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Burton upon Trent
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Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a large town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian".
Burton is best known for its brewing heritage. It originally grew up around Burton-on-Trent Abbey, the monastery of Saint Modwen, and had grown into a busy market town by the early modern period. While Burton's great bridge over the Trent was in poor repair by the early 1500s, it served as "a comen passage to and fro many countries to the grett releff and comfort of travellyng people", according to the abbot.
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Encyclopedia
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a large town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian".
Burton is best known for its brewing heritage. It originally grew up around Burton-on-Trent Abbey, the monastery of Saint Modwen, and had grown into a busy market town by the early modern period. While Burton's great bridge over the Trent was in poor repair by the early 1500s, it served as "a comen passage to and fro many countries to the grett releff and comfort of travellyng people", according to the abbot. The town, which has a population of 60,500 (2001 estimate), lies within the National Forest.
There is some confusion as to whether Burton is based in the West Midlands or the East Midlands, even though all of the urban centre is southwest of the River Dove, which forms the Derbyshire/Staffordshire boundary. This is probably because it was formerly within the East Midlands Utility (electricity/gas) areas, and has a Derbyshire postcode (DE14).
The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station.
Brewing
For centuries, Burton has been associated with the brewing industry. This is due to the quality of the local water, which contains a high proportion of dissolved salts, predominantly caused by the gypsum in the surrounding hills. This allowed a greater proportion of hops, a natural preservative, to be included in the beer, thereby allowing the beer to be shipped further afield. Much of the open land within and around the town is protected from chemical treatment to help preserve this water quality.
The town is currently home to five brewers:
It is also the corporate headquarters of the pub operator Punch Taverns plc, which was spun out of Bass in 1997.
In addition, the remains open alongside the former Coors Visitor Centre (previously the Bass Museum of Brewing).
A by-product of the brewing industry, figuratively and literally, is the presence of the famous British icon Marmite factory in the town. This in turn generated the production of Bovril. Both owned by multinational Unilever
The opening of the River Trent Navigation at the beginning of the 18th century allowed Burton beer to be shipped to Hull, and on to the Baltic Sea and Prussia, as well as to London where it was being sold in 1712. A number of breweries opened in the second half of the 18th century to take advantage of this trade. The Napoleonic blockade brought this to a halt, leading to some consolidation and a redirection of the trade to London and Lancashire via canals. When Burton brewers succeeded in replicating the Pale ale produced in London, the advantage of the water’s qualities allowed the development of the trade of Burton India Pale Ale (an ale specially brewed to keep during the long sea voyage to India). The building of rail links to Liverpool enabled brewers to export their beer throughout the British Empire.
Burton came to dominate this trade, and at its height one quarter of all beer sold in Britain was produced here. In the second half of the 19th century there was a growth in native breweries, supplemented by outside brewing companies moving into the town so that over 30 breweries were recorded in 1880. However at the beginning of the 20th century there was a slump in beer sales causing many breweries to fail, unhelped by the Liberal government’s anti-drinking attitudes. This time no new markets were found and so the breweries shrunk by closure and consolidation from 20 in 1900 to 8 in 1928. A further process of mergers and buy-outs resulted in three main breweries remaining by 1980: Bass, Ind Coopes and Marstons. Today, only Burton Bridge brewery remains as an independent brewer.
The town's connection with the brewing industry is celebrated by a sculpture of the Burton Cooper, which is now housed in the Cooper Square shopping centre.
The Bass Museum of Brewing, renamed the Coors Visitor Centre & The Museum of Brewing, was Burton's largest tourist attraction until closed by Coors in June 2008. A steering group has been established to investigate re-opening the museum.
Politics and local government
Burton is the administrative centre for the borough of East Staffordshire and forms part of Burton (UK Parliament constituency). The local Member of Parliament is Janet Dean, who has represented the Burton (and Uttoxeter) constituency since May 1997
Burton was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1878. The incorporated area was split between the counties of Staffordshire and Derbyshire - the Local Government Act 1888 incorporated the entirety of the borough in Staffordshire, including the Derbyshire parishes of Stapenhill and Winshill. It became a county borough in 1901, having reached the 50,000 population required.
