Gallery - Local Area

The Plough Inn on Ravens Lane

The Plough was the closest inn to Diglake Colliery, and must certainly have been used by the miners there. We know that John Boulton, a key member of the Rescue Party, had stopped at the Plough on his way home that Monday morning. He had been on the night shift at Diglake, not mining coal but checking the safety of the pit. It was while he was in the Plough that he heard the colliery alarm sound and he quickly made his way back to work where he was instrumental in saving many lives - sadly, at the expense of his own health.

The initial inquest into the Diglake Flood also took place at the Plough Inn. The old railway bridge which carried the Audley Branch of the North Staffordshire line crossed Ravens Lane just by the Plough.

A 2005 image of the Plough.

An image of the Plough taken in May 2006 by BrandaG. The railway bridge crossed the road here. In the foreground is Boon Hill Road and the narrow road beyond the roundabout is Bignall Hill. The Diglake Colliery site lies to the right, Ravens Lane is to the left.

This photgraph was taken in 1913 when George V drove past the Plough Inn on his way to visit the Wedgewood Pottery at Etruria. The Plough is at the rear on the left, while the railway bridge can be seen on the right.