Of Potteries, Cats and Polar Bears

Yesterday we decided to walk from home up into the city centre.  It is quite a long walk so we decided to stop for elevenses at the Emma Bridgewater factory and shop along the way.

The next stop was the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery where we went to look at the WW1 exhibition called Echoes of War which includes a recreation of a trench outside the museum.

There was another reason for spending time in the City Centre and that was the Street Treat Sunday entertainments offered by Appetite Stoke-on-Trent an arts organisation which receives support and funding from both the Arts Council England and National Lottery grants plus Staffordshire University, The New Vic Theatre and Stoke City Council.

 So whilst we were still in the museum we met Bjorn the Polar Bear and his helper....

and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland - we missed the Cheshire Cat!

 Up in the centre was a photographic display of photos of Stoke-on-Trent 'The City of Six Towns'  taken by Mark Power.

 We also caught the remnants of a New Orleans style jazz band called Mr Wilson's Second Liners.

 and laughed over the antics of Tom and Ella, the Cat's Choir, performed by Stickleback Plasticus

 It was 3.30p.m. in the afternoon by the time we were walking home through Fenton Park, both with aching legs and feet and cameras full of photos.

On Queen Street

If you wander down Queen Street in Burslem (one of the six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire) you will come across two amazing buildings.  One still in use; one empty and neglected! The most ornate of the two buildings is the red-brick Wedgwood Memorial Institute built as a memorial to the great potter Josiah Wedgwood 1730-95. 

It stands on the site of the Brick House Pottery Works, owned by the Adams, another local pottery family and which Josiah Wedgwood rented from them during the years of 1762 to 1772.  It was also known as the Bell works because of the bell used to summon the workers to the factory each day.  It was at the Bell Factory that Wedgwood perfected his famous Black Basalt wares. 

A statue of Josiah Wedgwood stands over the impressive doorway.  I was trying to see if the statue showed Wedgwood with his wooden leg as the legs looked a bit awkward but couldn't tell from my photos.  Wedgwood had his right leg amputated in 1768 after it was weakened by an attack of smallpox in his childhood.

The Wedgwood Memorial Institute was established in 1869 as a centre for art and science, the foundation stone was laid by William Gladstone in 1863.   The facade is made up of sculptures, friezes and mosaics designed by many of the leading artists and architects of the day including John Lockwood Kipling father of the author Rudyard Kipling. 

The moulded medallions over the doorway show three of Josiah Wedgwood's famous contemporaries and associates - the scientist and fellow member of the Lunar Society Joseph Priestley, Thomas Bentley his partner in the Etruria pottery works and the artist John Flaxman.

With all its wonderful history and associations it is such a shame that this building is closed, neglected and falling into disrepair!  In 2010 The Victorian Society listed this building as one of its top ten most endangered buildings in England and Wales. According to their website in May last year The Prince's Trust unveiled plans to renovate the Wedgwood Institute to be used by small businesses - I do hope this happens!

So what is the other building I mentioned at the beginning of this post?  Well, exactly opposite the Wedgwood Institute stands the famous Burslem School of Art.  

It was opened in 1907 and designed by A R Wood who was architect of many of the important public buildings across Stoke-on-Trent which at this point was still three years away from having city status.  The six towns which made up the potteries still having their own identity - in fact they still do in many ways.  Burslem was and still is known as the Mother Town and it was the 'Bursley' of many of local author and writer Arnold Bennett's novels including 'Anna of the Five Towns' (I know - he missed one!) 'Old Wives Tales' and 'The Card'.

Many famous artists either attended or exhibited at the Art College including local pottery designers Susie Cooper, Charlotte Rhead and Clarice Cliff, David Hockney and Sir Clough Williams-Ellis founder of Portmeirion village in Wales.  Well known local artists like Reginald Haggar and Arthur Berry taught here as did the Scottish ceramic and stained glass designer Gordon Forsyth. 

The school of Art closed in the 1970s when all art studies were centralised at Staffordshire University.  It was opened again in 2000 as a cultural centre.  I love those large studio windows letting in as much light as possible for the students to work in.

From Westport through Longport to Middleport (and back!)

What to do on a lovely sunny morning when you don't want to travel too far but don't want to stay indoors either was the question on our lips this morning - the answer was a visit to and a walk around the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's reserve at Westport Lake.

After a stroll around the lake accompanied on occasion by noisy swans, honking geese and loads of plump coots - has anyone noticed that there seems to be lots of coots around this season?  We've seen far more than usual and they are less timid too coming right up, along with the mallards to ask for food.

Lots of plump squirrels too, living off the bird food placed around the lakeside for the smaller birds.  The ones in our garden are particularly well fed at the moment!

After coffee in the visitor centre and the purchase of some Christmas cards we walked along the canal towpath towards Longport.

Familiar sights in this area and throughout the city - bottle ovens (kilns), canals and narrow boats all harking back to the early days of the pottery industry when the kilns were fired each week and the pots distributed on the canal network.

