AROUND BRITAIN The Potteries
The Potteries in North Staffordshire is an industrial area originally made up of six towns – Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall. Today, these six towns form distinct districts of modern Stoke-on-Trent.
The ceramic industry flourished here during the Industrial Revolution. As the six towns grew, fuelled by coal mining and aided by the opening of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777, hundreds of the distinctive bottle kiln chimneys were built. According to the website the potteries.org, it is calculated that in its heyday there were around 4,000 bottle kilns in the area, although the Clean Air Act of 1956 “sounded the death knell for the smoky, coal-fired oven”. Now just 47 remain – all of which are listed buildings. Although the industry is no longer the dominant force it once was, the renowned ceramic companies Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Portmeirion remain at the heart of the city, while museums and shops give a sense of its historic importance.
If you’re just starting your research, but are ready to move on from civil registration, there’s Findmypast’s vast Staffordshire Collection – a growing database of searchable transcripts and images covering Anglican parish registers up to 1900. This includes all of Stoke-on-Trent and parishes now within Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.
On the ground, the county is served by Staffordshire Record Office in Stafford, Lichfield Record Office and the Stoke-on-Trent City Archives ( STCA), based on the third floor of the central library at Bethesda Street, Hanley. Here, researchers can use computers, microfilm and microfiche machines, and enjoy free access to the aforementioned Findmypast collections (and Ancestry too). Although if you do intend to sample any microform or physical documents, city archivist Chris Latimer advises phoning ahead.
“I think the best tip for first-time visitors is always to ring in advance. It will make your visit more efficient if you already know what you want to find,” he says.
The city archive service runs the archives as well as the local studies and pottery library. The archival collections stay closely within the boundaries of modern Stoke, with the usual mix of records from companies, individuals, churches, charities and official organisations.
Meanwhile, the library aims to provide comprehensive coverage of North Staffordshire. “So even if there isn’t a specific archive resource available we will have something to offer most visitors,” says Chris. “We also have local newspapers on microfilm, with the earliest dating back to 1795.”
Unsurprisingly, STCA holds significant material relating to the industry which earned Stoke its worldwide reputation. This includes the archive of Royal Doulton and Minton, which were bought by the Art Fund and presented to the city for safekeeping. “It is a fantastically rich resource of art and design,” says Chris.
The archive also has the Spode Museum Trust’s archive
The Clean Air Act of 1956 “sounded the death knell for the smoky coal-fired oven”
of the Spode factory, as well as material from many of the less famous factories and their supporting businesses – firms that made the colours, ground the bone and flint, designed the transfers, and more.
“From a family history point of view, it is frustrating that few factories kept records which give details of employees,” he says. “In an era in which payment was in cash and there were no pensions or no income tax on low wages, companies had little incentive to either create or preserve detailed lists.
“The employee records of the Wedgwood company of Etruria, now at the Wedgwood Museum in Barlaston, are exceptional, but for many others it is almost by accident that we have anything.”
There are several volunteer indexing projects ongoing, all working to improve access to material across Staffordshire.