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Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent  Burton upon Trent shown within Staffordshire
Population	64,449 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SK245225
District	East Staffordshire
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BURTON-ON-TRENT
Postcode district	DE13-DE15
Dialling code	01283
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Burton
List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire

Burton upon Trent

Burton is best known for its brewing heritage, home to over a dozen breweries in its heyday.^[1] It originally grew up around Burton-on-Trent Abbey, the monastery of Saint Modwen, and had grown into a busy market town by the early modern period. While Burton's great bridge over the Trent was in poor repair by the early 1500s it served as "a comen passage to and fro many countries to the grett releff and comfort of travellyng people", according to the abbot.^[2] The town, which had an estimated population of 64,449 (2001 Census),^[3] lies within the National Forest.

There is some confusion as to whether Burton is based in the West Midlands or the East Midlands, even though all of the urban centre is southwest of the River Dove, which forms the Derbyshire/Staffordshire boundary. This is probably because it was formerly within the East Midlands Utility (electricity/gas) areas, and has Derbyshire postcodes (DE13-DE15).

The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station.

Coors Brewers Ltd: formerly Bass Brewers Ltd, and now the UK arm of Molson Coors Brewing Company – a brewery from Canada (co-headquartered in the United States) – which produces Carling and Worthington Bitter

Marston, Thompson and Evershed plc, bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries now renamed Marstons plc. The Marston's Brewery also produces draught Bass under licence from InBev

Burton Bridge Brewery, a local company

Tower Brewery, a new microbrewery

Cottage Brewery, based in the Old Cottage Inn

Anglesey

Branston

Brizlincote

Burton

Horninglow & Eton

Shobnall

Stapenhill

Winshill

The mother church of Burton is St Modwen's. Other Anglican parish churches built to serve the expanding population include St Paul’s, St Chad's and All Saints.

The main venue for live theatre and other performing and visual arts is The Brewhouse which is run by East Staffordshire Borough Council.

The William Allitt School, based at nearby Newhall, has an Arts Mark and is a Specialist Arts College. The school is holding its annual Arts Festival in June and July where a new stage school Theatre Cats Theatre School Burton on Trent will be holding its first showcase to show the talents of over 50 young people from the Burton area and a drama and dance summer school later in the year.

The town is home to an football club, Burton Albion, who as of 2009-10 play in the Football League.

Burton will also be the location of the planned English National Football Centre, due to be opened in 2010.^[7]

The Burton & District Cricket League has many notable clubs, including Lichfield Cricket Club and Burton cricket club.

Burton, one of the oldest Rugby clubs in the Country was established in 1870.

The Town is also home to the Burton Canoe Club on the banks of the River Trent. It has recently expanded and built its own clubhouse. Also along the River Trent in Burton are Trent Rowing Club and Burton Leander Rowing Club, which was founded in 1855.

In addition, Burton is the home of The Powerhouse Gym, International All Round Weightlifting Club, formed in 1985 and run by Coach and former World All Round Weightlifting Champion and Strongman, Steve Gardner. The club boasts several British Champions at Junior, Senior and Masters age categories, male and female. Winner of the European Heavyweight title for Drug Free Powerlifting in 1990, Steve was first coached as a weightlifter in 1980 by local Champion and world record holder John William Thomas Humble, and as a Highland Games Athlete and Strongman competitor by Geoff Capes - former World's Strongest man.

The Burton Operatic Society has existed since 1951 and is still flourishing.

Burton upon Trent was also home to the Burton School of Speech and Drama on Guild Street where many professional and hard-working amateur actors and actresses learned their craft. Following the closure of the school in July 1984, its in-house amateur company the Little Theatre Players continued life as an independent amateur drama company called The Little Theatre Company often referred to locally and by its 70+ members as LTC. LTC currently stages at least four productions a year in the town: two plays, a musical and a youth production.

Claymills Pumping Station on the north side of Burton is a restored Victorian sewage pumping station, adjacent to the modern sewage works.

Until 2006, one of Burton's most distinguishable landmarks was the Drakelow Power Station, just south of Burton on the opposite side of the River Trent. The cooling towers have since been demolished.

Burton was home to the Peel Family, who played a significant role in the industrial revolution and founded the Peelers, which became the modern day police force. The family home is still visible in town as Peel House on Lichfield Street.

Burton upon Trent has one of the oldest Amateur Radio Clubs in the UK. It was formed in 1919, although there were enthusiasts of wireless telegraphy in Burton well before the First World War. One of the founder members of the club was Mr FVA Smith, call sign XSR, (X = experimental station). Mr Smith was licensed on 3 July 1914. One month later he received a message from the Marconi spark transmitter at Poldhu in Cornwall, being sent to London, on the eve of the outbreak of World War One. The message, which has survived and is in the present club archives, was announcing the mobilisation of Russian French and Belgium troops.

HM Queen Elizabeth II visited the town on July 3^rd 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.

The Statutes Fair takes place in the town every year on the first Monday and Tuesday after Michaelmas (29 September). This is usually the first Monday and Tuesday in October, but can occasionally fall on 30 September/1 October, as in 2002. The fair occupies the Market Place and parts of High Street, New Street and Lichfield Street for two days.

