42-598: Stoke-upon-Trent , also known as Stoke , is one of the six towns that along with Hanley , Burslem , Fenton , Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent , in Staffordshire , England. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1874. In 1910 the six towns federated to become the County Borough of Stoke-on-Trent and later the City of Stoke-on-Trent . Since federation in 1910 it has been
84-428: A stoneware that came closer to porcelain than any previously, and introduced his "Stone-China" in 1813. It was light in body, greyish-white and gritty where it was not glazed and approached translucence in the early wares. Spode pattern books, which record about 75,000 patterns, survive from about 1800. In Spode's similar "Felspar porcelain", introduced on the market in 1821, felspar was an ingredient, substituted for
126-656: A bluish glaze) as well as a range of stonewares including black basalt, caneware, and jasper which had been popularised by Josiah Wedgwood . The history and products of the Spode factory have inspired generations of historians and collectors, and a useful interactive online exhibition was launched in October 2010. Josiah Spode I is credited with the introduction of underglaze blue transfer printing on earthenware in 1783–84. The Worcester and Caughley factories had commenced transfer printing underglaze and over glaze on porcelain in
168-530: A brilliant perfection. When Spode employed the skilled engraver Thomas Lucas and printer James Richard, both of the Caughley factory, in 1783 he was able to introduce high quality blue printed earthenware to the market. Thomas Minton , another Caughley-trained engraver, also supplied copper plates to Spode until he opened his own factory in Stoke-on-Trent in 1796. This method involved the engraving of
210-409: A design on a copper plate, which was then printed onto gummed tissue. The colour paste was worked into the cut areas of the copper plate and wiped from the uncut surfaces, and then printed by passing through rollers. These designs, including edge-patterns which had to be manipulated in sections, were cut out using scissors and applied to the biscuit-fired ware (using a white fabric), itself prepared with
252-446: A gum solution. The tissue was then floated off in water, leaving the pattern adhering to the plate. This was then dipped in the glaze and returned to the kiln for the glost firing . Blue underglaze transfer became a standard feature of Staffordshire pottery. Spode also used on-glaze transfers for other wares. The well-known Spode blue-and-white dinner services with engraved sporting scenes and Italian views were developed under Josiah Spode
294-465: A library and one-stop shop has also been added to the site. In the 19th century, Stoke had a thriving pottery industry, hence its nickname, "The Potteries". Since the last half of the 20th century, however, almost all of the bottle-shaped kilns have been taken down, due to regulations from the Clean Air Act – an estimated 4,000 bottle kilns in the heyday of the pottery industry, today reduced to
336-406: A mere 46. Successful Stoke-upon-Trent potters include Spode , Copeland , Minton and Biltons. Although Stoke is surpassed by its neighbouring town, Hanley in terms of size, population, and shops, it does have: Outlying townships or districts within the bounds of Stoke-upon-Trent include Boothen, Hartshill , Mount Pleasant, Penkhull and Trent Vale . Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley
378-468: A week. The pit was closed in 1962 but much of the headgear and spoilheaps were left in situ. Then, in the 1980s, the original site was cleared, landscaped and converted into Central Forest Park . Coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the 1842 General Strike and associated Pottery Riots . The College Road drill hall was completed in 1903. The 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival led to
420-517: Is credited with developing, around 1790, the formula for bone china. Josiah Spode's son, Josiah Spode II, successfully marketed bone china. In 2008, the Copeland Spode company went through some financial troubles. It was taken over in 2009 by Portmeirion Group , a pottery and homewares company based in Stoke-on-Trent. Many items in Spode's Blue Italian and Woodland ranges are made at Portmeirion Group's factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Josiah Spode
462-442: Is known to have worked for potter Thomas Whieldon from the age of 16 until he was 21. He then worked in a number of partnerships until he went into business for himself, renting a small potworks in Stoke-on-Trent in 1767; in 1776 he completed the purchase of what became the Spode factory until 2008. His early products comprised earthenwares such as creamware (a fine cream-coloured earthenware) and pearlware (a fine earthenware with
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#1732772214161504-451: Is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem , Longton , Fenton , Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent , amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire , England. The town is the main business, commercial and cultural hub of the wider Potteries area. The name Hanley comes from either "haer lea", meaning "high meadow ", or "heah lea" meaning "rock meadow". Hanley
546-409: Is that this was where the new town's administration was sited, which in turn was because Stoke had the main transport links. The river, canal, mainline railway, and trunk road passed through the centre of Stoke. Stoke also had the main railway station (other towns were connected by the "loop" line) making the name of Stoke perhaps the most familiar outside the area. It made sense to name the city after
588-509: The Bow porcelain factory , Chelsea porcelain factory , Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby factories had, before Spode, established a proportion of about 40–45 per cent calcined bone in the formula as standard, it was Spode who first abandoned the practice of calcining the bone with some of the other ingredients, and used a mix of bone ash , china stone and kaolin , which remains the basic recipe of bone china. The traditional bone china recipe
