The area of North Staffordshire combines urban and rural areas, from Stoke-on-Trent and the Potteries, the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, the moorland and Peak District towns and villages to the border with Cheshire and Derbyshire.

In spite of the many changes that have occurred in North Staffordshire, its towns and villages have retained their identity, with historical buildings alongside the new. This fascinating selection of old and new images of North Staffordshire will be essential reading for all those who know the area.

Mervyn Edwards is the author of many published books on North Staffordshire history and is a weekly columnist for the Sentinel’s The Way We Were nostalgia magazine. He has appeared on BBC TV’s The One Show and Twenty Four Hours in the Past, and is a familiar voice on Radio Stoke. He was a local history tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association for eight years and helped to develop the education department at the now-defunct Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, where he often acted in period drama for school groups. Mervyn runs an annual history programme in North Staffordshire. He is also MC of Burslem History Club and a member of the Potteries branch of the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).