambert.

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 an area of town called Johnson Road, which commemorates him.

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. Their 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 influenced some of her poems. Howitt Crescent, 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 awareness of art.

Other notables include: - Robert Bakewell (artist and craftsman) and Henry Yevele (architect). Admiral Lord Gardner (who commanded a younger Nelson) was born here in 1742, and died at Bath in 1810. Another native was Sir Simon Degge, an antiquary, well known for his manuscript notes on Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire.

Economy

Uttoxeter Town CentreThe 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, boasting a top of the range astroturf football pitch, swimming pool, gymnasium and several grass football pitches. Thomas Alleyne's is the only High School in Staffordshire that offers an accelerated mathematics course and RAF fast track scheme. The school also includes a Sixth Form Centre, and is one of three schools founded by the 16th century priest Thomas Alleyne.

Prior to this educational structure, the town had a selective secondary and Grammar School system which consisted of Oldfields Boys School and Oldfields Girls School for 11 plus failures and Alleyene's Grammar for the elite.

Uttoxeter Civic Society

Uttoxeter Civic Society was re-established in 2004 to act as a civic watch dog and to protect and promote the greatly understated history and heritage of Uttoxeter during a time of great unsympathetic change forced on the town. The Civic Societys range of activities can be found at [1]

The Flourish Festival

After a successful 2nd festival, the flourishfestival Management Committee are already working on the 2007 festival. This will include all of the successful elements of 2006 in a number of venues. The new Market Place will feature heavily in the programme as the Steering Group's aim is to improve the culture and quality of the town.

The Visual Arts Group have gained the support of the town's new Cinebowl complex, where it is hoped that local footage will be screened over the weekdays during the festival. They are also working with the Heritage Centre to provide a venue for the festival's Third Annual Visual Art Expo and it's first photographic exhibition 'FOTO'.

The Food Group are working to provide a significant number of food stalls on the final Saturday, with food demonstrations from local chefs.

There are many other very exciting plans that will be launched closer to the time.

The Festival will take place from Saturday 16th to Saturday 23rd June.

The Uttoxeter Lions

Each year, The Uttoxeter Lions run a successful Bonfire and Fireworks Night in November and the Uttoxeter Christmas Cracker in the town centre every December. This year's Cracker Night takes place on Thursday 14th 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 humorous effect.

The town also featured in Country File, as a 'mystery town' the towns' cattle market featured in the programme - ironically it was the last cattle market ever on the town centre site in 2005. Local people participated in the programme included David Denny, Secretary of the Civic Society, local Uttoxeter Advertiser and Racecourse staff.

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

• Uttoxeter Racecourse is one of Uttoxeter's most famous landmarks and is a short walk from the town centre.
• Uttoxeter Golf Course is a short walk from the main town.
• 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 Wednesday and Saturday Markets are held weekly in the town's Market Place.
• The Spook Market is run every Friday in the town's newly refurbished Market Place.
• 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 has recently gone through an exciting development scheme, with the Market Place, High Street and Carter Street under gone a complete transformation. The work was carried out by Staffordshire County Council and the main elements are now complete. Some parts of Carter Street and High Street are still awaiting completion, due to the Cattle Market's development. The project is a £1.5million initiative of the successful UttoxeterPlus programme.

Dovefields Retail Park

Dovefields Retail Park was first created in 1998 with the opening of a Tesco supermarket on the edge of the town. There is still a lot of controversy regarding the store and its objectives to extend to around 50,000sq.ft. Tesco Uttoxeter is a very successful store, due to its location and did send a shockwave of shop closures throughout the town in the late 90's- early 00's. This included the closure of a previously very successful Somerfield supermarket.

The retail park was further expanded in 2002 with the creation of seven large retail outlets, which feature Focus, Argos, Brontano, Pets at Home and Carpet Right. The other two units were supposedly meant to have featured a cinema and bowling alley. This never occurred and a press release was launched by Dovefields developer and local businessman, Malcolm Barrett in 2004, saying that the two units were no longer suitable for such purpose and a new building would be started in the near future housing a cinema, bowling alley and leisure complex.

In 2005, work commenced on the new entertainment development in between Focus and Tesco. The development was official opened in September 2006 with a opening party and laser show. This complex has been built by Malcolm Barrett's M.J. Barrett Developments and is home to a bowling alley, a 3 screen cinema, a childrens creche and a fitness centre (opening later than the others). These facilities are all greatly anticipated by the people of Uttoxeter and its surrounding area and will be used for the flourishfestival's film event.

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.

Uttoxeter Town Hall

The existing Town Hall is currently going under evaluation for re-use. The 'White Elephant', as it has been termed, is not producing enough cash to keep it afloat. Therefore the council have chosen to invite two developers to draw-up some ideas for its redevelopment. Taylor Woodrow is one of the candidates, which is also currently working on the Cattle Market Development (see above).

Both themes include Cafe/Restaurants, but hardly any space for the community. There are currently plans by some members of the community to stop any such development from taking place as no replacement for the hall has been provided and it is felt that the hall could be used for alternative purposes.

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