It never substantially exceeded the population of 50,000, and at a population of 50,201 in the 1971 census was the smallest county borough in England after Canterbury. The Local Government Commission for England recommended in the 1960s that it be demoted to a non-county borough within Staffordshire, but this was not implemented. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the town became on April 1, 1974, an unparished area in the new district of East Staffordshire.
The town became entirely parished on April 1, 2003, when the following parishes were created:
Burton parish itself only covers the town centre, with the other parishes covering various suburbs.
Churches
The mother church of Burton is St Modwen's. Other Anglican parish churches built to serve the expanding population include St Paul’s, St Chad's and All Saints.
Arts
The main venue for live theatre and other performing and visual arts is which is run by .
The William Allitt School, based at nearby Newhall, has an Arts Mark and is a Specialist Arts College. The school is holding its annual Arts Festival in June and July where a new stage school Theatre Cats will be holding its first showcase to show the talents of over 50 young people from the Burton area and a drama and dance summer school later in the year.
Sport
The town is home to an association football club, Burton Albion, who play in the Blue Square Premier (formerly the Football Conference). In January 2009, Nigel Clough - who had managed Burton Albion for just over 10 years - left to manage Championship side Derby County and was replaced by retired Derby County player Roy McFarland
Burton will also be the location of the planned English National Football Centre, due to be opened in 2010.
The Burton & District Cricket League has many notable clubs, including Lichfield Cricket Club and Burton cricket club.
Burton, one of the oldest Rugby clubs in the Country was established in 1870.
The Town is also home to the Burton Canoe Club on the banks of the River Trent. It has recently expanded and built its own clubhouse. Also along the River Trent in Burton are Trent Rowing Club and Burton Leander Rowing Club, which was founded in 1855.
In addition, Burton is the home of The Powerhouse Gym, International All Round Weightlifting Club, formed in 1985 and run by Coach and former World All Round Weightlifting Champion and Strongman, Steve Gardner. The club boasts several British Champions at Junior, Senior and Masters age categories, male and female. Winner of the European Heavyweight title for Drug Free Powerlifting in 1990, Steve was first coached as a weightlifter in 1980 by local Champion and world record holder John William Thomas Humble, and as a Highland Games Athlete and Strongman competitor by Geoff Capes - former World's Strongest man.
Culture
The Burton Operatic Society has existed since 1951 and is still flourishing.
Burton upon Trent was also home to the Burton School of Speech and Drama on Guild Street where many professional and hard-working amateur actors and actresses learned their craft. Following the closure of the school in July 1984, its in-house amateur company the Little Theatre Players continued life as an independent amateur drama company called often referred to locally and by its 70+ members as LTC. LTC currently stages at least four productions a year in the town: two plays, a musical and a youth production.
Claymills Pumping Station on the north side of Burton is a restored Victorian sewage pumping station, adjacent to the modern sewage works.
Until 2006, one of Burton's most distinguishable landmarks was the Drakelow Power Station, just south of Burton on the opposite side of the River Trent. The cooling towers have since been demolished.
Burton was home to the Peel Family, who played a significant role in the industrial revolution and founded the Peelers, which became the modern day police force. The family home is still visible in town as Peel House on Lichfield Street.
Burton upon Trent has one of the oldest Amateur Radio Clubs in the UK. It was formed in 1919, although there were enthusiasts of wireless telegraphy in Burton well before the First World War. One of the founder members of the club was Mr FVA Smith, call sign XSR, (X = experimental station). Mr Smith was licensed on 3 July 1914. One month later he received a message from the Marconi spark transmitter at Poldhu in Cornwall, being sent to London, on the eve of the outbreak of World War One. The message, which has survived and is in the present club archives, was announcing the mobilisation of Russian French and Belgium troops.
HM Queen Elizabeth II visited the town on July 3rd 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.
The Statutes Fair takes place in the town every year on the first Monday and Tuesday in October, the fair occupies the Market Place and parts of High Street, New Street and Lichfield Street for two days.
