Westport Lake - 1881 to 2009 - Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. - Timelines on Waymarking.com

The information board with the timeline is located facing the lake near the car park and visitor centre.

"Westport Lake is located alongside the Trent & Mersey Canal. It is Stoke-on-Trent’s largest expanse of water and consists of two lakes, and a nature reserve. It’s one of the best places in the area for bird-watching and walking. It has come a long way since its initial development as a pleasure resort by a local farmer around 1890 then it descended into a wasteland until becoming one of Stoke's first regeneration projects in 1986. It is now run in partnership between Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Stoke City Council." SOURCE: (visit link)

The information board gives details about the history and events that have taken place at Westport Lake.
The timeline from 1881 to 2009 gives the following information;

1881 - Port Vale Football Club established a ground at the site
1883 - Brownhills Colliery workings flooded and the lake began
1884 - Port Vale forced to move thier practice ground
1890 - Smith Shirley's pleasure boating business established at the lake
1900 - Pottery waste and canal dredgings were dumped around the lake to raise the banks
1914 - Boating business began to decline at the lake
1930s - Boating had declined and pottery waste was dumped around the lake
1940s - Jam Jar Wakes Fairs [Formerly known as Bradwell Wakes] held at Westport Lake
1967 - Lease of Westport Lake given to the City of Stoke-on-Trent
1971 - Reclamation schemes saw Edward Heath opening the lake for sailing
2009 - Westport Lake Visitor Centre built


"Westport Lake was opened in 1972 by Prime Minister Ted Heath, as was seen as a great example of how to regenerate former industrial landscapes to create new leisure and recreation opportunities within urban communities, and has proven to be one of the city’s most popular and enduring regeneration projects.

Westport Lake is also home to one of the few architectural achievements of recent times in the new Westport Lake Visitor Centre. Delivered by a partnership led by British Waterways, the centre provides a guide and history of Westport Lake, and is to a sleek, modern design allowing stunning views across the park, and using materials sympathetic to its waterside setting." (visit link)

(visit link)
(visit link)
(visit link)

Admission fee? (Include URL/link in Long Description to website that gives the current fee): no

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/02/2019 Gushoneybun visited it 01/12/2019 dtrebilc visited it

View all visits/logs