I moved to Stoke on Trent from Stockport as a seven year old in 1954 and Longton was a thriving town in those days. It had a lot of working potbanks and even had four cinemas, the ABC Empire in Commerce Street; the Focus in Market Street; the Royal in Anchor Road and the Alexandra in a road just off The Strand. There was also a very busy bus station just off The Strand, but that closed in 1964 - 1965 when a new bus station opened in Commerce Street, next door to the ABC Empire. The Bennett Precinct was built on the site of the old bus station. Longton Market was also very busy. In the 1960s and 1970s I used to go there to buy my new records from a stall named The Music Shop, which was run by a couple named Barry and Margaret. If you wanted a certain record that they hadn't got in stock, they would order it for you and you went back the following week to pick it up. I haven't been there since 1974, but I'd be surprised if Barry and Margaret are still there after 46 years. One thing about Longton in the 1950s; 1960s and 1970s was that there were no homeless people or beggars or druggies. There may have been the occasional drunk, but there always have been.

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the fascinating write up! I've actually screen shotted it as it contains loads of stuff I didn't know! I was born in '77 and lived in Drubbery Lane and I didn't realise half they things you wrote down including the longton cinemas and that the old bus station was where Bennett Precinct now is!

@davidrayner9376

2 жыл бұрын

@@skylined5534 Glad you found my description interesting. 1977? I was 30 years old then. I lived in first Weston Coyney (1954 to 1968), then Caverswall (1968 to 1975) and did a lot of my cinemagoing and shopping in Longton in those days. The Alexandra cinema closed in 1957; the Focus in 1962 and the ABC Empire in 1966. Nothing remains of them today, but the building that used to be the Royal cinema up Anchor Road is still there in other use.

I lived in longton from 1986 to 1989 as a very young child...4-7 years old. Still have lasting memories of playing around the lake area of western coyney with my friends from that era. Fantastic place for kids during the best era.

At 2:12 you can see No. 30 Market Street boarded up, that was my grandfather's photography shop in 1929/30, where he met my gran. So I visited Longton a couple of years ago to take a look. I met a drunk man on the steps (it was 10:30am), he said "Ah, Longton's a sh*t hole these days, gone right downhill, no-one wants to come here"... and then he went.... "To be fair I'm not helping!". The shop on the right seems to be doin' ok as Kelly's cafe last time I checked! DC

My Heart will always be in Longton, some of the happiest years of my life spent there.

My gran was born in Longton, in 1906 her family worked in the pottery ,I wished I had found this video first ,great film 🎥 thanks

LONGTON is in my heart always will be

I remember when Longton was a busy town and all the shops were open, but when the pottery industry and mines started shutting down and people lost there jobs it then has a knock on effect on small independent shops, people stop spending, shops loose business then they can't afford to pay the rent, all part of madam Thatcher's legacy. Newcastle used to been a very good shopping area, but that's gone down bank now compared with what it was like and number of years ago and of course there's Hanley which everybody seems to get directed to for shopping. I remember all these places back in the 60s and 70s, always busy, how things change!

@hobouk3871

Жыл бұрын

Its all gone down bank, the potbanks are slowly making a come back since Brexit. But its going to many many years and hell of alot of investment before this city gets anywhere close to being what used to be when it was a busy city.

A very happy place for me, my Aunt Vi and Uncle Bill lived there, Booth was there surname, I had been going there since I was a wee small lad, I remember when I first went there as a child they lived in a prefab and behind there prefab was an old derelict church I think my uncle said it had been a furniture factory for a time, they then moved to a new house, I can still remember the address 5 Warminster Place ! , I used to lay in bed at night as a kid looking out of my Aunties window and see I think my Uncle said it was Hem Heath Colliery all lit up. My Uncle Bill was a pottery man through and through the salt of the earth when he spoke everything was Thee and Thou, my Aunt Vi and Uncle were Gods in my eyes, I will never forget those days as long as I live, God bless all the Staffs people and love to Longton from an Essex Boy.

Such nostalgia. Thank you so much for all your hard work in making this video. I've really enjoyed viewing it.

Thanks for the music - and the video 😊

Coming from someone that actually lives in longton the town has seen a rise in homelessness the thortons shop was set on fire not so long ago a lot of fights go on and the place is turning into a right dump. There also spending £2,000,000 to do restorations on the town hall why is some of that money not spent on the homeless and cleaning the streets up. There are also painting the old green canopys in the middle to white. #bring_longton_back_to_life

I live in the affluent South of England on the Coast and the same thing has happened here with shops closing down - a proliferation of fast food take always - litter and graffiti. One difference is that most of our roundabouts are “ adopted “ and look very smart. Longton is miles ahead in the looks department than say Tunstall that must be the saddest of the 6 towns that make up Stoke. Thanks for posting and Please Town Halls - take care of your wonderful Victorian buildings and get rid of those 1960’ & 1970’ concrete eye scores that are probably full of asbestos.

it's no different here in Australia in the outer towns of cities....but I must say , I look forward to being back in Stoke next week. Always liked Longton.

You are not alone many towns are just the same as Longton now, they are run down with druggies on every corner. Sad but true.Drugs have had a massive impact on society and our towns with many pubs shutting down due to drug dealing and a bad society .

