Kidsgrove

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Kidsgrove
population = 24,112 (2001 census)
shire_district= Newcastle-under-Lyme
shire_county= Staffordshire
region = West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Staffordshire Moorlands
post_town= Stoke-on-Trent
postcode_district=ST7
postcode_area=ST
dial_code= 01782
os_grid_reference= SJ835545
latitude= 53.0874
longitude= -2.2478 Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112 (2001 census). The majority of the town is in the Kidgsrove ward, whilst the western end is in Ravenscliffe.

History

From the 18th century, it grew around coal mining, although the pits have now closed. Clough Hall Mansion in the town, now demolished, was a local theme park. Modern Kidsgrove is very much a commuter town, which has seen house prices rise quite sharply over the last five years. Many people now work in the larger cities such as Manchester and Birmingham - only an hour's drive away or an hour on the train.
Thomas Telford designed the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal near the town. Kidsgrove also marks the southern extremity of the Macclesfield Canal. There is a legend regarding a headless ghost that is said to haunt the Harecastle Tunnel. The ghost is said to be that of a young woman who was murdered inside the tunnel. She is referred to as the "Kidsgrove Boggart".

Kidsgrove was made an urban district from 1904 with the abolition of the Wolstanton Rural District, including the parishes of Kidsgrove and Newchapel. Talke, previously part of the Audley Urban District, was added in 1932. [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10002813]

Kidsgrove is served by Kidsgrove railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on October 9, 1848 as "Harecastle". This railway station is still open as a junction (now "Kidsgrove"). However, there were two other stations on the closed "loop" line namely "Kidsgrove", opened November 15, 1875 and "Kidsgrove Market Street Halt" opened 1905.

port

Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. play in the Northern Premier League First Division.Staffordshire lads and dads offer local football for children to play in a proper football league

Notable people

R. J. Mitchell designer of the RAF's Battle of Britain fighter, the Spitfire was born in Butt Lane village, Kidsgrove.

Bathpool Park, south of the town is where Donald Neilson, the killer known as the Black Panther, took 17-year-old heiress Lesley Whittle after kidnapping her in 1975 planning to get a ransom from her family but her family refused to pay. He claims to have never intended to kill and he claims that she had been accidentally knocked from the ledge in the drainage shaft. A proper search of Bathpool Park was instigated. A televised interview with Ronald Whittle, and public assistance, led to the discovery of Lesley Whittle’s body nearly two months later, on the 7th of March, 1975. She was discovered hanging naked from a rope tied to the end of a metal hawser in the drainage shaft, and post mortem evidence revealed that she had been killed within days of her kidnapping.

Local Links

Two websites serve the residents of Kidsgrove and surrounding areas. Each website has a forum area where local issues can be discussed with local councillors and the local police. [http://www.kidsgrove.info/main Kidsgrove.info] [http://www.whitehillonline.co.uk Whitehill Online]