We passed Longport Wharf

Then we passed the modern Steelite factory where pottery is manufactured mostly for the catering and hotel trade.  I would say that if you look at the bottom of a cup or saucer in a cafe or restaurant (as people from Stoke-on-Trent do) more often than not you will see the names Steelite or Dudson who along with Portmeirion and Bridgewater are the most successful potteries in this area at the moment.

We were headed though for a much older factory just a little further along the canal at Middleport. I've taken you here before but I'm sure you won't mind returning for a short while.

As you can see the sun was low in the sky making the taking of photos quite difficult so I apologise for the sometimes hazy quality of them.  Middleport Pottery is undergoing a huge regeneration programme at the moment and much restoration is taking place both inside and outside of this magnificent Victorian factory.

 

The factory shop is still open and I just love it inside here.

 Dressers and tables groaning with the most beautiful wares
and chintz patterns.

I think the blue Burleigh Pottery is the most famous 

 They do it in pink as well but I've always admired the blue.  Below are jugs in the iconic Blue Calico pattern.

We did make a few small purchases from the bargain baskets (who could resist?) but I won't say what they are as they will probably end up being presents.

Not only is the factory undergoing a regeneration with the help of The Prince's Regeneration Trust - the row of old factory workers' houses opposite the factory on Port Street also looked as if they had been refurbished and were looking very smart.  A new visitor and education centre is due to open at the factory next year. 

It was time to walk back along the towpath to Westport Lake just under a mile in distance and such a lot to see along the way.

The Staffordshire Hoard Exhibition

We decided to visit the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition yesterday morning. I had an early appointment in the city centre so, after a warm cup of coffee we wandered down towards the museum to see how long the queue was.

On the way down Piccadilly and past the Regent Theatre we came across these lovely posters decorating some empty shop windows.

The queue was as far back as the end of the Museum building so we joined it at about 9.55a.m. It was a very cold morning and I was glad I'd put on an extra pair of socks and wound a huge scarf around my neck to keep out the cold.

The Museum opened its doors at 10 o'clock and the queue moved forward slowly but surely. It wasn't long before we were inside the building. Everything was very well organised with people snaking around the foyer and around the back of the shop. There were plenty of museum volunteers on duty to help and advise.

Just into the foyer you receive your first hand stamp of the visit (you have to collect three on your way round) we moved up the stairs and into part of the pottery and ceramics gallery. Here we had our second hand stamp. It was getting quite warm now and I began to regret my heavy coat and scarf - if you are going to visit you will wait inside for longer than you do outside which is good in this weather but you may not want to be encumbered by heavy clothing once inside as it is very warm. There are seats dotted around for the full length of the queue so you can sit for a while if standing becomes too much. We continued to snake around the doll and costume collection and then suddenly we received our last stamp and were allowed to move forward into the art gallery where the exhibition had been displayed.

The pieces themselves are stunning but so tiny and delicate much smaller than you would imagine from all the wonderful photographs on the posters and hoardings. To give you some idea of scale the horse to the right of the first photo at the top is no more than an inch high and the chequered boss as small as a shirt button; the workmanship in such small pieces is exquisite - the only thing I can think to say is that it would be like looking at an exhibition of portrait miniatures instead of normal size paintings.

I'm so glad I went to see the exhibition - it was such a thrill to see it; all the visitors were happy and patient and the staff thoroughly enjoyed chatting to them and making them welcome. In all the visit took about two hours. After making a donation and buying a souvenir booklet we made our way downstairs to the cafe for another coffee, stopping to look at another temporary exhibition on the way. This exhibition was about the history of the - Bethesda Chapel - which stands opposite the museum and reached the final, although it didn't win, of the first BBC 'Restoration' programme in 2003.

At Hanley Park

This morning, on the way back from shopping at Festival Park we stopped off for a walk around Hanley Park. Of the three of the city's five parks we regularly visit - the others being Fenton and Longton - Hanley is the one that disappoints me the most mainly because it could be so much better. Things are beginning to happen though; there are new children's play areas, refurbished tennis courts and sculptures and fountains down by the lake. However, it isn't the new things that disappoint but rather the feeling of neglect around the older buildings like the pavilion and boat house and the lack of planting in some of the flower beds and borders. Maybe these things are going to be next on the refurbishment agenda - I hope so.

There is so much potential in the pavilion which could surely house proper toilet facilities and a cafe or restaurant not only for the visitors to the park by road and foot but also for those who pass through on the Caldon canal which cuts right through the centre of the park. These visitors need to be encouraged to stop and visit the park so decent moorings would help; also the park needs to be a showcase for the city. As well as a decent cafe why not have a shop which would feature products the city is best known for - world class pottery and china. How wonderful would it be to stop for a lazy summer afternoon in the park, have a bite to eat and purchase a piece of Bridgwater. Portmeirion or Wedgwood pottery as you pass through? There could also be an exhibition area which interprets the wildlife of the park and canal and it's history too.

There are word scultures around the islands in the lake - this one says
'There are sounds all around, but nothing matters except the sound of your voice'

This word sculpture says - ' Do you feel it too?'

Muscovy ducks on the water's edge.

The old boat house and the new fountains.

