Stoke-on-Trent | Pottery History & Identification Resources


Stoke-on-Trent Pottery History & Identification Resources
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Resources on the North Staffordshire Pottery Industry

The North Staffordshire Staffordshire Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent has a long and proud history as one of the world’s great centres of ceramic manufacture.

This section brings together resources on pottery companies, marks and backstamps, bottle kilns, occupations, and the people who shaped the industry.

The Complete Directory of Stoke-on-Trent Potters

The Complete Directory of Stoke-on-Trent Potters

This directory is the most comprehensive online guide to the pottery manufacturers of Stoke-on-Trent.

It covers more than 2,000 known firms from the 18th century to the present day.

explore the Potters directory »

A structured guide to the history, identification and
manufacture of pottery from the Staffordshire Potteries.

Scroll down or select from the following sections..

Pottery Manufacturers »	Pottery Identification, Dating and Authentication »
Pottery Companies and Works »	People, Occupations and Working Conditions »
Ware, Terms and Manufacture »	Bottle Ovens and Industrial Landscape »
Featured Articles and Historical Highlights »

Pottery Manufacturers

Resources to help identify pottery by marks, initials, backstamps, registration numbers, trade names and dates.

Pottery marks	Marks by categories	Manufacturers

Identify North Staffordshire pottery by the marks and symbols used on the bottom of the ware.	Marks grouped by categories such as Stafford Knot, Beehives etc.	list of over 2000 Stoke-on-Trent manufacturers

Potters trade names	Potters initials	Unidentified manufacturers

Find the manufacturers by the Trade Names they used	Search by initials impressed or printed on the base	list of marks not yet identified with a manufacturer

Pottery Identification, Dating and Authentication

Use these specialist guides to help date pottery, interpret marks and symbols, identify British coat of arms and commercial monograms, and recognise fakes and forgeries.

Dating pottery	Design registration	British Royal Arms

how to to date English pottery	guide to design registration diamonds and numbers	the British Royal Arms and their use in pottery marks

Pottery forgeries	Wartime groups	BCM Monomark

Reproduction, imitation or 'passing off' ware	WWII Wartime Concentration Scheme group letters	British Commercial Monomarks were used with an name to identify the manufacturer

	10 Long Years

	The effect of WWII- the British Pottery Industry 1942-1952

Pottery Companies and Works

Over 2,000 pottery firms are recorded, with information on history, factory locations and associated articles.

Research individual pottery firms, the pottery factories, trade names, advertisements, and the history of manufacturers across the Potteries.

Potters Directory	Location	First Operation

A list of over 2000 known Stoke-on-Trent potters	Browse the pottery manufacturers by their location	Trace the companies by the date of first operation

Pottery works by location..
	Pottery works are variously called manufactories, potworks, potbanks or simply factories. See this main index page for a list of pottery works arranged by town and location across the Potteries.

Manufactories across the Potteries..

These four pages contain details of more than 150 pottery works and factory sites from across Stoke-on-Trent. The works are presented as browsing pages rather than an alphabetical directory - ideal for exploring the Potteries and discovering works you may not otherwise come across.

People, Occupations and Working Conditions

The history of the Potteries is not just about factories and kilns, but also the people who lived and worked here.

From the potters and tradesmen to civic leaders and everyday residents, this section explores the lives, language, work, and experiences that shaped North Staffordshire over the centuries.

Famous Potters »	Biographies »	Potters Occupations »
Renowned potters and pottery manufacturers whose work gained recognition locally and worldwide.	Stories of individuals from the Potteries - tradesmen, industrialists, and local figures.	The trades, skills and daily work of potters that kept this massive industry running.

Child Labour »	When I was a Child Charles Shaw	The Staffordshire Potter Harold Owen
The children who worked in the manufactories in 1840 and the conditions they faced.	A vivid first-hand memoir of childhood, work, hardship, and everyday life in the Potteries during the 1840s.	The development of the pottery trade, workers’ conditions, and the rise of organised labour in the 19th-century Potteries.

Ware, Terms and Manufacture

How it's made	Pottery Types	Pottery Terms
An introduction to how pottery is made, from raw materials and shaping through to firing and decoration.	An explanation of types of pottery and details of the materials used in the manufacture of ceramics.	Common and obscure terms used in the pottery manufacturing industry.

Pottery Patterns	Manufacturers ware
A guide to pottery patterns and design styles, such a 'Willow' and 'Imari'	Example of ware produced by some of the North Staffordshire potters.

Bottle Ovens and Industrial Landscape

Nothing set the Potteries sky-line apart more than the weird bottle shaped brick buildings.

At their peak, in the 1930s and just before the World War II, just over 2100 bottle ovens and kilns existed in the six towns of the Potteries.

The Clean Air Act sounded the death-knell for the smoky, coal fired oven. The ones still standing today are listed buildings.

	How the bottle kiln works Details on the construction of the oven, placing ware in the oven, different types of ware, firing a bottle oven.y.	Kilns & Ovens still Standing Details of around 45 Bottle Kilns and Ovens which can still be seen around the city today.
	The Saggar Maker & his bottom-knocker The contender for the most obscure occupation is probably the "saggar maker's bottom knocker".	Brickworks and Tileries As well as pottery Stoke-on-Trent was home to an extensive brick and tile making industry.

Featured Articles and Historical Highlights

This section brings together a selection of featured articles and special interest pages from across the site, including historical walks, company histories, trade advertisements, letterheads, and other illustrated resources relating to the Staffordshire Potteries.

Feature Articles	'Walk' around a Victorian Pottery factory	Pottery company advertisements
Browse feature articles, illustrated histories and special studies on famous potteries, designers, wares and personalities from the rich ceramic heritage of the Potteries.	A virtual walk around the historic Middleport Pottery of Burgess & Leigh, with photographs and commentary on one of the Potteries’ finest surviving Victorian factory sites.	Browse a selection of trade adverts from Stoke-on-Trent pottery companies, illustrating the commercial history and branding of firms across the Potteries.

Pottery company letterheads	250 years of Wedgwood	250 years of Spode
Historic letterheads from pottery companies and other local firms, illustrating the business life, branding and visual style of the Potteries in earlier years.	An index to the history of Josiah Wedgwood, the Wedgwood company, its works and wares, with links to articles, factory sites and identification resources.	The story of 250 years of Spode — from Josiah Spode and the development of bone china to the famous Stoke works and the company’s lasting place in the heritage of the Potteries.