The art of pottery making has been known since ancient times.
Within a few years, porcelain factories sprung up around Bavaria and in Naples and many other places.
In Great Britain, North Staffordshire became the center of ceramic production.
The distinctively shaped bottle ovens at the Gladstone Pottery Museum.
This region was known as The Potteries.
The West Midlands was uniquely suited for this industry.
Clay was available in abundance, and so was coal necessary to fire ovens.
Nearby counties provided lead, salt and fine sand.
The construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 provided a further boost to the industry.
Longton in the mid 1950s.
The men wore five layers of clothing and wet cloths over their heads to protect themselves.
The process was extremely inefficient and wasteful.
Existing bottle ovens were demolished.
Only 47 remain in Stoke-on-Trent today, preserved as listed buildings.
One of the factories now houses the Gladstone Pottery Museum where you could step inside a bottle oven.
The skyline of Stoke-on-Trent when the industry was in full swing.
An old postcard of Stoke-on-Trent.
Photo credit:John Lord/Flickr
Photo credit:Ted and Jen/Flickr
The Gladstone museum, Stoke-on-Trent.
Photo credit:Anna-Maria Olehn/Flickr
Saggars stacked inside a kiln.
Photo credit:Lee Haywood/Flickr
Sagger Workshop.
Photo credit:Andrew Stawarz/Flickr
Bottle kilns in Burslem.
Photo credit:Mike Rawlins/Flickr
Bottle kilns in Longton.
A salt-glazed stoneware produced in the potteries of Staffordshire, circa 1730.
Stoneware with metallic-oxide stain (caneware) produced in the potteries of Staffordshire, circa 1820.
