Visit to Middleport Pottery

We are staying put today and walking down to Middleport Pottery which has been restored and is now a working museum.

Centenary Showroom

Centenary Showroom

Saggar Maker

We set off along the canal and got off at Bridge 126 and walked up the road and down another road and an another and eventually came to Middleport Pottery, but as usual we had walked the long way around! If we had walked down the towpath to Bridge 124 that would have been a lot quicker.  Middleport Pottery is home of the world-famous Burleigh Pottery. 

Middleport Pottery

They now charge £3 to have a look around and so we started off in the General Office and the Directors Office where five generations of the Leigh family managed the company.  We also went in the Designers Room and saw the work of the designers and modellers who worked for Burgess and Leigh from the 1890s to the 1980s.  They also have a showroom that was fitted out in 1951 to celebrate the centenary of the company.  It displays a collection of pottery made between 1851 to 2000.  While we were looking around here, one of the volunteer guides came and chatted to us then offered to show us around the rest of the site so we had our own guide! 

Saggar Makers Bottom Knocker!

 

Cod Placers

Our guide took us into the Bottle Oven and Placing House, which was great as we have seen them from the outside and now we have been inside where we learnt about the Saggars.  Saggars used to hold and protect the pottery during kiln-firing.  Producing the Saggars was a skilled job but making the bases was less skilled and this was done by the Saggar Makers Bottom Knocker who makes the bottom of the saggar by putting clay in a metal hoop and literally knocking it into shape.

Inside the Kiln

Inside the Kiln

There was also placers who would seal the saggars and carry them on their heads to the kilns and each weighed about 56 lbs (25k) and stacked in bungs 12 or 13 high.  The Cod Placer supervised the work.    After the firing when the kilns had cooled down, usually 48 hours but sometimes after 24 hours  the kilns were still hot, but the Drawers were sent in to the kilns to bring out the Saggars. These men wore about 5 layers of clothing and wet cloths on their heads and had to bring them out using their arms.  The life expectancy of these men was low, most of them did not live after about 40 years old.  They also used children to go in the kilns when they were cold and pick up the bits of pottery to be recycled, they were called Thimble Pickers.

Mould Store

Coronation Chair

 We went them to the Mould Store where there was thousands of original moulds from many years ago.

We also saw the steam engine which used to power the whole factory, it has been restored and now runs on electric, but they are hoping to get it to run on steam again.

Steam Engine

Bottle Kiln we went in

We really enjoyed our tour and the chap who took us around was very informative and made our tour for us.

There is also a seconds shop and some other independent potters selling their wares, some of it was beautiful but not the sort of stuff you have on a boat unfortunately!

 

We had a drink in the café then had another walk around as it was raining really hard.  It stopped for a bit then started again so we had another drink in the café, then the sun came out so that was our window to leave and we headed back along the towpath to our boat and got back in the dry.

Me in kiln ready for firing!

Sign at Entance

It is a fascinating place and well worth a visit and we saw lots of cameras while we were there and apparently they were filming the next series of The Great Pottery Throw Down so you never know we may be in one of the shots!

Bridge 104, Barlaston to Westport Lake (Trent & Mersey Canal)

Wednesday 3rd August

We are travelling over seven miles and 6 locks today, so we got up early and left by 8.15am, goodness what is happening, not used to this!

Passing cows having a swim

In Trentham Lock

We left the cows in the water by our mooring and chugged on along the canal to Trentham Lock.  All the locks today are deep ones so not my favourite.  We were soon through there and on along the canal to Stoke on Trent.  We passed the Britannia Stadium, now actually called Bet 365, home of Stoke City Football Club, the hallowed ground and we bowed as we went by, our friend Dave is a staunch Stoke City Supporter.  

In the Deep Stoke Bottom Lock

In lock with train going by

Two bottle kilns by canal

On we went and then we came to the Stoke Flight of locks, 5 in total and worked our way up them. The bottom lock is particularly deep but there was a boat in front of us and some coming down so plenty of people around to help.  We worked our way up the flight and just before the last two locks is Etruscan Bone & Flint Mill, a Victorian steam-powered potter’s miller’s works, built in 1857 and which ground bone, flint and stone for the pottery industry until closure in 1972.  It has now been restored as a museum.

Etruscan Bone & Flint Mill

In Stoke Top Lock

Bottle Kiln at Middleport Pottery

Middleport Pottery

Black Swan at Westport Lake

The last two locks had volunteers so we were soon through there and stopped at the top to get rid of rubbish and empty the elsan then on our way again along the canal and past Middleport Pottery and soon after that we were at Westport Lake where we moored up. Would you believe it, it had been dry all the time we were chugging along and just as we were mooring up, we had a sharp shower then the sun came out.  I then decided I want to move up the moorings to a sunnier spot which Kev had said was best in the beginning so we moved the boat up and we had another sharp shower and then the sun came out again.

