Leek is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet 10 miles (16 km) north east of Stoke-on-Trent.

King John granted Ranulph de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, the right to hold a weekly Wednesday market and an annual seven-day fair in Leek in 1207.

The crest is a mural crown with three mulberry leaves on a mount of heather on top of which a moorcock is resting his claw on a small-weave shuttle.

The town has had a regular cattle market for hundreds of years,[2] reflecting its role as a centre of local farming.

[citation needed] Irish agricultural cooperative Ornua has its UK headquarters located in Leek, producing and purchasing butter and cheese and employing over 700 staff.

[4] Most of the town is at or above 600 feet (180 m) and is surrounded by the higher countryside of the Staffordshire Moorlands which is situated on the southern uplands of the Pennines.

Leek is built on the slope and crown of a hill which is situated just a few miles south of the Roaches; a gritstone escarpment which rises steeply to 1,657 feet (505 m).

John) calls it a borough and grants to his free burgesses various privileges, including freedom from toll throughout Cheshire.

These privileges were confirmed by Richard, abbot of Dieulacresse, but the town received no royal charter and failed to establish its burghal position.

The silk manufacture which can be traced to the latter part of the 17th century is thought to have been aided by the settlement in Leek of some Huguenots after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart passed through Leek on his march to Derby (1745) and again on his return journey to Scotland.

A story in connexion with the Civil Wars is told to explain the expression "Now thus" occurring on the tombstone of a citizen, who by this meaningless answer to all questions sought escape on the plea of insanity.

Larner was a great supporter of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and so Leek's development was in sympathetic hands.

Larner cleverly incorporated the busts of Shakespeare, Newton, Reynolds and Tennyson into the building representing 400 years of artistic and scientific achievement from the 16th to the 19th century and embracing literature, science, art and poetry.

He studied dyeing with Thomas Wardle,[11] owner of a dyeworks in the town, and it was Leek which provided his firm with silk.

[12] Dame Averil Cameron[13] Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History in the University of Oxford and former Warden of Keble College grew up in Leek.

Dave Hill,[14] vocalist for English new wave of British heavy metal band Demon, lives in Leek and operates rides at Alton Towers.

Other notable residents include: Leek's "Double Sunset" on and around the summer solstice attracts many tourists.

Locations to witness the spectacle are from Lowe Hill, on the outskirts of the town, and from the private road to Pickwood Hall, off Milltown Way.

[38] Every year in May, Leek Arts Festival takes place, celebrating the cultural heritage of the town.

They were opened in December 1935 by Councillor H. Morton, to mark the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary.

The Churnet Valley Railway at Cheddleton also attracts several thousand passengers a year, and they are working in partnership with Moorlands & City Railways to extend the CVR the one mile (1.5 kilometres) from its current northern terminus at Leekbrook back into Leek itself along the former North Staffordshire Line.

[49] Longer term plans include the development of a North Staffordshire museum alongside the new railway station, and a new canal marina.

The surrounding countryside of the Staffordshire Moorlands and the Peak District makes the area a popular tourist destination.

The Churnet Valley line now operates as a heritage railway and is located to the south of the town; services run between Kingsley & Froghall and Ipstones.

[61][62] Previous players have included Olympic gold medallist Imran Sherwani and England and GB international Scott Cordon.

[63] Leek Archery Club use the Macclesfield Road site for outdoor shooting as well as a private indoor range in the town centre.