Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley.
Iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 was smelted from medieval times. Copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and lumber were also important to the local economy. In the nineteenth century Thomas Bolton's copperworks near the River Churnet

River Churnet

The River Churnet is a river that flows in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.- Etymology :The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river.- Course :...

 supplied copper wire for the first transatlantic telegraph cable

Transatlantic telegraph cable

The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...

. The buildings of the Thomas Bolton factory were demolished in 1966.

Oakamoor railway station

Oakamoor railway station

Oakamoor railway station is a closed railway station in the Churnet Valley, Staffordshire. The station was opened in 1849 as part of the Churnet Valley Line constructed by the North Staffordshire Railway...

 was closed down in 1967. The railway track leading to Alton railway station

Alton railway station, Staffordshire

Alton Towers railway station is a disused railway station in the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England.The station was a stop on the North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley Line from Macclesfield to Uttoxeter.-History:...

 has been converted to a footpath.

Media Interest

In 2004 Oakamoor was the subject of a television programme in the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 Time Team

Time Team

Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...

archaeology series, which investigated the remains of a blast furnace

Blast furnace

A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...

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