This long-standing Potteries specialty has a number of origin stories.
The most likely dates the oatcake at least back as far as the 17th century. Oats were one of the few grains which thrived in north-west England, and the oatcake developed as an excellent way to make use of them. Derbyshire and Cheshire also have their own variations on oatcakes, but the Staffs variety is the best known.
When the industrial revolution arrived and the pottery industry took off, bakers soon cottoned on to the idea selling oatcakes to the masses. Front rooms were turned into shops which served their customers through the window. Everyone in North Staffordshire was eating oatcakes, and everyone had their own recipe for them.
The 20th century brought a decline for the oatcake industry and closed down a vast number of traditional oatcake shops.
In fact, the very last one - the Hole in the Wall in Waterloo Street, Hanley - is set to close down in March this year.
On the positive side, supermarkets now sell ready-made oatcakes, and there are online companies who sell mixes and oatcakes themselves, and are willing to deliver them all over the world.
The Hole in the Wall oatcake shop
Oatcake history on BBC Stoke and Staffordshire
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