The Villas
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The Villas, Stoke-on-Trent, is an
Most dating from 1851 to 1855, The Villas was designed by local architect
In June 1850, a number of prominent inhabitants of Stoke formed "The Stokeville Building Society". The purpose of the
Conservation
Originally built in three distinct classes, all providing accommodation for servants to “live in”, changing times meant that many were subdivided by the 1940s.
In 1956, a resident of number 15 The Villas, Arnold Machin, received publicity in the national press when he chained himself to the old metal lamp-post on the turning circle in protest at its planned removal.[1]
Machin's protest, "against the destruction of all the beautiful things which is going on in this country." did not prevent the lamp-post from being replaced by a concrete one; however, it was given to him for his own garden and his wife Patricia unlocked him. A similar lamp has since been restored to the position of the original one.[2]
The estate subsequently received the distinction, on 19 April 1972, of being the first designated
The roadway which leads from London Road to The Villas is unadopted, and it remains unmetalled. Stoke-on-Trent City Council have stated that the ownership of the road is unclear, and have described the pavements as being "in an appalling state of repair".[3]
The Villas Vampire Case
The area gained national attention in January 1973, when Polish immigrant Demetrious Myicuria was found dead in his bed. Apparently terrified of a vampire attack, Myicuria had strewn his room with salt and garlic in ritual fashion.[4] A post-mortem examination showed he had choked to death on a pickled onion, although PC John Pye believed it to have actually been a clove of garlic.[5]
References
- ^ "Arnold Machin chained to lamp (scan of press cutting)". The Sentinel. July 1956. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
- ^ "Did you know - Arnold Machin - the sculptor of the "Queen's Head" was born in Stoke-on-Trent". thepotteries.org (Press Cutting: Daily Mail). 12 July 1956. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ The Villas : Appraisal, stoke.gov.uk. Accessed 2 October 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-85487-699-7. Archived from the originalon 2012-06-30. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ^ "Bobby's memories are brought to book". The Sentinel. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Google satellite view of The Villas
- House numbers:
- Historic England. "1 & 2 (1210534)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "3 & 4 (1195848)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "5 (1290430)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "15 (1195849)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "17 & 17a (1210555)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "18 (1195850)". National Heritage List for England.
- Historic England. "23 & 24 (1290401)". National Heritage List for England.
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