Penkhull is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, part of Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and Stoke Central parliamentary constituency.
The Victoria History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8 (1965) suggests that name arises from the British pencet ('end or head of the wood') and the Old English hyll (hill). Ward (1843)[3] also mentioned the possibility 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".[4]
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
Church of St Thomas, Penkhull
The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1844[6] when the church of St. Thomas[7] was built.[8] 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.[9] 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 music and performing arts events, including annual Mystery Plays and community pantomime.
Josiah Spode II (1755–1827) built the large residential hall 'The Mount',[11] and many properties for the employees who worked at his factory in the town of Stoke.
John Wain (1925-1994) Poet, novelist, playwright, biographer, critic, academic. He spent his childhood at Bromley Hough, Penkhull. [1]
Charles Tomlinson, CBE (1927 in Penkhull– 2015) British poet,[13] translator, academic and illustrator. He grew up in Basford
Neil Morrissey (born 1962) English actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, and businessman. He spent much of his childhood in Penkhull Children's Home and attended Thistley Hough High School.[14]
Sir Stanley Matthews (1915 – 2000) the only footballer to be knighted while still playing.[15] He moved to "The Views" Penkhull[16] (also birthplace of Sir Oliver Lodge) in 1989 where lived until his death in 2000.
John Poole (born 1932) English former football goalkeeper who made 33 league appearances for Port Vale F.C. between 1953 and 1961.
