The Creative Industry 25/9 Vase

At the height of the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent it is estimated that there were up to 4,000 bottle kilns being fired. Moorcroft’s 1913 factory originally had one large bottle kiln, with a further two erected in 1916 and 1919, together with two smaller bottle kilns for lustre and flambe firing built in the latter part of the decade.

With the introduction of the Clean Air Act in 1956, the smoky, coal fired kilns ceased being used as pottery factories started to use gas and electricity instead. By the 1950s the number of bottle kilns in the skyline had been drastically reduced to around 2,000 and by 1958 more smoke was coming from domestic fires in the City than from the 438 bottle kilns that remained in use.

Today, Moorcroft’s Grade II listed 1919 bottle kiln stands proudly above our working factory, though it is now the lone survivor. It is hard to imagine now what life was like in Stoke-on-Trent when 4,000 bottle kilns were in use, but designer Kerry Goodwin takes us back in time to the City’s industrial past with her new design, The Creative Industry. In every direction, the skyline of the City undulated with bottle kilns. Rows of terrace houses for the factory workers backed on to them, and Stoke-on-Trent became world famous for this unique, industrial structure that Kerry celebrates in this limited-edition vase. The designer’s clever use of celadon coloured clay helps to recreate the atmosphere of the past bygone age.

Today, only 47 bottle kilns remain. Sadly, some of the them in an ill state of repair. On the 29th August 1978, a traditional Potteries bottle oven was kindled and fired for the very last time and each year, on this anniversary, we celebrate the creation of these historical monuments to those that went before us, making Stoke-on-Trent the home of Britain’s creative industry.

Ex Tax: £604.17

• Designer: Kerry Goodwin
• Dimensions: H 22.50 x W 14.00 x D 14.00 cm
• Availability: Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery