No not “anarchy in the U.K.“, but ceramics in the United Kingdom is the subject of this blog. But this immortal number of the Sex Pistols was the first thing that flashed through my head when I was thinking about a title of this piece. And not only the music from England is unique.
British ceramics have their own sound, unique like the punk from the eighties, but in earthenware, stoneware or porcelain. It is also the place where Bernard Leach released his “a potters book” in the fourties. Kingdom where Wedgwood completely innovated crockery in design and production from the 18th century. Island where bone china was invented, the Toby jug and the “Great Pottery Throw Down“.
If you don’t have blood but clay slip flowing through your veins, then you want to go there. But where do you have to go to experience this?
Ceramics in England
England has a very rich ceramic tradition. In her book Ceramics Museums of Europe, Alexandera Copeland has made a beautiful overview of the ceramics sights on this island. The booklet is a bit outdated (1999), but with help from Google I was able to make the following updated list:
- Aberystwyth
- Bath
- Derby
- London
- St Ives
- Stoke-on-trent
- Telfort
- Worcester
England is proud of its heritage and not in the least of its ceramics. Not only refined porcelain tableware, but also contemporary stoneware, historic tiles and toilet pots. Ceramics in the United Kingdom not only have a long tradition, it is in high artistic regard.
Ceramics in the United Kingdom
The connoisseurs among you will already have noticed , under Stoke-On-Trent I haven’t listed museums and galleries. Rest assured, I haven’t forgotten. Stoke-On-Trent is the heart of the ceramics industry in the United Kingdom. From the 17th century earthenware, stoneware and porcelain are produced on a large scale; not only for domestic demand, but also for exports to the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The English call this area, in the county of Staffordshire, affectionately “the Potteries“. In the factories there was no anarchy, but strict hierarchy and division of labour. The Industrial Revolution propelled here with full steam-power the production process of the ceramics in a completely new direction.
It is no coincidence that in the country where the Industrial Revolution arose, the Art and Craft movement also developed. In the last half of the 19th century, a movement arose against this industrialized process. The principal representative of this movement was the designer William Morris. In the 20th century in particular Bernard Leach has given this movement a voice in the ceramics.
Continued in Stoke-On-Trent
This summer we wanted to immerse ourselves in another part of the ceramics history; the industrial development. Where better than in Stoke-On-Trent. The “Potteries” located in the “Midlands” in the middle of the rural green hills of England. This is the ideal destination for the inquisitive ceramist.
It is also a beautiful natural place to cycle (left!) and set up your tent. In short, we wanted to go there. More about this in the next blog…
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