Johnson Fireclay Co

Location and period of operation:

Johnson Fireclay Co was a sanitary ware manufacturer at the Excelsior Works, Cliffe Vale (sometimes spelt Cliff Vale), Stoke-on-Trent

• In 1963 the business was aquired by Armitage Ware Ltd (also a manufacturer of sanitary ware since 1817) 

• In 1969 Armitage Ware Ltd merged with Shanks and Co to create Armitage Shanks who by then had 8 factories with its headquaters in Stoke-on-Trent

• The Armitage Excelsior Works was closed in 2007 and eventually the works were demolished - in 2017 the Stoke-on-Trent City council announced that they were to build industrial units on the site.   

Johnson 
Fireclay Co
Stoke-on-Trent
England 

from the men's toilets at the Sandven Hotel in Norheimsund, Norway
photo: Einar Irjan Ananiassen

Johnson Fireclay Co urinals
Vika, Oslo, Norway

One of the Glazing Shops

A corner of the Mould Making Shop

Johnson Fireclay Co. Ltd., Excelsior Works, Cliffe Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, 
Sanitary Appliances in Excelsior Fireclay Ware [c. 1950]

1924 Sanitary Fireclay Ware

 Johnson Fireclay Co. Ltd
Excelsior Works, Cliffe Vale, Stoke-on-Trent
England

Armitage Excelsior Works
 c.1963
photo: Stoke Sentinel Newspaper

1900 map of the Cliff Vale area of Stoke-on-Trent
in the centre is the Phoenix Engineering Works 
which was to become the Excelsior Pottery Works

note the number of pottery, tile and brick works in the area  

1924 map showing that the Excelsior Works (Sanitary Earthenware) has taken the Phoenix Works
and the Phoenix is much reduced in size

1929 photo of the Cliffe Vale area
the Excelsior Works in red

light blue is the Etruria Gas Works and
green is the Cliffe Vale pottery works of Twyfords

- Britiain from Above - 

Questions, comments, contributions? email: Steve Birks