a market-town of the hundred of Pirchill, in the county of Stafford, 151 miles from London, on an elevated spot near the Trent and Mersey Canal, about one mile from an underground tunnel 1880 yards in length. It is one of the most important towns in the potteries, in a thickly-peopled neighbourhood, where the chief employment is making the various kinds of earthenware. It has good markets on Mondays and Saturdays. The number of inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 6578, in 1811 to 8625, in 1821 to 9699, and in 1831 to 11,250.