The authoritative The Victoria history of the county of Stafford: Volume 8 suggest the origins of the name - that it arises from the British pencet and the Old Englishhyll. Ward also mentioned the possibility of the use of the Celtic British Pen and Kyl. The idea of a 'head' or 'end' is topographically apt, since the village is sited on the elevated end of a long strip of valley-side woodland which begins at the ancient Bradwell Wood five miles to the north. The early origins date from 2500 BC, and there have been three archaeological finds from this period. A study by the local city Council stated of Penkhull that... "it has held a settlement for over four thousand years". The Domesday Book records it as two hides of land in the Hundred of Pirehill and that it was held by Earl Algar. Penkhull was a Royal Manor from the time of William the Conqueror 1086, and the last record of its title as a Royal Manor was in 1308 under King. Penkhull was developed by Josiah Spode II as a dormitory suburb of Stoke-upon-Trent, the town from which the city of Stoke-on-Trent took its name.
The Church
The ecclesiastical parish was created out of the parish of Stoke in 1844 when the church of St. Thomas was built. The church is by Scott and Moffatt. The Revd Thomas Webb Minton, the son of Thomas Minton and Rector of Darlington, gave the sum of £2,000 to be invested from which the interest provided an income for the Vicar. The aisles were added in 1892 by Edward Prioleau Warren.
Sir Richard Lodge British historian and was Professor of History at the University of Glasgow from 1894-1899 and then Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh from 1899 to 1925
Edward Prioleau Warren British architect and archaeologist. In 1892 he worked on the addition of aisles at St Thomas's Church, Penkhull
Reg Forester English footballer who played for Stoke City F.C. and Macclesfield Town F.C.
Sir Stanley Matthews the only footballer to be knighted while still playing. He moved to "The Views" Penkhull in 1989 where lived until his death in 2000.
Charles Tomlinson, CBE British poet, translator, academic and illustrator. He grew up in Basford
John Poole English former football goalkeeper who made 33 league appearances for Port Vale F.C. between 1953 and 1961.
Bill Bratt MBE former chairman of Port Vale F. C., from 2003 to 2011. He lived in numerous children's homes in Penkhull, before becoming a miner at Chatterley Whitfield
Peter Ridgway cricketer, a left-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium
