A vanished community

According to an old book I have there were four pubs down the Sytch.

We don’t call it the Sytch anymore by the way, nor do we refer to it by its early name, Liverpool Road. The street that leads from Fountain Square is known by everybody these days as Westport Road. People who lived here thirty years ago wouldn’t recognise it now. First off there’s a new housing estate where Wade’s Pottery was, and rows of terraces, the Provident Chapel and half a dozen little shops have all gone.

I wonder if anyone remembers the names of any of these shops in this once active community. Anyway, back to the pubs. At 31 Back Sytch was the White Horse Inn demolished in 1914. Then there was the Royal Oak. That was standing in 1968 as was a big pub opposite called the Liverpool Arms casually known as Sytch Vaults. A Polish pottery owner name Eddie Waszek took it over in 1967 and turned the cellar into a drinking club popular with art students. It was called the Spider’s Web. I wonder why?

Apparently there was a pub next to the Royal Oak called the Wellington Arms but nobody I’ve ever met remembers it. Have a look at the photograph and see how many memories of this forgotten quarter of Burslem it brings back.