Another of the 'word' sculptures around an island in the lake - this one says -
'I see you standing there as if on a distant horizon, I reach out and our hands touch'

A footbridge over the canal

Reflections of trees in the canal

Above - the bandstand and footbridge over the canal.

I'm guessing that in the present economic cliamate any further developments in the park won't be top of the agenda but it seems such a waste of an opportunity to have a park of which we could be proud and which will also promote the city in a positive light- especially this year as Stoke-on-Trent celebrates the centenary of it becoming a city in 1910.

Good News!

This is such good news - part of the Anglo Saxon Hoard is coming to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in the City Centre early next year. Dating from the 7th Century, it was found earlier this year in a field in the Tamworth/Lichfield area of Staffordshire (the heart of the ancient Anglo Saxon Kingdom of Mercia) by metal detectorist Terry Herbert; as it has been declared treasure trove he and the farmer whose land the hoard was found on will share quite a considerable sum. Some of the items have been on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and as I've seen from reports on BBC Midlands Today (link) there have been queues of people visiting it. At present some of the items are on display at the British Museum in London; once it has been valued about 80 pieces from the collection are coming to the city for about 3 weeks. It will be good for the City, good for Tourism and good for me - it will be so close I could walk there!

Here is a link to see some of the items - TheStaffordshire Hoard Web Page

Now Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council are mounting a joint bid to keep the Hoard in Staffordshire; there are about 1,500 pieces in all and as the hoard has been declared to be as important as the Sutton Hoo collection of artefacts I expect some of the pieces will remain at the British Museum to take their place alongside other important collections but it would be wonderful for Staffordshire if some of the items could have a permanent home in the County where they were found.

The Gladstone Pottery Museum - Part One

The Gladstone Pottery Museum is in Longton and is the site of the former Gladstone China Works. It is also about 20 minutes walk away from where I live. I first visited it in the early 1980s when I was on an Open University summer school at Keele University and we were taken to the museum on a coach. I never imagined as I wandered around that I would one day live nearby and even, for a short while, work there.

I find it a fascinating place to visit and even more so now that lots of new features and exhibitions have been added to the tour. It isn't a famous pottery works like Spode or Wedgwood but like many other factories working at the same time it produced every day items for the mass market. Above you can see the main courtyard with the bottle kilns or 'pot banks' as they are called in Stoke in the back ground and foreground.

I took this photo inside one of the bottle ovens - you can walk between the outer and inner layer of the structure. The outer layer is called the 'hovel' and acts as a chimney taking the smoke away and protecting the inner layer or 'kiln proper' from the weather. This walkway is where the fireman would stoke the fires under the inner kiln where all the pottery had been stacked in the protective saggers to fire the clay.

This was hot, dirty and back-breaking work. Everything depended on the fireman doing his job properly if the firing was stopped too early or carried on to long the china would be ruined. The doorway through which the saggars were inserted and then collected after firing was called a 'clammins' or 'wicket'. This was bricked up during firing.

The workers were made to go into the really red hot atmosphere to remove the fired china as soon as possible. The kilns were fired once a week and were supposed to be left for 48 hours to cool but many would open them up after 24 hours. The men who did this job would suffer ill health including burned skin and eventually many would die of heart attacks because of the intenseness of the heat endured whilst doing the job.

There are many other original workshops in the factory including one for the making of the saggars, the fire clay boxes used to hold the wares whilst they were being fired in the kilns. The saggar maker was a skilled man using his thumbs to join the sides and base of the saggar. His assistant, usually a young boy, was the 'saggar maker's bottom knocker'. He made the base of the saggar by knocking the fire clay into shape with a wooden mallet or 'mawl'.

Above is the mould making workshop full of the moulds for forming the china wares. Young boys would be employed as ' mould- runners' and spent their day running backwards and forwards at great speed with new moulds and fresh clay. This was exhausting work.

This is the clay throwing workshop. Here visitors can make a pot on the potter's wheel and have it boxed to take home.

A new addition to the Museum over the last couple of years has been The Doctor's House where factory workers would visit if they became ill, which they often did. Disease was rife as the potters worked in such a hot, smoky atmosphere. Silicosis and plumbism were the most hazardous conditions suffered by the workers. Silicosis affected the lungs and was caused by the fine particles of dust or silica which came from the dried, fired clay, this disease was known locally as 'Potter's Rot' and the 'fettlers' and 'scourers' were most prone to this.

Plumbism was caused by the lead in the glaze given to the pottery after its firing so the 'dippers' who were most likely to contract this were the highest paid workers in the factory - their life-expectancy was no more than 40 years.

The dipper's would take Epsom salts and drink milk to line their stomachs. Also at risk were the decorators, mostly women, known as 'paintresses' and especially the ones who worked with majolica wares where the lead content was almost 60% , as they would lick their brushes to straighten and fine the bristles. Eventually, towards the end of the 19th century various Factory Acts were brought in to tackle some of these problems by raising the age at which children could be employed in some of the more dangerous areas of the factory and introducing ventilation and exhaust fans to the factories.

I think that is enough for one post so there is more to come in part two.