Fenton is one of the six towns which form the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Located in the south-eastern area of the city, Fenton is often referred to as 'The Forgotten Town', because it was omitted by local author, Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), from one of his most famous novels, 'Anna of the Five Towns' (1902). Fenton was a small farming economy until it was overtaken by coal mining in the 17th century. Coal was used to fuel the growth of industry in other towns.
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| Fenton - Lane Delph Photo: unknown source Date: 1937 |
Bottle ovens still standing? Page down or click here>
BOTTLE OVENS LONG SINCE GONE
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| Conway Pottery Updraught stack bottle ovens in Park Lane Photo taken from Plaza Cinema Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: October 1970 |
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| Conway Pottery Acrylic on canvas 48x48cms by Terry Woolliscroft https://www.artfromtw.com/ |
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| Conway Pottery Updraught stack bottle ovens in Park Lane Photo: source unknown Date: unknown |
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| Salopian Works Morley Fox and Co Ltd. Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: 1976 |
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| Rubian Art Pottery, St Matthews Street Photo source: unknown Date: unknown This was originally the site of the Lane Delph Pottery dating from the 1780s, becoming the Rubian Works in 1906 and then part of Grimwades from around 1913. The works were demolished in the 1960s and the land developed as bungalows and sheltered housing. |
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| Grimwades, Heron Cross Source: Courtesy Gladstone Pottery Museum Collection Date: Unknown |
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BOTTLE OVENS and KILNS STILL STANDING, WITH THEIR CHIMNEYS
Heron Cross Pottery, Chilton Street, ST4 3AU
[20a] Location* : what3words.com/equal.modes.taped
Updraught skeleton bottle oven. Only the chimney stack and supporting skeleton structure of this bottle oven remains.
Originally 4 bottle ovens stood on this site but now only one remains - an updraught skeleton bottle oven - hovel/chimney only. The space inside the hovel is now occupied by a more modern 'frit' kiln. The firing chamber probably had 9 firemouths, but a possible 11 (difficult to tell without more detailed inspection Dec 2019)
Fountain Works, James Kent, Fountain Street, ST4 2HB
[19a,b,c] Location* : what3words.com/looks.fats.offer
Three flint calcining kilns.
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| Heron Cross Pottery, Chilton Street, ST4 3AU Hovel only, no firing chamber Photo: Courtesy of Philip Shallcross Collection Date: Feb 2019 |
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| Heron Cross Pottery, Chilton Street, Heron Cross Hovel only, no firing chamber Photo: Courtesy of Philip Shallcross Collection Date: April 2019 |
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| Heron Cross Pottery, Chilton Street, Heron Cross Three stories high building. Hovel only, no firing chamber Photo: Courtesy Staffordshire Past Track here> Date: 1976 |
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| Heron Cross Pottery Looking up inside the empty hovel Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Aug 2019 |
Heron Cross Pottery was established by the Hines Brothers in 1876. They specialised in porcelain and 'ivory ware' which was produced there until just before World War II when it was requisitioned by the government to store bully beef (pickled/canned meat like corned beef) and land mines. In 1961, the business was acquired by Frank William Ridge, and it has been owned by his family ever since.
Lowered Roof line
In the early 1980s Colin Ridge set about renovating the part of the building which enclosed the bottle oven chimney (the hovel). Some of the wooden A-frames which supported the roof were in a bad state of repair, in fact much of the building was almost derelict. Colin decided to remove the top floor of the building and re-roof it at a lower level. The renovation was finished in 1987. Special planning permission had to be sought from the local authority before the changes to the building height could be made. (Many thanks to Phil Crow for highlighting this information)
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| Announcement in the local newspaper The Evening Sentinel, 19 December 1986 |
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| The lowered roofline clearly visible - different shades of brickwork on the hovel Image courtesy of Phil Crow ABIPP ARPS Date: July 2023 |
Fountain Works, James Kent, Fountain Street, ST4 2HB
[19a,b,c] Location* : what3words.com/looks.fats.offer
Three flint calcining kilns.
James Kent - specialists in manufacturing technical glass powders, bespoke preparations and ceramic pigments.
The three flint calcining kilns on the site are known locally as "Salt, Pepper and Vinegar." Built about 1900. One pair is of free-standing kilns with square bases and the other one is slightly taller with a totally conical hovel.
This potters' mill, known as Bakers Mill, was established by at least 1829.
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The Potteries Preservation Trust helped restore the brickwork of these kilns in 2003 when £350,000 was spent on the restoration. Funds were secured for the restoring the ovens and seven others in the Potteries from the UK's National Lottery Heritage Fund and Staffordshire Environmental Fund.
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| James Kent (Ceramic Materials) Ltd Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: 1975 |
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| James Kent Calcining Kilns Image: courtesy The Sentinel Date: 25 Jan 2003 (Click on image to enlarge it enough to read it) |
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| James Kent calcining kilns restoration plaque Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Sept 2018 |
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| James Kent Calcining Kilns Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Sept 2018 |
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| James Kent Calcining Kilns Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Sept 2018 |
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| James Kent Calcining Kilns Photo: Courtesy of Philip Shallcross Collection Date: March 2019 |
2020 James Kent Ceramic Materials, Fenton - Flint Calcining Kilns
A background to the site’s history and current use and a tour of the kilns.
The Potteries Heritage Society and Heritage Action Zone created this short video with volunteers especially for Potteries Bottle Oven Day, 29th August 2020.
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Fenton bottle ovens excavation October 2020
Approx location* : what3words.com/poems.tree.trade A5077 City Road
During October 2020 officials from the Stoke-on-Trent City Archaeology Service excavated the site of bottle ovens just off City Road in Fenton. The site was soon to be developed for housing.
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| City Road bottle ovens excavation Photo: Phil Rowley Collection Date: October 2020 |
The site was occupied in the mid-to-late 1700s by William Greatbatch, who was a significant potter at the time and had a well-documented business relationship with Josiah Wedgwood. However, Greatbatch was declared bankrupt in 1782 and had left the site by the following year.
The next documented occupants were Bourne, Baker and Bourne, who acquired the site in the late 1820s and had another factory on the opposite side of the road. The Baker family is credited with having single-handedly ‘built’ Fenton and the Baker and Bourne families owned more than 100 houses and the Roebuck Inn between them at this time.
By 1878 the factory had become an encaustic tileworks, but by around 1884 the firm of Thomas Forester, Son & Co. was manufacturing china and earthenware from the works. The factory is identified as the ‘Sutherland Pottery’ on the 1900 Ordnance Survey map and was held by Hulme & Christie at this point, who were earthenware manufacturers.
Between 1924 and 1937, the factory again shifted to tile production and by 1960, it was occupied by the Ceramic Tile and Pottery Company. The works had closed by the late 1970s.
Text and photographs courtesy of Phil Rowley. Thank you Phil.
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| City Road bottle ovens excavation Photo: Phil Rowley Collection Date: October 2020 |
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| City Road bottle ovens excavation Photo: Phil Rowley Collection Date: October 2020 |
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| City Road bottle ovens excavation Photo: Phil Rowley Collection Date: October 2020 |