Everything about Burton Upon Trent totally explained
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.
Burton is most well 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. However there's some confusion as to whether Burton is based in the
West Midlands or the
East Midlands, even though all of the urban centre is South West 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.
The town is served by
Burton upon Trent railway station.
Brewing
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
Coors Visitor Centre (formerly the Bass Museum of Brewing) also continues to brew its own beer, separate from Coors.
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
Together with the breweries this gives the area a distinctive smell.
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 shopping centre.
Politics and local government
Burton is the administrative centre for the borough of
East Staffordshire and forms part of
Burton (UK Parliament constituency).
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 wasn't 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:
Anglesey
Branston
Brizlincote
Burton
Horninglow & Eton
Shobnall
Stapenhill
Winshill
Burton parish itself only covers the town centre, with the other parishes covering various suburbs.
Sport
The town is home to a non-league association football club, Burton Albion, who play in the Football Conference. 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.
The Town is also home to Burton Canoe Club, A large canoe club on the banks of the River Trent. It has recently expanded and built it own club house.
In addition, Burton upon Trent 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 weightlifting in 1990, Steve was first coached as a weight lifter in 1980 by local Champion and record holder John Humble, and as a Highland Games Athlete and Strongman competitor by Geoff Capes - former Worlds Strongest man.
Culture
The Burton Operatic Society has existed since 1951 and is still flourishing.
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 Drakelow Power Station, just south of Burton on the opposite side of the River Trent.
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 1st 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 3rd July 1914. One month later he received a message from the Marconi spark transmitter at Poldhu, 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.
You will also find many Mosques of architectural interest.
Business
In addition to the brewery industry, tyre manufacturer Pirelli is a major employer in the town, and they're a major sponsor of the Burton Albion football club.
The Burton suburb of Branston is where the well-known Branston Pickle was invented.
One local industry of mention for achieving some UK firsts was Eatoughs (sometimes Etoughs). In 1920 this new Leicestershire shoemaking company began a factory in Burton Road, Branston. This innovative firm was the first UK shoe factory to introduce music while you work (1936), and washable children’s sandals (‘Plastisha’ 1957). It was killed off in 1989 by cheap imports.
Geography
Town twinning
Blantyre, Malawi
Elkhart, United States
Lingen Ems, Germany
Rochefort, France
Toyserkan, Iran
Notable residents
HISTORICAL:
Edward Wightman, a General Baptist, became the last religious martyr to be burnt at the stake for ‘Heresy’ in England (April 1612)
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, was born in Burton upon Trent and grew up on a large council estate in a suburb of the town called Winshill.Further Information
Get more info on 'Burton Upon Trent'.
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