There also many Mosques of architectural interest.
Business
The Cooper Square shopping centre is the principal shopping area originally opened in 1970 by HRH The Princess Alexandra but since considerably upgraded with a roof being added in the mid 1990s. The older Riverside Shopping Centre (formerly known as Bargates) is currently derelict,sealed off and demolition is pending. A new shopping area has been added off Guild Street including a multiplex cinema,Brantano and Aldi etc. An additional shopping centre is The Octagon Centre on New Street constructed in the mid 1980s.
In addition to the brewery industry, tyre manufacturer Pirelli is a major employer in the town, and they are a major sponsor of the Burton Albion football club.
The Burton suburb of Branston is where the well-known Branston Pickle was invented.
The town had its own municipal buses known as Burton Corporation and later East Staffordshire District Council after 1974.This was taken over by Stevensons of Spath in the mid 1980s in turn absorbed by Arriva.Arriva Midlands and independents now operate locally.The former Burton Corporation depot has been replaced by the Magistrates Courts.
The local Sea Cadet unit is TS (Training Ship) Modwena alongside the River Trent and road bridge.The town's Air Training Corps unit is No 351 (Burton on Trent) Squadron. The local Territorial Army unit is F (Fire Support) Company, 4 Mercian Brigade an infantry unit at Coltman House TA centre, Hawkins Lane. The unit was formerly a volunteer brigade of the North Staffordshire Regiment.
Eatoughs (sometimes Etoughs) was an innovative shoemaking firm from Leicestershire which opened a factory in Burton Road, Branston in 1920. It was the first UK shoe factory to introduce music in the workplace (1936), and washable children’s sandals (‘Plastisha’ 1957), but it closed in 1989 as a result of competition from cheap imports.
Burton College
Burton College is situated in the Town Centre. It attracts approximately 13,000 students from Burton and surrounding towns and villages. It delivers a wide range of courses for all ages, including 14-19 year olds, adults into part-time study, employer training and higher education.
Geography
Town twinning
Blantyre, Malawi
Elkhart, United States
Lingen Ems, Germany
Rochefort, France
Toyserkan, Iran
Notable residents
HISTORICAL:
CONTEMPORARY:
- Alastair Yates, presenter of BBC News and BBC World News, was born in Burton and went to Burton Grammar School. He joined BBC Radio Derby in the 1970s.
- Olivia Murphy, England netball captain since 2000, was born in Burton, and went to De Ferrers High School, where her father, now a driving instructor, taught P.E.
- Neville Brown, Former middleweight British, and Commonwealth boxing champion.
- Paddy Considine, actor, director and musician, was born in Burton upon Trent and grew up on a large council estate in the suburb of Winshill.
- Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy of The Leisure Society both grew up in Burton upon Trent.
- Andrew Birch, Guardian and Private Eye cartoonist, is a Burtonian.
- Burton born Jordan Tams won the local YMCA contest.
- Paul Burke, Artist and Co-founder of Porlzilla Designer Toys, lives in Burton and attended Paulet High School and Burton Technical College.
- Tracey Hallam, badminton player and winner of the Commonwealth Games gold medal; she was part of Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.She was knocked out in the third round.
- Steve Gardner, Former World All Round Weightlifting and Drug Free Powerlifting Champion, Successful Strongman, and England International Tug of War athlete. Steve was inducted into the All Round Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2000, and has been Coaching Bartons British Champions 'Holland Tug of War club' for over thirty years, and Burtons 'Powerhouse Gym International All Round Weightlifting Team' for 25 years.
Bibliography
- Letter from the abbot of Burton describing Burton Bridge in C.H. Underhill, A History of Burton on Trent (Burton, 1941), p. 168.
- Joseph Addison in The Spectator in 1712 recorded visiting Vauxhall Gardens where he drank a glass of Burton ale.
- In the poem "Terence, this is stupid stuff" from A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad, the speaker asks the question, "Say, for what were hop-yards meant, / Or why was Burton built on Trent?" referring to the town's history of beer brewing.
External links
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- from A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 5-20.
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