In 1859, a Victorian diarist touring the Stoke potbanks asked why women weren’t allowed to paint freehand. He was told they simply lacked the skill, and that their unsteady brushwork proved it. But the women of the Potteries were never short of talent; they were sabotaged.
Every year I tell myself I’ll get the calendar sorted early. Every year I’m still choosing between photos at midnight. This year, I’m pleased to report, it’s actually done, and the 2027 Stoke-on-Trent calendar is now open for pre-orders.
Etruria
The former Twyfords works on Garner Street has come down. Right next door, Renshaw’s Phoenix Works built the trains for Barnum & Bailey, the Greatest Show on Earth.
Ten carved letters at Shugborough Hall have baffled Darwin, Dickens and Bletchley Park for 250 years. The full story of Staffordshire's unsolved code. Is it a Holy Grail Clue, Oak Island Treasure Map, or a Staffordshire Love Letter?
Its name, red branding and Madrid inspired identity may suggest otherwise, but Madrí Excepcional was developed in Burton-upon-Trent, a town whose influence on brewing can be tasted around the world.
This isn't in Staffordshire, but it is only 20-30 minutes away in a car. This is the breathtaking Winnats Pass near Castleton in the Peak District from above.
A rare photograph reveals a Tunstall bottle kiln converted into a house, uncovering the lost Swan Pottery and Clarice Cliff’s early career.
A poem for Potteries Bottle Oven Day, celebrating the fat bottomed, thin topped icons of the Stoke skyline, and the industry that stopped burning but never stopped meaning something to us.
Someone in the comments always says it isn't really called the Bear Pit. They're wrong, but only just, and the actual story is far more interesting than either side of that argument.
Unravelling the secrets of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire's past
We're asking Staffordshire to help us take the Signal further, expanding Signal TV, launching a new podcast, and building the app that puts local news back in your pocket, not an algorithm's. Here's why, and how you can back us.
I recently sat down with the team at TS Domestics for the first episode of their new podcast, talking local history, local media, and what it actually takes to improve our towns and city.
St George's Hall in Liverpool hides one of the finest Victorian floors in the world, over 30,000 hand-crafted Minton tiles, usually kept covered and only uncovered for a few weeks each year. This year's reveal runs from 17 July to 2 September 2026.
UPDATE: They wrote back. Remember me banging on about emailing Time Team about Newcastle-under-Lyme Castle? Well, I didn't expect a reply quite this quickly, but here we are. Rose from Time Team got back to me, and the first line alone made my week: "Am
Hidden in the Staffordshire Moorlands, overlooking the Cheshire Plain, lies Biddulph Old Hall, a romantic ruin that is still lived in today. It has survived siege, cannon fire and near total ruin, and it has been quietly keeping hold of a love story worth waiting five hundred years to hear.
Every midsummer, Leek’s famous double sunset connects the Staffordshire Moorlands with ancient skies, medieval history, hidden tunnels and one of the town’s most unusual traditions.
Few people realise that one of Stoke-on-Trent's most inspiring stories began with one of the darkest events of the Second World War. More than eighty years ago, the people of Stoke-on-Trent rallied behind a village they had never seen and families they had never met.
Discover the remarkable story of the Hope of Cheadle, the community-funded Spitfire of the Second World War, and learn what to expect at Cheadle Spitfire Day on Saturday 6th June.
War Wheels at Foxfield Railway was fantastic today! We go every year and it never disappoints. There were loads of incredible vehicles, the Spitfire, the train running, Titanic Plum Porter on draught in the pub, and plenty of stalls selling all sorts of interesting things. It was lovely to see
Explore the London site where Newcastle-under-Lyme-born Philip Astley created the modern circus in 1768 and discover Staffordshire’s remarkable connection to entertainment history.
Encaustic tiles produced by Mintons of Stoke-on-Trent form the striking floor of St Stephen’s Hall in the Palace of Westminster, a lasting example of Staffordshire craftsmanship embedded in one of Britain’s most historic buildings.
Over 300 years ago, a traumatic labour in Great Heywood, Staffordshire led to one of the strangest medical cases ever recorded in Staffordshire. This case would go on to reach Robert Plot and the Royal Society.
