Mervyn Edwards – författare

Renowned for their illustrious ceramic manufacturing heritage, the Staffordshire Potteries originally centred upon six towns: Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke-upon-Trent, Fenton and Longton. The modern city of Stoke-on-Trent was created from these six towns and around fifty villages. In The Potteries Through Time, author Mervyn Edwards presents a nostalgic visual chronicle of the towns and villages in the Potteries across the decades.In his previous Through Time books, Mervyn Edwards focused upon each of the six towns individually. This latest volume explores the hills and hollows between the centres whilst also offering new archive photographs of the main towns. We find shabby backstreets cowering in the shadow of enormous coal tips – the Potteries’ own ‘black hills’ – and there are industrial hotspots and busy suburbs. Then there are the proud old chapels and pubs and the even prouder people that patronised them. Stoke-on-Trent was not a pretty place, but as the proverb tells us, ‘where there is muck there is brass’, and the fascinating landscape came to be captured by all manner of writers, artists and photographers.This collection of archive photographs is an engaging book that charts changing times and the shifting identity of the Potteries. It will be of immense interest to local residents, visitors and all those with links to the area.

The area of North Staffordshire combines urban and rural areas, from Stoke-on-Trent and the Potteries, the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, the moorland and Peak District towns and villages to the border with Cheshire and Derbyshire.In spite of the many changes that have occurred in North Staffordshire, its towns and villages have retained their identity, with historical buildings alongside the new. This fascinating selection of old and new images of North Staffordshire will be essential reading for all those who know the area.

The North Staffordshire Coalfield is concentrated around the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme areas, with a small outlying area around Leek and Cheadle. During the Industrial Revolution coal from the area fired the Potteries’ ceramics and iron industries.At its peak, fifty pits were working in the area but as the coal industry declined nationally, pits gradually merged or closed in the post-war years. Closures accelerated following the Miners’ Strike in the 1980s and the last deep mine, Silverdale, closed in 1998. Today, most of the sites have been reclaimed, including a nature reserve at Chatterley Whitfield.This fascinating selection of old and new images of the North Staffordshire Coalfield will be essential reading for all those who know the area or have family members who worked in the local coal mining industry.

The North Staffordshire Coalfield is concentrated around the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme areas, with a small outlying area around Leek and Cheadle. During the Industrial Revolution coal from the area fired the Potteries' ceramics and iron industries.At its peak, fifty pits were working in the area but as the coal industry declined nationally, pits gradually merged or closed in the post-war years. Closures accelerated following the Miners Strike in the 1980s and the last deep mine, Silverdale, closed in 1998. Today, most of the sites have been reclaimed, including a nature reserve at Chatterley Whitfield.This fascinating selection of old and new images of the North Staffordshire Coalfield will be essential reading for all those who know the area or have family members who worked in the local coal mining industry.

North Staffordshire was transformed by the growing industrialisation of the towns in the Potteries but the area also includes the historic town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the moorland and Peak District towns and villages. Through the centuries the history of North Staffordshire has had its darker side, from deprivation and disease to disaster and tragic accidents. Medical care and welfare were much more basic than today, entertainment was often more bloody and many were familiar with tales of strange or unexplained happenings.In A Dark History of North Staffordshire author Mervyn Edwards delves into the often lesser known but darker stories from North Staffordshire’s past. This fascinating insight into the area will be of interest to all those who want to know more about North Staffordshire’s remarkable history.

The impact of people and places in Wolstanton and May Bank is recorded in this pictorial record that recognises the contribution of village notables, dear old friends and long-gone institutions. A wealth of photographs depicting the joys of community life mingle with contemporary pictures, showing, often with dramatic impact, the shocking demolition of facilities we perhaps took for granted, such as The Plough, the Oxford Arms and The Marsh Head. Elsewhere, images of former shops such as Holdridge's, Swettenham's and the Spinning Wheel show how High Street shopping patterns have changed. Author Mervyn Edwards has only ever lived in Wolstanton and May Bank, and through this unique selection of old and new images, he presents a tribute to the place he happily calls home.