A window to city’s history
Iconic buildings depicted on the outside of oatcake shop
A VIBRANT window display celebrating the iconic people and places of the Potteries has gone on display in an oatcake shop.
Artist and photographer Alison Hankey was inspired by Stokeon-trent’s heritage to create the artwork at Cornhill Oatcakes in Ball Green which is run by her niece, Kerry Havertey.
When Alison’s mum, Florence Hankey, passed away in August last year, photographer Alison was keen to do something to keep herself busy and occupy her mind.
Inspired by her mum’s love for the Potteries, she decided to take on a creative project that would get people talking and reminiscing about the city.
Included in the display are
Potteries legends such as Sir Stanley Matthews, as well as famous potbanks such as Gladstone and Middleport.
Alison, aged 49, said: “I did a similar display over Christmas at the shop, which was a festive snow scene. Kerry loved it, and so did the customers, so when the time came to take it down, she asked if I could do something a bit more permanent.
“I lost mum in August and I just wanted to get out of the house, keep myself busy and keep my mind occupied.
“I’m normally in Wales or Cumbria taking photos. I’ve never focused on Stoke-on-trent much.
“But I had this idea of reminiscing and finding memories of people and places of Stoke-on-trent that aren’t here anymore.
“I wanted to make the display all about old places such as factories, pubs, dance floors, and so on.
“Mum had a great memory and was constantly telling stories about all of these old places.”
Alison, from Bentilee, said some parts were quite emotional to complete. She said: “I was there with my felt tip getting really upset about certain buildings!
“For example, with Johnson Brothers of Hanley, a lot of men probably met their wives there, had their families, and all of these people had their own lives, but probably all went to the same cafes and oatcake shops.
“When these big factories closed, so did probably all of the little businesses that workers went to.
“I wanted to include places that really meant a lot to people, like Ubberley and Bentilee Workingmen’s Club. As a kid we were always in there, but sadly workingmen’s clubs are mostly all closed down now.”
Alison’s aim was to get people talking - a goal that she believes she has achieved since she started the project in January.
She said: “I had a lot of people coming and chatting to me and recognising places and sharing their memories.
“I never had that great love for the city, but when I lost mum, I started looking at things a lot more closely. There’s so much skill and craftsmanship that went into the early pottery industry.
“Some of the works of art created in the potbanks were put on some of the wealthiest tables in the world, but they were made by some of the poorest people.
“There’s so many places and people that I could have included, but I ran out of space. Thankfully we have another window so I’d definitely love to do something similar in the other one.
“It’d be great to take on a big iconic Stoke-on-trent building and do this for all of the windows. It was a challenge because I had to do everything backwards from the inside, but I enjoyed it and I’m so happy with how it turned out.”