Stoke-on-Trent

Book excerpt: Stoke-on-Trent was the name given to the amalgamation of six famous Potteries towns, the other five being Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton and Tunstall. This book deals with the entire City, illustrating its wide variety of industries and the way of life of the people in the past. The world-wide reputation of Stoke was secured by the products of the pottery manufacturers. The innovations of men like Josiah Wedgwood, Josiah Spode and the Adams family - who had been making pots since the 15th century - built up a world-beating industry. The author vividly records much of the characteristic Potteries scene, of bottle-kilns, pit-heads and workers' cottages; and of the workers themselves, as they earned their living or enjoyed their recreations. Arnold Bennett, the City's literary giant, would have loved this book.