Stoke-on-Trent Ceramic Heritage Action Zone
This tour celebrates the distinctive buildings of Longton and the important part they played in the ceramic history of Stoke-on-Trent.
Stoke-on-Trent has a rich industrial past in the pottery and ceramic industry. Longton is the southernmost of the six towns that make up the modern city. It expanded rapidly in the early 1800s due to the expansion of local industries, notably pottery, coal and iron, and has the largest number of surviving traditional pottery factory buildings in the city. During the late 1930s it was estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 bottle ovens and kilns stood within Stoke-on-Trent. Aerial photographs taken in the 1940s, like the one by Aerofilms used as the banner image above, suggest that there were about 160 examples in Longton alone.
Efforts to refurbish and re-purpose these former pottery factories and other buildings in the Longton conservation area are being made as part of the Stoke-on-Trent Ceramic Heritage Action Zone , a heritage-led regeneration programme led by Historic England and Stoke-on-Trent City Council along with a variety of local and national partners. The project aims to reinvigorate and diversify the town’s economy by helping to create business premises and town-centre living accommodation within these historic buildings.
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Mile Post
Our journey through the history of Longton begins with the Mile Post, which points toward Newcastle and Uttoxeter. It is located on King Street, a road that is Roman in origin and later became an important transport route for pot works in the area.
Standing at just one metre tall, the Mile Post is the smallest listed building in Longton! It is also the starting point on this tour of the Longton Conservation Area, which uncovers the history of Stoke-on-Trent’s famous bottle ovens, bottle kilns and pottery works buildings. So, let us officially begin.
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Boundary Works
Built in 1819, the Boundary Works is the first example on our tour of the many pottery buildings which still exist around Longton. This Grade II building presents a typical example of the architectural style of most pottery factories in this area; many of which date back to the early 19th century.
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Albion Works
The former Albion Works is now better known as the Phoenix Works. The site includes two surviving coal-fired bottle ovens used to fire pottery, which are Grade II listed. They are connected to the adjacent chimney. The bottle ovens are the only surviving down-draught examples in Stoke-on-Trent.
A variety of structures used in the firing and decoration of pottery and in the preparation of raw materials for pottery production are known as bottle ovens and kilns as many have a distinctive bottle shape. It is likely that early examples of bottle-shaped ovens were in use in Stoke-on-Trent by the late 17th century. Variations on this basic design persisted until the mid-20th-century when the Clean Air Acts, in combination with new gas and electric-fired alternatives, eventually led to their demise.
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Longton Town Hall and Market
Located on Times Square in the heart of the Longton area, the Longton Town Hall was built in 1844 to the designs of architect Henry Ward of Stafford. The building was substantially enlarged in 1863 to the designs of John Burrell of Longton. The new design included the market which, at the time of its opening, claimed to be the finest in the country.
It has undergone many alterations ever since. In the 1980s it was threatened by demolition until it was saved by the Longton Town Hall Action Group. In 2019 the building was refurbished; this included the creation of a Council Customer Service Centre on the ground floor of the town hall and a new entrance on the western side of the market.
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Commerce Works
A pottery works was first established on this site in the late 18th century. The current building, which contains two up-draught bottle ovens, dates to the late 19th century and is the only survivor of a much larger complex. It was damaged by fire in December 2019.
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Longton Centre
The Grade II listed Longton Centre, formerly the Sutherland Institute and Library, was built in 1898 by Wood and Hutchings. It is a unique and distinctive building in the industrial town and was built to celebrate the reign of Queen Victoria.
It first opened in 1899 and the library now occupies the lower floor while the upper floors are used by businesses. The entrance to the building displays a mural depicting potting, mining and iron-working; all the main local industries of Longton’s past.
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Aynsley China (Southern Range)
A large pottery complex designed and built in several phases over the course of the 19th century. The company closed this facility in 2014 due to the exponentially high cost to maintain and run it. The factory’s closure caused a loss of over 40 jobs but many workers were able to find work within the other pottery factories and businesses in the city.
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Aynsley China Works (Northern Range)
Aynsley China was one of Longton’s longest running ceramic firms, founded in 1775 by John Aynsley. This example is a mid-19th century pottery works building.
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Bottle Oven behind 120 Uttoxeter Road
Here is a calcining kiln dating to the first half of the 20th century. The kiln was used to burn (calcine) flint or bone in order to make it more friable prior to being crushed and ground for use in the production of clay pieces in the pottery industry.
Facing onto Short Street is a row of three former workers' cottages of early- to mid- 19th Century date, which have been converted into a workshop. The proximity of these cottages to former pottery factories illustrates the dense mix of industrial and domestic buildings typical of 19th-century Longton.
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Part of St Mary's Pottery
The final location on our journey through Longton brings us to an example of the former pottery factories within the town that have been successfully repurposed. The St Mary’s Mount Pleasant Works was built in 1862. When it was listed in 1993 it was owned by Royal Doulton but it is now used by a company selling motorcycle parts and accessories.
The images used in the tour are part of the Historic England Archive . Contribute your photos, stories and knowledge to Enrich the List .
Read about the Stoke-on-Trent Ceramic Heritage Action Zone on the Historic England and Stoke-on-Trent City Council websites.