This page refers to the town of Stoke, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. For other places called Stoke or for other uses of that word please see Stoke (disambiguation).
Stoke, or to give it its full name, Stoke-upon-Trent is a town in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It is the seat of the city's council.
Confusion can arise over the close naming of this town (one of six that form Stoke-on-Trent) to its parent city. The reasons for naming the city after Stoke, rather than one of the other constituent towns, are primarily historical and practical. Stoke was the first settlement in the region, and has been traced back to the Roman occupation. In more recent years, when the railways first came to the area the main station was built in, and named after, Stoke. Travellers to the region would therefore have Stoke as their ticketed destination, even if they were bound for another of the six towns. It therefore made sense to name the city after the oldest and most commonly used name, even though it was not the most significant from a commercial perspective.
Stoke itself, despite being the nominal central administrative town, is far outclassed by its neighbouring town, Hanley, in terms of size, population, shops and business opportunities.
Other towns in Stoke-on-Trent are Hanley, Tunstall, Burslem, Fenton and Longton.