The Cooper Square shopping centre is the principal shopping area originally opened in 1970 by HRH The Princess Alexandra but since considerably upgraded with a roof being added in the mid 1990s. The older Riverside Shopping Centre (formerly known as Bargates) is currently derelict,sealed off and demolition is pending. A new shopping area has been added off Guild Street including a multiplex cinema, Matalan and Aldi etc. An additional shopping centre is The Octagon Centre on New Street constructed in the mid 1980s.

In addition to the brewery industry, tyre manufacturer Pirelli is a major employer in the town, and they are a major sponsor of the Burton Albion football club.

The Burton suburb of Branston is where the well-known Branston Pickle was invented.

The town had its own municipal buses known as Burton Corporation and later East Staffordshire District Council after 1974.This was taken over by Stevensons of Spath in the mid 1980s in turn absorbed by Arriva.Arriva Midlands and independents now operate locally.The former Burton Corporation depot has been replaced by the Magistrates Courts.

The local Sea Cadet unit is TS (Training Ship) Modwena alongside the River Trent and road bridge.The town's Air Training Corps unit is No 351 (Burton on Trent) Squadron. The local Territorial Army unit is F (Fire Support) Company, 4 Mercian Brigade an infantry unit at Coltman House TA centre, Hawkins Lane. The unit was formerly a volunteer brigade of the North Staffordshire Regiment.

Eatoughs (sometimes Etoughs) was an innovative shoemaking firm from Leicestershire which opened a factory in Burton Road, Branston in 1920. It was the first UK shoe factory to introduce music in the workplace (1936), and washable children’s sandals (‘Plastisha’ 1957), but it closed in 1989 as a result of competition from cheap imports.

Briggs of Burton PLC (formerly S.Briggs & Co.) is a Burton-based Brewery and Process engineering company established in 1732 by Samuel Briggs. Famous for its manufacturing innovation and craftsmanship across the World, Briggs moved from its works in New Street to Derby Street having taken over its rival Robert Morton DG in the mid-1980s. The former site is now occupied by the Octagon Shopping Centre.

Burton College is a general Further Education college and is situated in the Town Centre. It attracts approximately 13,000 students from Burton and surrounding towns and villages. It delivers a wide range of courses for all ages, including 14-19 year olds, adults into part-time study, employer training and higher education. Recently a 'university centre' has been developed within the College to enable students to study on franchised Higher Education courses but is not, in itself a university.

Blantyre, Malawi

Elkhart, Indiana, USA

Lingen Ems, Germany

Rochefort, France

Toyserkan, Iran

William Bass, (1717-1787) founder of the brewery business of Bass & Co in Burton upon Trent in 1777

Michael Arthur Bass , 1st Baron Burton (1837–1909) Industrialist and philanthropist, member of the Bass brewing dynasty

William Harold Coltman (1891-1974), VC recipient

Phil Seamen (born 28 August 1926 in Burton-on-Trent - died 13 October 1972) was an inflential English jazz drummer.

Edward Wightman (1566-1612), a General Baptist, became the last religious martyr to be burnt at the stake for ‘Heresy’ in England (April 1612)

CONTEMPORARY:

Andrew Birch, Guardian and Private Eye cartoonist, is a Burtonian.

Neville Brown (born 1966), Former middleweight British, and Commonwealth boxing champion.

Paul Burke, Artist and Co-founder of Porlzilla Designer Toys, lives in Burton and attended Paulet High School and Burton Technical College.

David Maurice Curry MP (born in Burton 13 June 1944) is a British politician, being Conservative Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon and recently stepping down as chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Standards and Privileges after claims from the Daily Telegraph newspaper regarding his own expenses.

Paddy Considine (born 1973), actor, director and musician, was born in Burton upon Trent and grew up on a large council estate in the suburb ofWinshill.^[8]

Mick Dyche^[9] (born 19-- ?) Extant English rock/session guitarist and former member of 1970's rock band Sniff 'n' the Tears (played guitars on their only hit "Driver's Seat") and later with 'Wild Turkey'and 'Maddy Prior and The Answers' amongst others.

James Oliver Farrel, Won the Mill Hill bicycle race three years in a row.

Steve Gardner (born 1956), Former World All Round Weightlifting and Drug Free Powerlifting Champion, Successful Strongman, and England International Tug of War athlete. Steve was inducted into the All Round Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2000, and has been Coaching Bartons British Champions 'Holland Tug of War club' for over thirty years, and Burtons 'Powerhouse Gym International All Round Weightlifting Team' for 25 years.

Tracey Hallam (born 1975), badminton player and winner of the Commonwealth Games gold medal; she was part of Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.She was knocked out in the third round.

Nick Hemming (born 1973) and Christian Hardy (born 1979) of The Leisure Society both grew up in Burton upon Trent.

Joe Jackson, musician and songwriter, was born in Burton and as a young child lived in nearby Swadlincote.

Rob McElwee is BBC Weather's longest-serving weather forecaster noted for his individual style.

Olivia Murphy (born 1977/78), England netball captain since 2000, was born in Burton, and went to De Ferrers High School, where her father, now a driving instructor, taught P.E.

Jordan Tams (born in Burton) won the local YMCA contest.

Alastair Yates, presenter of BBC News and BBC World News, was born in Burton and went to Burton Grammar School. He joined BBC Radio Derby in the 1970s.