Uttoxeter
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:GBmap Uttoxeter is a market town in East Staffordshire, in the Midlands of England. The current population is approximately 12,000.
The town also saw the last surrender (Royalist to Parliamentarian) of the English Civil War in 1646.
Perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to help out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain (without a hat) as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the town centre and there is also a Johnson Road, which was named after him in the 1930's.
Uttoxeter also obtained minor fame as the setting of a recurring comedy sketch by comedians Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in their BBC television series A Bit of Fry and Laurie. In the sketch, two obnoxious business entrepreneurs develop grand plans for a popular sports centre. There is indeed a sports centre in Uttoxeter, although it is not run by comedians and the sketch derives its humour from the fact that Uttoxeter is in fact a very quiet and sedate town. The name can also be said with mild humurous effect.
Economy
The main employers in Uttoxeter are JCB, makers of agricultural machinery, and Elkes (now Fox's) biscuit factory. Also nearby is Alton Towers Theme Park, and the Peak District national park.
Another major attraction of Uttoxeter is the racecourse. The course is home to the Midlands Grand National.
Transport
Transport is on the main A50 and has a mainline railway station, Uttoxeter railway station.
At one time it was also the terminus of a branch of the Caldon Canal (aka the Uttoxeter Canal), although most signs of this, apart from an area of Uttoxeter called "The Wharf", have now disappeared - largely through much of the bed of the canal having been used in the 19th Century as the route of the North Staffordshire Railway main line from Uttoxeter to Macclesfield (which has now also disappeared).