630-541: The Cornish stone in his standard bone china body, giving rise to his slightly misleading name "Felspar porcelain", to what is in fact an extremely refined stoneware comparable to the rival "Mason's ironstone", produced by Josiah II's nephew, Charles James Mason, and patented in 1813 Spode's "Felspar porcelain" continued into the Copeland & Garrett phase of the company (1833–1847). Armorial services were provided for
672-647: The Honourable East India Company , 1823, and the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths , c 1824. Some of the ware employed underglaze blue and iron red with touches of gilding in imitation of " Imari porcelain " that had been introduced on Spode's bone china in the first decade of the century: the most familiar "Tobacco-leaf pattern" (2061) continued to be made by Spode's successors, William Taylor Copeland , and then "W.T. Copeland & Sons, late Spode". Messrs Spode were succeeded in
714-669: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (a large ceramics collection, and restored Spitfire ), the Victoria Hall , the Regent Theatre, BBC Radio Stoke 's studios are based in the town. Christian churches and chapels in Hanley include: Spode Spode is an English brand of pottery and homewares produced in Stoke-on-Trent , England. Spode was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1770, and
756-588: The Sèvres manufactory , in his Traité des Arts Céramiques , and by M. L. Solon hailed as a revolutionary improvement. Many examples of the elder Spode's productions were destroyed in a fire at Alexandra Palace , London in 1873, where they were included in an exhibition of nearly five thousand specimens of English pottery and porcelain. The business was carried on through his sons at Stoke until April 1833. Spode's London retail shop in Portugal Street went by
798-719: The day, as well as Now/Next above the entrance to each bay. Access to the station is controlled by automatic doors, at both the pedestrian entrance and coach bays. The new bus station links Hanley with towns in North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton , Crewe , Shrewsbury , and Stafford . Most services are run by First Potteries , though there are a number of smaller independent operators, such as D&G Bus , and Arriva Midlands . In addition, National Express Coaches connect Hanley with destinations including London, Birmingham , Liverpool and Manchester , with additional seasonal services to holiday destinations. As part of
840-409: The early 1750s, and from 1756 overglaze printing was also applied to earthenware and stoneware. The processes for underglaze and overglaze decoration were very different. Overglaze "bat printing" on earthenware was a fairly straightforward process, and designs in a range of colours including black, red and lilac were produced. Underglaze "hot-press" printing was limited to the colours that would withstand
882-462: The lord mayor's parlour combined with all the facilities of the King's Hall for the city's formal entertainment. Stoke has held markets in various locations in the town since 1818. A market was set up within the newly built town hall in the 1830s, but this did not prove popular with the market traders of the time and in 1845 the market moved to Hide Street (the building can still be seen today). In 1883
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#1732772214161924-525: The market relocated to a larger purpose-built building fronting Church Street 'befitting its town status'. This Victorian market was all but destroyed by a fire that started on FA Cup final day (22 May 1982). Only the clock tower, entrance arch, fish section and shop frontage was saved. The current market in South Wolfe Street was opened in 1984. The former market site with its clock tower was block paved for use as an outdoor trading/event space, and
966-520: The name of Spode, Son, and Copeland. Among the many surviving Spode documents are two shape books dated to about 1820 which contain thumbnail sketches of bone china objects with instructions to throwers and turners about size requirements. One copy is in the Joseph Downes collection at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Delaware, United States. After some early trials Spode perfected
1008-425: The oldest and most commonly recognised name, even though it was not then the most significant town from a commercial perspective. (The commercial centre was Hanley, elevated and therefore relatively free, for most of the year, of the city's smog and smoke.) Owing to the confusion between the town of Stoke and the larger city, there have been various calls, mainly amongst business leaders and academics, to rename either
1050-627: The promoters of the canal were pottery magnates. In the 19th century, the railways, too, came along the valley. The mainline Stoke-on-Trent railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) on 9 October 1848, replacing the temporary station sited at Whieldon Road which was constructed for the opening of the first NSR line on 17 April 1848. Travellers to the region would change trains at Stoke for local trains to their ticketed destination. The assembly hall, ballroom, exhibition hall and theatre built in 1910–11 at
1092-503: The reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre area – including the former Shelton steelworks , which had been derelict since 1978. When the Garden Festival closed, the land remained derelict for some time, before being re-developed partly into public parkland and partly for retail and leisure. In 2013, a new bus station opened in Hanley. This replaced the former bus station, on Lichfield Street. The new bus station
1134-578: The redevelopment of the town and wider city, a new bus interchange was opened on John Street in March 2013, allowing the current station to be demolished to make room for further redevelopment of the town. Hanley no longer has a railway station but there was once one located on Trinity Street, on the Potteries Loop Line , which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway for passengers on 13 July 1864. The station survived for 100 years – it
1176-413: The same business in c. 1833 by Copeland and Garrett, who often used the name Spode in their marks. In particular these are called 'Late Spode' and include productions of the so-called 'Felspar porcelain'. They also produced other kinds of bone china, earthenware, parian , etc. The partnership continued in this form until 1847. After 1847 the business continued until 1970 as W.T. Copeland and sons, and again
