Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Staffordshire pottery

Staffordshire pottery is pottery that is produced in the Staffordshire potteries area of the United Kingdom. This area is in the Midlands - the potteries used to centre around six separate towns (Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall) which are now Stoke on Trent.

The area really came into focus as the powerhouse of pottery production in the UK in the 1700-1800s but, the truth is, that this has been a significant pottery producing area for centuries. Staffordshire has plenty of clay, lead, salt and coal in the area which made it a perfect place for pottery production.

In early days potters would simply dig clay up from roads which is thought to have led to the term ‘potholes’! It was quite common for farmers to make pottery at this stage - the land was not good enough for them to make enough money from farming so many worked as potters as a sideline. Gradually many of the farmers moved into full-time pottery production.

In its heyday there were hundreds of manufacturers producing all kinds of pottery in Staffordshire - some of whom became famous names and some of whom are still producing pottery to this day. Well known pottery companies include:

• Wedgwood
• Spode
• Minton
• Aynsley
• Doulton
• Twyford

Here are some Staffordshire pottery fragments found at the Beaubassin-Fort Lawrence archaeological site.












Complete article: http://www.staffordshire.co.uk/Staffordshire_Pottery_History.htm

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just found the Beaubassin digs blog. *Please* continue to post information. I have alerted all of the Acadians on my mailing list and have asked that they sign on as followers to this blog.

I was at Beaubassin digs last summer and found it so very interesting to see some of the artifacts. Keep up this great work!

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
Acadian Ancestral Home