Absolutely Brilliant Thank you!

had a stroll through the centre by the bandstand a while back. even as a kid i could see the town and city larger were dying a death

It's not the town's buildings or architecture that lets Longton down, it's the small percentage that mouth off , druggies & drunkards that lets Longton down!!! Using unnecessary language or disrespecting others, lets not only Longton down but also Stoke on Trent! There's a lot of good solid people In Stoke on Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands but a small majority ruin it for others!! I went to Birmingham the other week and people were so helpful, not hard faced like the small majorities of Staffordshire are!!! Interesting video, shame small minded, unconstructive people had to vandalize the shop window!!!

There is a clear surplus of retailing offer. Times have changed and some shopping centres will have to be demolished or redeveloped giving way to flats, offices, gyms, gp surgeries, even day hospitals or leisure centres. Over 40% of shopping in the UK is done on the internet these days. The need to change is coming to our towns.

john same plus I remember when the bridge was being painted they closed of the bridge it was annoying

Excellent film, though the sub-titles could have done with some proofreading. As regards the state of repairs etc., the answer is money. You cannot necessarily blame councils - they only have one pot of money to spend on everything; and how many of us would want to pay extra rates to cover the spending required to keep everything ship-shape in our towns ?

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Well said. It's always the same narrative too, the red or blue side are to blame. In reality it's as you say. Add individuals in council who swing a large amount of might and have little idea how things should be done. Like every other big city Stoke on Trent has been subjected to a frenzy of ripping down old buildings to be replaced with new, faceless monstrosities.

My mum as she walked us from Adderley Green to Longton would utter the words, "I can't stand Longton", every so often, she hated it with a passion, but had a love affair with Fenton, which baffles me to this day!. You think the town hall needs cleaning now, but it used to be completely black, as was St Jame's church, and when they cleaned them in the early 70's, my brother and I were astounded to discover that they hadn't been built with black stones. Fast food outlets are taking over everywhere unfortunately, another American import, eating as our major hobby. Many people rely on charity shops, which serve both the community as well as the charity, whereas pubs might be tarted up but all they create is alcoholics, and the world has more than enough of them. I think Longton has always been a pretty miserable town, Capitalism does that to people and places, trashes them and the natural world sadly. I think it will be better when not just the grass is left to grow, but when it takes over along with trees and wildflowers and covers the miserable spectacle of post industrial wastelands.

I remember always going to the Greggs and getting a cookie very time ah nostalgia

this is helping me with my dauter with he homework

@jarradmoore6939

3 жыл бұрын

Get her to help you with your spelling

i loved the centre of the shop with the tthing in the middle i always played tag there granted it was like 3 years ago but still i wish i still was there

Councils are killing our towns by their greed. Parking fees etc, rates and rent kill these business's. The car hasnt helped business either. I remember all shops were in walking distance of each other and then came along the industrial estates with supermarkets, a one hit stop. Do shopping, fill car up and away we go. Greed and bad management has killed our town.

stillmore empty places feel theeses videos need updating also;longton like so many towns stuck with no council care ;;;;;;;

I use ta fight 3 or 4 or 5 times every Friday satday and Sunday night in the 80s God I miss longton

Wheres the Owd Hut 🙂

@john111257

3 жыл бұрын

on here

@maggieadams8600

3 жыл бұрын

It's the George and Dragon.

@maggi666

Жыл бұрын

Altho renovated, im afraid that, from what i see when passing it, its history is still the same. All wives i believe from my nana and mum, barred their husbands from going in. They called closing time letting the cows out.

I am an industrial revolution history fanatic but I can see the majority of this city needs to be flattened and reverted back to fields like it was before the industrial revolution. Obviously keep the historical buildings for history

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Half right. Flatten all the modern toss that's been vomited up over the last 30 or so years and revert things to as they used to be.

take another walkabout 2023 its even worse more empty shops the indoor market is a joke there about 7 stalls open,

Worrying about a bit of paint on some posts. Jeez Stoke on trent needs painting all over. The place is a hole. Drug addicts all over Hanley, homeless people all over the place. Shops shutting right left and centre. Job losses, the best pot banks all closed and moved out to Asia for cheap labour but no reduction in the price of buying the goods. No more steel, 90% of local train stations closed down. I think painting posts is the least of anybody's worries who lives in Stoke on Trent. And YES I know because I live there.!

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Coming from someone else who has lived here since birth (1977) while it's not great now trust me, it could be a lot worse. How do I know? I'm a courier driver and I regularly travel the country though of late Birmingham and London, especially central London have been my consistent destinations. You think it's bad here? Wait until someone's accosting you in traffic for money or taking a piss in the middle of the street. Trust me, it's not that bad... yet.

I honestly think that they should knock half the precinct down and put apartments and small houses there.bring more people back into the town as its a ghost town after dark.

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Just what we need, more low rent accommodation for low rent people.

Poor Longton what has our useless Council done to you, nothing but a shadow of its former glory 😞

I live in longton it is in a poor shape. I BLAME THE COUNCIL THEY THINK HANLEY IS THE BEES KNEES 👎

@paulryder1204

2 жыл бұрын

I don't know about hanley being the bee's knees. I think hanley is on it's knees.its a shit hole full of druggies,beggers,and thieves

Monkey Dust Central comes to mind I’m afraid to say.

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

Been to any other major cities in the UK?

@superbrit3845

2 жыл бұрын

@@skylined5534 Many and have to say that SOT is just about the worst.

Its far worse now

now if only you could spell as well as you film

@skylined5534

2 жыл бұрын

It could be worse, their use of punctuation could be as bad as yours.