The Old Church

At the side of Barlaston Hall 

 

stands the older St John's Church. I say older as there is a new one further into the village.

 This church was closed in 1980 after cracks appeared in the walls due to subsidence.

 The earliest part of the church is the tower which dates from the 12th century.  The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1888.  There is also a modern vestry on the back which looks very 1960s.

 It is locked up, of course, so I must see if it is ever open for guided tours.  There are some memorials inside to the later Wedgwoods, whose factory is further along the road.  This factory was moved from Etruria in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1940 and the hall, church, lake and grounds became part of the whole factory complex.  The Wedgwood family never lived at Barlaston Hall but in a house built in 1845 for Josiah I's grandson, it is now a hotel called The Upper House.

In the churchyard is the Mason's Vault, burial place of the Mason family also potters and makers of the distinctive Mason's Ironstone China.

Miles Mason was the founder of the company.

There were many old grave stones in the churchyard, including some 18th century ones

It was all very overgrown although  the grass had been mown on the south side of the church nearest the hall and paths cut through the tall grass on the other side.

The church clock is badly damaged

It all looks very neglected and forlorn.

A New Museum

On Sunday we found ourselves passing through the village of Barlaston and decided to drop down into the Wedgwood factory site to have a look at the recently opened museum building. The new museum cost 10.5 million pounds to build, nearly six million of which came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

We didn't have time to go inside and decided to save this treat for another day but it was interesting to see the new building. It all looked very shiny and new and having visited the Museum before it was moved from its original place, I can't wait to go inside to see what it is like.

The Museum used to be within the Visitor Centre but when that was refurbished a few years ago it was decided that the Museum needed its own building as there were many more things in the collection than there was room to display them.

The Wedgwood Factory moved on to its present 'garden site' in the 1930s. Its previous site being at Etruria, near Hanley, where Josiah Wedgwood I had a purpose built village for his factory and its workers. The Wedgwood Family lived just up from the factory complex in a house which is now The Moat House Hotel. This area was where the Garden Festival of 1986 was held and is now a huge retail park with leisure facilities like a multiplex cinema, dry ski slope and Waterworld. I found a rather wonderful 'virtual' tour of the Etruria site on the museum's new website here.

If you approach the Wedgwood site from the centre of Barlaston by the village green you pass Barlaston Hall, and it is always a splendid sight. It was rescued by 'Save Britain's Heritage' in the 1980s and restored in the 1990s. Built around 1756 by Sir Robert Taylor for Thomas Mills it was later occupied by Francis Wedgwood, master potter, partner in the Etruria site, grandson to Josiah I and brother of Emma, wife of Charles Darwin.

The old church of St John the Baptist stands close to the Hall and was completely re-built in the 1760s. It is a lovely little church almost hidden from view as you pass through the avenue of trees leading to the parkland surrounding the Wedgwood factory complex.

You wait for ages then.........

On Sunday, after an invigorating walk around Trentham Lake, we decided to pop down to the Wedgwood Visitor Centre at Barlaston - just a short drive away - for elevenses. We parked near the cricket ground not far from the station, walked through the back of the factory and into the shop. The place was quite busy, as usual, with coaches full of tourists, all wanting to have their photo taken next to Josiah Wedgwood; by the time I took the photo below they had all gone on the factory tour.



After coffee and cheese scones in the Ivy House Cafe we wandered out to have a look at the building work for the new Wedgwood Museum and discovered these:-



We had somehow found ourselves at a vintage vehicle rally which had taken over much of the visitor car park at the centre. We spent ages wandering round and saw some wonderful old buses.



'Hold very tight, please' - Ding, Ding.