Newcastle under Lyme, parl. and mun. bor., market town, and par., Staffordshire, on Lyme Brook, 16 miles NW. of Stafford, 40 miles S. of Manchester, and 147 miles NW. of London by rail-par., 621 ac., pop. 17,493; mun. bor. (including also small part of Trentham par.), 650 ac., pop. 17,508; parl. bor. (includ ing also the local government district of Tunstall and other parts of Wolstanton par.), pop. 49,293; 3 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-days, Monday and Saturday. The name of Newcastle is derived from a castle which was built here about 1180, in place of an older one at Chesterton under Lyme. The earliest charter is supposed to have been granted by Henry II. Historically the town has no special interest. Much of its modern importance is due to its proximity to the Potteries, in which many of the inhabitants obtain employment. Ironworks and collieries are in the neighbourhood. The mfr. of hats, at one time the leading industry, has declined; but several other mfrs., such as brewing, malting, tanning, and papermaking, are conducted with fair activity. A branch canal-the Newcastle Lower Canal-connects the town with the Grand Trunk Navigation to the Trent, Mersey, Severn, and Thames. Newcastle under Lyme returns 1 member to Parliament; it returned 2 members until 1885, when the parliamentary limits were extended so as to include a large part of Wolstanton par.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))