Doulton Bone

Sights Of Stoke

Located in Staffordshire, Stoke was once a federation consisting of six towns, namely, Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall. Officially known as Stoke on Trent, the city occupies a rectangular area stretching 19 kms and encompassing 93 square kms.

Stoke is popularly referred to as The Potteries, particularly since it has always been the seat of the UK’s pottery industry. Through it’s 6 original cities, the region became known as a solitary, unified city in early part of the twentieth century. A host of service industries and other businesses have joined the pottery industry to form a thriving commercial hub.

Most of Stoke’s main attractions relate to its rich past, particularly with regard to its many galleries and museums.

There’s the Etruria Industrial Museum, the UK’s last remaining steam-powered potters mill, which also boasts of an interactive exhibit that’s a hit among families as well as a souvenir shop and tearoom On Entruria’s premises, visitors will find Jesse Shirley’s Bone and Flint Mill, which was recognized in 1975 as an ancient monument. The mill’s boiler, which dates back to 1903, operates in full steam at least seven times every year for the benefit of tourists.

The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery houses a world famous ceramics collection at its Elizabethan Ford Green Hall, which was built as a farmhouse in 1624. Today, the hall is considered as the city’s lone surviving timber-framed farmer’s house. On its grounds, visitors will discover a lush nature reserve that includes all types of flora, fauna and wildlife.

Located at the European Route of Industrial Heritage or ERIH in Longton, the Gladstone Pottery Museum displays impressive medium-size pottery representative of the once-flourishing pottery industry in North Staffordshire during the 17th century. The museum was officially inaugurated in 1974 after near-demolition in 1970, about 10 years since its ovens last went to work.

In Burslem, there’s the recently opened Ceramica museum located right in the heart of Stoke. Its interactive attractions such as Bizarreland, which includes the Time Team and the Magic Carpet provide great fun for the entire family by demonstrating how to turn clay into china. There are also impressive video shows on the art of ceramic-making from the perspective of leading manufacturers such as Royal Doulton, Moorcroft and Wade.

Looking for the oldest operational Victorian pottery in the world? That’s none other than Stoke’s own Burleigh Pottery, located in Middlesport. Built in 1851 as the Hulme and Booth, the pottery was acquired by William Leigh and Frederick Rathbone Burgess in 1862 and its name was changed to Burleigh, which combined the names of the new owners. It had been after that run by the heirs of those 2 men till 2000, whenever it was purchased by the Dorling family. The pottery now operates as Burgess Dorling & Leigh and is famous for its high-quality domestic earthenware.

The Chatterley Whitfield colliery in Stoke is another key attraction. Provided its standing as an Ancient Monument, the colliery is comparable along with Stonehenge within importance. Built during the early part of the 19th century, Chatterley Whitfield was the first of the 22 collieries in Staffordshire to produce over a million tons a year. Unfortunately, with the increase is oil imports following the end of World War II, the coal industry was adversely affected and Chatterley Whitfield’s production was reduced to less than half. The colliery was previously transformed into a museum, which closed in 1991 due to mismanagement. There are current plans to have the museum refurbished and reopened.

Located at the city’s southern fringes, the Trentham Gardens are Italianate gardens that were once attached to a house once owned by the Duke of Sutherland. The duke had the house demolished in 1911 but the gardens remained and now stretch to 300 acres or 1.2 square kms. Messrs. Capability Brown and Henry Holland designed the serpentine landscape architecture in 1758. Sir Charles Barry built the Italianate gardens during the 1840s. In 1931, the Trentham Ballroom was also built to stage musical shows, but it closed in 2002. The Trentham Gardens benefitted from a £100 million refurbishment that was finalized in 2005.

Located just out of the city, the Alton Towers theme park is nonetheless an impressive attraction that visitors to Stoke should not miss. It is one of the most popular attractions in the entire UK and is commonly mistaken to belong to Stoke on Trent. This theme park is home to two hotels and a host of famous rides such as Nemesis, the first inverted roller coaster in Europe, and Oblivion, the first vertical drop roller coaster in the world.

Princess Diana visits Royal Doulton factory

Royal Albert Old Country Roses 5-Piece Place Setting, Service for 1 $45.00 Rich with roses in full bloom, the Royal Albert Old Country Roses dinnerware is ideal for elegant gatherings and romantic occasions. Crafted from Montrose bone china, each piece features a white background bordered with clusters of roses in deep pink, light pink, and soft yellow. Detailed leaves and subtle backdrops in green add handsomely contrasting color. The plates feature attractively fluted …

Royal Albert Old Country Roses Boxed Cup and Saucer $19.95 Designed in 1962 by Harold Holdcroft, Royal Albert’s Old Country Roses has become one of the most popular china patterns in the company’s century-long history. The sumptuous design is enhanced by the pieces’ sophisticated shape, graceful floral ornamentation, and rich feminine colors, with a style and elegance that are uniquely English. The crisp whiteness of the tea cup and saucer gracefully sho…

Royal Albert 100 Years of Royal Albert Teacups and Saucers, Set of 5, 1950-1990 $129.99 As it embarks on a new century of fine china design, Royal Albert honors the artistic achievements of the one it has so faithfully chronicled with this stunning 100 Years of Royal Albert tribute collection. Employing classic shapes and delicate floral motifs, the 10-part series, which includes teaware, figurines, and brooches, recalls major British historical events and style trends from each deca…

Lure Of The Dragon Collectible Plate by Myles Pinkney from The Franklin Mint Heirloom Recommendation Royal Dalton Limited Edition Fine Bone China Plate Number RA24100 Sorcerer’s Spell Collectible Plate by Myles Pinkney from The Franklin Mint Heirloom Recommendation Royal Dalton Limited Edition Fine Bone China Plate Number RA2645 Adorned With A Genuine Austrian Crystal And Is Bordered And Individually Hand-Numbered In 24 Karat Gold…

Collectible Cups and Saucers: Identification and Values (Book 3, Collectible Cups and Saucers) $8.20 Book III in Jim & Susan Harran’s series is all-new, with no repeats from their first two books. Over 1,000 color photographs are included this time, and the book concentrates on cups and saucers that are readily available to collectors. An expanded section on cabinet cups and saucers is provided, and some of the categories from books I and II are again covered: late nineteenth and twentieth centur…

Royal Adderley Floral Collector’s Book No. 2 Royal Adderley Floral Collector’s Book No. 2. 1977 fourteen-page paperback booklet/pamphlet published by Royal Doulton Tableware Limited. Printed in England….

Hobbies: The Magazine for Collector’s, September 1976: Royal Doulton Bone China Figurines on Front Cover …