Staffordshire Potteries

The Staffordshire Potteries is the historic ceramics-manufacturing region centred on what is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in England, long known for mass production of earthenware and bone china since the 18th century.

The area is distinguished by its association with major pottery firms and designers and by a concentration of industrial-era factories, kilns and worker housing; the modern tourist experience is spread across multiple towns and museum sites. Key names connected to the Potteries include Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode, and the urban area is commonly described as the federation of six towns.

Ceramics manufacturing here expanded rapidly during the Industrial Revolution from the mid-18th century, shifting from small workshops to factory production and large export markets through the 19th and 20th centuries. Many historic factory buildings have been converted to museums, visitor centres and cultural sites that document techniques, design and social history.

The Potteries sit in north Staffordshire, with Stoke-on-Trent roughly 40 miles (about 65 kilometres) north of Birmingham; sites are concentrated within and around the city and are reachable by road and rail from major West Midlands transport hubs.

• Industrial origins: The area became the main centre for British ceramics from the 18th century onward because of local clay, coal and transport links, driving rapid industrial growth during the Industrial Revolution.
• Geographic spread: The Potteries refers to an urban and industrial region rather than a single building or park; expect a spread of sites across Stoke-on-Trent and neighbouring towns.

What to See #

• Six towns of the Potteries: Formed by the linked urban districts that combined to create the city of Stoke-on-Trent, historically the six towns are Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton.
• Major museums and visitor centres: A number of museum and visitor sites preserve the industry's history, notably the Gladstone Pottery Museum which interprets a working Victorian pottery, and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley with ceramics collections and the Staffordshire Hoard exhibits.
• Historic factories and brands: Historic manufactories and brand sites include the locations associated with firms such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode, where factory sites and later visitor centres tell the story of mass-production and design from the 18th century onward.