Potteries Bottle Oven Day - Every August 29th
The date in 1978 when a Potteries bottle oven
was kindled and fired for the last time
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was kindled and fired for the last time
On 29th August 1978 a traditional Potteries bottle oven was kindled and fired for the very last time. The event was organised by the 19 staff and 72 volunteers of Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, and hit the national headlines in print and broadcast media. It was a proud day for the Potteries and was described as 'its biggest cultural event of the 20th century'.
The bottle oven chosen for the final firing was at the Hudson & Middleton works in Normacot Road, Longton. The bottle oven still stands today.
The firing was an outstanding success. The resulting pottery was fired to perfection. The glazed surface was lustrous and bright. The pottery and saggars used in the firing were sold to raise much needed funds to help preserve the bottle ovens at Gladstone Pottery Museum which, today, is a multi-award-winning tourist attraction in the region.
What happened in 1978?
Eight display panels detailing what happened were created for the 40th Anniversary of the firing. The pic below shows what the first two looked like.
Download the full set as a pdf file here >
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