Heritage landmarks across Stoke-on-Trent are set to receive a share of a £240k restoration fund.
The 24 sites were chosen following more than 600 votes from residents and organisations as part of the Centenary Restoration Fund, led by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Re-Form Heritage.
The programme is supported by a £240,252 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The funding will support small but important monuments across all six towns, as well as areas including Bucknall, Etruria and Hartshill. These include war memorials, tombs, fountains and sculptures.
The selected landmarks reflect key parts of the city’s heritage, including ceramics, coal mining and the legacy of the 1986 National Garden Festival as it approaches its 40th anniversary.
Among those chosen is the Sneyd Colliery Disaster Memorial in Burslem, which commemorates the 57 men and boys killed in a coal dust explosion on New Year’s Day 1942. The memorial, often known as the pit wheel, was unveiled in 2007 near Swan Bank and includes a plaque listing the names of those lost.
Also included is Her Head by Dhruva Mistry, one of the artworks commissioned for the 1986 National Garden Festival. The piece was given to the city by the Henry Moore Foundation and moved to its current location on Potteries Way in 1988.
The tomb of Josiah Wedgwood at Stoke Minster will also benefit. The Grade II-listed burial site sits in the churchyard to the south of the main building, where Wedgwood – a non-conformist – was buried outside the church rather than within it.
The programme will fund practical conservation work to repair and protect these landmarks, helping keep them visible and cared for in the communities they serve.
Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “These landmarks matter to local communities. They help tell the story of our city and the people who shaped it.
“The level of public support we’ve had for this scheme shows how much these landmarks matter to people across Stoke-on-Trent.
“This restoration fund is about protecting the heritage people see every day in their neighbourhoods.
“We’ll now begin work to protect and care for these features across all six of our towns.”
Andrew Emery, CEO at Re‑Form Heritage, said: “As we prepare to start the first stage of repair works, we’re also beginning to work with partners and community representatives to develop a programme of public activities alongside the repairs.
“This means people will have opportunities to learn more about their local heritage, share stories, and get involved while the work is taking place.
“Taking this joined‑up approach helps make sure these sites are well cared for and continue to matter to the communities around them.”
The full list of small heritage assets chosen is:
Tunstall
Cenotaph and Memorial Wall, Memorial Gardens
Memorial to Lance Sergeant Rhodes
Burslem
Sir Henry Doulton Statue
Swan Square War Memorial
Sneyd Colliery Disaster Memorial
War memorial at St John’s Churchyard
Trubshaw Cross
Hot Lane War Memorial
Drinking fountain, St John’s Square
Burslem Park Gates
Etruria
Shirley Drinking Fountain
Bucknall
Bucknall War Memorial
Hanley
Hanley Cemetery War Memorial
Albion Square War Memorial, Hanley
Statue of James Brindley
Colliery Wheel Memorial
Her Head Sculpture
Hartshill
Orthopaedic Hospital Railings Memorial
Stoke
Tomb of Josiah Wedgwood
Kingsway Cenotaph
Statue of Colin Minton Campbell
Fenton
Glebedale Park Memorial
Fenton War Memorial
Longton
Longton Cenotaph