Westport Lake

We chilled out for a bit then we went for a walk around the lake and had a coffee in the café which overlooks the lake, we sat outside it was blowing a hoolie but nice all the same.  Bill turned up and moored behind us, he left Al at Barlaston, apparently he is coming on here tomorrow.

We then walked over the bridge and up the hill onto the main road to the Aldi to get a few supplies then back to the boat.

We are staying here tomorrow as well as we are going to walk back down the towpath to Middleport Pottery which has a museum and visitor centre and café and should be really interesting so looking forward to that.

Moored at Westport Lake

Stone to Bridge 104, Barlaston (Trent & Mersey Canal)

Tuesday 2nd August

Hanley Shopping Centre

We stayed put today as the weather forecast was not too clever and we caught the bus to Hanley Shopping Centre, Stoke on Trent.  The bus stop was just up the road from the canal, about a five minute walk.  We had a walk around the shops then found a Bon Pan Asian Buffet Restaurant in the shopping centre and thought we would give it a go for lunch as it was really busy and we were glad we did, it was excellent and at a good price £7.99 each.  The quality of the food was really good, probably the best buffet we have had in a long time, unfortunately the service was not up too much as when you go in, you pay there but the two at the desk didn't really speak to us and the chap that showed us to our table didn't ask us if we had been before or tell us what to do, he just sat us at our table and left us,but that aside it was great. 

Suitably full, we had another walk around the shops then got the bus back.  We are off tomorrow.

Monday 1st August

Tiled Seat in Stone by Canal

In Star Lock

Statue of Christina by Bridge

Passing Old Brewery in Stone

We are on the move today and we have 8 locks to do so we set off fairly early and stopped at the water point then into the Star lock by the pub of the same name.  There was a boat in front so I had to empty the lock first.  We were soon through there and onto the next one.  The boat in front was a hire boat and he insisted on getting the boat as near to the lock entrance as he could then got it stuck!  Eventually he went into the lock and I went up to help.  The girl started to wind up the paddles but the bottom gate flew open so I ran to shut it, then the other flew open, she started to come down as well but I told her to stay up that end and when I got the gates closed to open the paddle a bit to shut the gates. She wacked it open and then went to do the same with the gate paddle so I did mention that you should wait a bit before doing the gate paddle as they are very fierce but I don’t think she was very interested! 

Into another lock we go

Soon it was our turn and we stopped at the services to get rid of rubbish, etc, then into the next lock. There was a steady flow of boats coming down so that made life easy.

Working up the Meaford Flight

We chugged on along the canal and soon we were at the Meaford flight of locks, four of them, we didn’t take too long to get through the flight and then that was our locks done for the day.

 

Our friends saying Hello

We were soon at Barlaston and went past The Plume of Feathers pub which is apparently now owed by Neil Morrissey and chugged on a bit before we moored in a nice open spot before Bridge 104.  There were young cows in the field opposite and they all came down to the water’s edge to say hello.

Trentham Shopping Village

We saw on Google that there was a Trentham Estate not too far away with Trentham Gardens and a shopping centre so we set off to find it.  We walked up the road and shortly came to a golf course which said there was a public path running through it, diagonally across it but we couldn’t really see it and there were a lot of golfers about so we walked around the edge and eventually came to the club house and got out on the road. The reason there was a lot of golfers was there was a European Tournament on.

Trentham Estate Sign

We walked down the road to the roundabout and then we came to the Shopping Village.  It was really good, lots of shops in Wooden Lodges. There was a deli/Farm Shop called Brown & Green which was fantastic but we restrained ourselves from buying much as our fridge is full at the moment but we did buy some Cheshire Gin called Hunters so we will look forward to trying that.

Pieminster Shop

We had a good look around and there was a also a Pieminster shop and café (Ian you would have loved it, not only could you buy the pies to take away but you could sit in the café and eat them there).

Brown & Green Deli

There was also a garden centre there and as we all know how much Kev loves garden centres!  We went in for a look and I have to say that it was the biggest garden centre I have ever been in, it was huge and there was even a sort of Roman temple in the middle with a trough of water running through the store.

We then began the 2 mile trudge back to the boat.  We walked the road this time just to be sure we weren’t hit by flying golf balls.  We got back to the boat and chilled out.  We also found a house just up from the canal selling free range eggs, £1.70 a dozen so we got some of them.  The walk was not far short of 4 miles so I just flaked out for the rest of the evening, but it was a good walk.

We are now staying here for a couple of days.

Moored at Bridge 104, Barlaston