A new visitor experience is set to give people a rare glimpse of both the historic and modern sides of Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramics industry.
The Beyond the Bottle Oven pilot brings together Gladstone Pottery Museum and nearby manufacturer Duchess China 1888 Ltd to create a joint tour experience that links the city’s pottery heritage with present-day production.
Visitors will be able to take part in monthly tours beginning at the museum before crossing the road to explore the working Duchess China factory. The idea is to show how the traditional skills that built the Potteries are still being used in modern ceramics manufacturing.
The museum, which is the filming location for Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, attracts thousands of visitors each year, while Duchess China continues the long-standing tradition of fine china production in Stoke-on-Trent, supplying customers in the UK and overseas.
The project, which forms part of the Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Future 100 programme, was launched on Tuesday (10 March) at Gladstone, where guests were given an early preview by Great Pottery Throw Down judge Keith Brymer Jones.
Speaking at the launch event, Keith said: “You come to this heritage site, and you walk literally through the years of people creating wonderful work.
“You walk across the road, and you go to Duchess, and they’re doing the same thing in the 21st century. The more we can do to expose the talent and creativity of the wonderful city of Stoke the more people will be invested in what people do here.
“That’s what I think is so exciting about this initiative of marrying the old and the new.”
Organisers say the tours are designed to offer behind-the-scenes access to both a historic potbank and a modern ceramics factory, highlighting how the industry continues to evolve while remaining rooted in traditional craft skills.
Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance, anti-poverty and corporate services, said: “Stoke-on-Trent is the world capital of ceramics and this innovative project shows why.
“It gives visitors a unique chance to see where our story began and how it continues today in a working factory.
“That continuity is something few places can offer and it shows that ceramics in Stoke-on-Trent is not just history, it’s a living, working industry that can and should continue to thrive with the right support.”
Jason Simms, director at Duchess China, said there are still strong similarities between historic potbanks and modern factories.
He said: “It’s not that much different the way we make things. There’s a lot of synergy between the two factories.
“I’m a Neck Ender. It means a lot to me to be connecting this museum to the factory that Andy [Tooth] and I proudly own.”
The first tour will take place on Wednesday, 25 March, at 10.30am, followed by another on Wednesday, 22 April, at the same time. Each experience includes a guided visit around Gladstone Pottery Museum, a potter’s lunch at the museum café and a tour of the Duchess China 1888 Ltd factory.
Tours last between three and four hours and cost £45 per person, including lunch. Places are limited to 12 people per session.
