Old Hanford

28/05/2026

Photograph courtesy of Marie Deane - This image of Lacks Caterers and Bakery, located at the bottom of Mayne Street in Hanford, is believed to have been taken in the 1990s. The building has since been converted into residential homes.

We’d love to hear your memories and stories about visiting Lacks - or even your experiences of working there.

17/05/2026

This memory is shared with permission from Kenneth Foot.

15 May is the birthday of my dear late friend Ivan Mason ......Ivan was born and bred next door to me,he was my first ever mate,we played together as babies,toddlers,little boys,big boys and young men until we took our different paths in life,Ivan meeting his lovely wife Carmel Mason and living his life in Northern Ireland. Fortunately not so long ago Ivan and Carmel came back over to sunny Stoke on Trent and we met along with Keith Brown another of my lifelong mates and Sue Hitchins his lady friend ,we had a nice pub meal and a few drinks and obviously chewed the fat about our days as kids in Hanford where we come from. We as teenagers were ‘Rockers’, the name of the game being Triumph motorcycles which I still own and ride today. Ivan rode on the back of my motorbike for hundreds of miles over several years and we had great,great times.
We are only parted temporarily Ivan,we will meet again and we will ride Triumphs in heaven make no mistake,will always love you mate....no fear of that. A few photos of the fantastic times we had.....see you soon matey! 👍👍👍🏍🏍🏍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

05/05/2026

Posted with permission from David Mannion

I recently came across a couple of old photos looking across Hanford Park, taken from the back of my mum’s old house on Wilson Road. They date back to around 1982, give or take a year. In the second photo, you can see the Hem Heath Colliery pit in the distance.

He thought they might bring back a few memories for those who know and live in the area.

28/04/2026

Thank you to everyone who came along to this afternoon’s reminiscence session. The room was filled with lively conversation and many fond memories brought back to life. A special highlight was Liz Scott (née Lack) of Lack’s Bakery, who shared her Hanford photographs along with a map marking shops and homes that some no longer exist and aren’t captured in our archives. We look forward to bringing these images and memories together soon for all to enjoy.

If you attended today’s session, we would love to hear your stories and see your photographs—please do share them with us!

25/04/2026

Do you know a family member or neighbour who remembers life in Trentham or Hanford during the 1940s, 50s, or 60s? Invite them to join our reminiscence session on Tuesday 28 April 2026 at the community library. They’re welcome to share their memories or simply sit back and enjoy listening to others.

Trentham Community Learning Centre, Allerton Road, ST4 8PQ

19/04/2026

This wonderful piece of local history was shared by Madge Mansell, sister of Wilf Burt, who celebrated her 100th birthday last year.

The photograph is labelled “Miss Lea’s class” on the back and dated 1929. It was taken at the old Hanford Institute, which was located on Wilson Road.

Madge Mansell can be seen in the back row, third from the right.

I’m curious to know whether any descendants of the children named in the photograph might still be living in the area. If so it would be lovely to hear from you.

23/03/2026

Maps of Bankhouse Road, Mayne Street, Wilson Road and New Inn Lane, Hanford. Some dating back to 1938 showing the original street names.

Shared with the permission of Jayne Owen

15/03/2026

Happy Mothers Day to all the incredible, inspiring and caring Mothers out there and to all those Mums that are no longer with us - Thinking of you always 💕💐🌼💐💕

It would be luvly to see photos of your beautiful Mums so please feel free to share them on this post

14/03/2026

A question received from Kay Andrews - How many of our Facebook followers can remember the knocker-up (or knocker-upper) with the surname Lear, she lived on Mayne Street in Hanford opposite the wet fish shop. For those of you that are not familiar with a Knocker-upper see the link for more details

From candles that drop metal nails to the knocker uppers of industrial Britain, people devised plenty of cunning ways to ensure a timely wake-up before alarm clocks came along.

10/03/2026

This house was also the premises of the Post Office and Telephone Box which was situated in Mayne Street in Hanford which closed many years ago. Do you remember it? As a teenager I can remember queuing up outside the phone box waiting to ring my boyfriend who was waiting in another phone box for my call. And, as a child, taking my pocket money in the Post Office to deposit it in my TSB saver account 😊 Not my photo