1218-418: The seat of the city's council, although the city centre is regarded as being in nearby Hanley. On 1 April 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent . By 1925 the area was granted city status . Confusion can arise over the similarity of this town's name to that of the larger city. If the new borough had to be named after one of the original towns, the main reason for using "Stoke"
1260-405: The subsequent glaze firing, and a rich blue was the predominant colour. To adapt the process from the production of small porcelain teaware to larger earthenware dinnerware required the creation of more flexible paper to transmit the designs from the engraved copper plate to the biscuit earthenware body, and the development of a glaze recipe that brought the colour of the black-blue cobalt print to
1302-643: The term 'Spode' or 'Late Spode' continued in use alongside the name of Copeland. Under the name 'Spode Ltd' the same factories and business were continued after 1970. In 2006, the business merged with Royal Worcester . The merged company entered administration on 6 November 2008. The brand names Royal Worcester and Spode, the intellectual property and some of the stock were acquired by Portmeirion Group on 23 April 2009. The purchase did not include Royal Worcester or Spode manufacturing facilities. Many items in Spode's Blue Italian and Woodland ranges are now made at Portmeirion Group's factory in Stoke-on-Trent. In 2012,
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1344-447: The time of the federation to the design of T. Wallis and J. A. Bowater, and with an impressive 19-bay dressed stone frontage on Kingsway behind the town hall. It has proved itself to be a useful adjunct to the town hall of 1834–50. This was built on Glebe Street, opposite the parish church to the design of Henry Ward. The entire Town Hall–King's Hall complex serves the city of Stoke-on-Trent well as its chief administrative offices, including
1386-608: The town or the larger city. Proposals for the renamed town include Old Stoke and Stoke Town. There are also proposals to rename part of Hanley to Stoke-on-Trent City Centre. Stoke was located where the upper reaches of the Trent meets the Fowlea Brook . The later Roman road through Stoke remained the basis for local road transport long after the Roman occupation. The Anglian name given to this ancient place of meeting and worship
1428-460: The younger, but continued to be reproduced into much later times. During the 18th century, many English potters were striving and competing to discover the secret of the production of porcelain. The Plymouth and Bristol factories, and (from 1782 to 1810) the New Hall (Staffordshire) factory under Richard Champion's patent, were producing hard paste similar to Oriental porcelain. The technique
1470-548: Was closed in 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe , and the land is now a car park. The nearest railway station is in Stoke-on-Trent , 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south-southwest of Hanley bus station. Hanley is connected to the waterways network; it meets the Trent and Mersey Canal at Festival Park , it is also connected to the east of the country via the Cauldon Canal . Hanley has several cultural facilities such as
1512-412: Was developed by adding calcined bone to this glassy frit , for example in the productions of Bow porcelain and Chelsea porcelain , and this was carried on from at least the 1750s onwards. Soapstone porcelains further added steatite , known as French chalk, for instance at Worcester and Caughley factories. The bone porcelains, especially those of Spode, Minton , Davenport and Coalport . Although
1554-481: Was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888 . It was based at Hanley Town Hall . In 1910, along with Burslem , Tunstall , Fenton , Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent it was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status
1596-504: Was responsible for perfecting two important techniques that were crucial to the worldwide success of the English pottery industry in the 19th century: transfer printing on earthenware and bone china . Spode perfected the technique for transfer printing in underglaze blue on fine earthenware in 1783–1784 – a development that led to the launch in 1816 of Spode's Blue Italian range, which has remained in production ever since. The company
1638-473: Was six parts bone-ash, four parts china stone and 3.5 parts kaolin. Josiah Spode I effectively finalised the formula, and appears to have been doing so between 1789 and 1793. It remained an industrial secret for some time. The importance of his innovations has been disputed, being played down by Arthur Church in his English Porcelain , estimated practically by William Burton, and being very highly esteemed by Spode's contemporary Alexandre Brongniart , director of
1680-556: Was the 'stoc' (meeting place) on the Trent. It was the site of the first church in the area, built of wood around the year 670 by missionaries from Lindisfarne , later rebuilt in stone, and now known as Stoke Minster . A significant small town grew up around this church. In the 18th century, the "Grand Trunk" canal came along the Trent valley to carry china clay from Cornwall cheaply to the Potteries (and pottery safely away). Many of
1722-484: Was the first stage in the regeneration project which will see the previous bus station demolished, and replaced with a new centre consisting of shops, restaurants and a cinema. The new bus station is bigger than its predecessor, and has seen various routes in and out of the city changed to accommodate its location. The bus station features a sheltered waiting area, Spar shop, cafe and toilets, is covered by CCTV, and has digital timetables showing information on travel times for
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1764-476: Was transferred to the enlarged borough. In 1925, following the granting of city status, it became one of the six towns that constitute the City of Stoke-on-Trent. At one time, there were many coal mines in North Staffordshire. Hanley Deep Pit was opened in 1854. It was the deepest pit in the North Staffordshire coalfield, reaching a depth of 1500 feet. At its peak in the 1930s it employed some 2,000 men and boys often producing 9,000 long tons (9,100 tonnes) of coal
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