Trent & Mersey Canal. The Old Town Hall is one of the largest buildings in Burslem. It also has the legacy of novelist Arnold Bennett, who refers to the town and many of its streets with thinly disguised names: e.g. Burslem/"Bursley", Swan (Square and Pub)/"Duck". It is the setting for one of his most famous works, the Clayhanger trilogy. Burslem's centre benefits from having an almost-intact medieval street-plan and countless fine old buildings, and a townscape which almost-totally escaped re-development during the 1960s and 1970s. After being under-used for years, the Burslem School of Art has been refurbished at a cost of £2.1m and offers several large free art galleries. The free Public Library is currently based in the School of Art, after the Venetian Gothic Wedgwood Institute closed for safety reasons early in 2009. Ceramica was a new award-winning ceramics family attraction, based in the imposing old Town Hall and funded by Millennium Lottery money but due to the loss of council funding has been closed. The Queen's Theatre has regular concerts and an annual pantomime. There is a traditional Friday street market, and street carnivals in May and December. Sports The major football club Port Vale F.C. is based in Burslem at Vale Park. The team currently plays in League One, England's third division. Near to the town is Burslem Golf Club, a 9-hole course which once had singer Robbie Williams as a Junior Captain. It was opened on 28 September 1907 by vaudeville entertainer and golfer Sir Harry Lauder. On 29 September 2007 his great-nephew Gregory Lauder-Frost as guest-of-honour rededicated it for another century in a formal ceremony. Professional darts player Phil Taylor is from Burslem. Education Burslem is the site of one of the two campuses of Stoke-on-Trent College; the College states that it is the largest Further Education college in Stoke and North Staffordshire. The campus specialises in media-production and drama. Stoke Studio College, a studio school for 13- to 19-year-olds opened at the college campus in September 2013. Within a six-mile radius from Burslem there are three universities; Staffordshire at Shelton, Keele University, and Manchester Metropolitan's large Art & Design campus at Alsager. The environment The town is elevated and is not prone to flooding. Parks Burslem Park The town's municipal park, designed by the landscape architect Thomas Hayton Mawson, was opened in 1894. It is protected by a Grade II* designation on the