Movies

MAU'ING THE SAGGAR, a film by Gerald Mee - 1981

The process of saggar making by the late Ralph Wheeldon - one of the four last saggar makers in the Potteries working at the Gladstone Pottery in Longton during the making of the film in 1981.

SAGGAR MAKING with KEVIN MILLWARD - 2015

Published on 28 Apr 2015 - film by Valentine Clays.

Saggar making with Kevin Millward at Gladstone Pottery Museum's 40th Birthday celebrations. Kevin used Valentine Clays ES 180 (Sculpting/Pizza Body) when making the saggars. 

The Classic BBC Interlude - Potter's Wheel  -  16 February 1953

This was probably the best known of the interlude films made for the post-war television service. The films were made to cover for the intervals in programming, to allow for changes between studios, or for the frequent studio breakdowns. The potter's wheel film showed the hands of Georges Aubertin as he threw a pot.  Aubertin never finished a pot, but just kept remodelling it.

Maralyn Guy demonstrating on BBC's Generation Game in 1978

The late and much loved Marayln Guy was a demonstrator at Gladstone Pottery Museum from the very early days. Her infectious enthusiasm for the museum and the pottery industry inspired many. Here she is demonstrating the skills required to line a teacup and saucer - the challenge for contestants in the Generation Game. Many thanks go to Phil Rowley, long serving volunteer at the museum, for this movie and its link to YouTube.

A Bottle Kiln - Ade In Britain - 2014

Ade Edmondson speaks about the famous bottle kilns of the potteries.

Published on 17 Oct 2014.

Please note the error in this commentary. There were not 4000 ovens in The Potteries. At their peak, in the 1930s, there were about 2000.  

Stats here> https://bottleoven.blogspot.com/p/how-many.html

A History of The Potteries - Part Two - Gladstone Pottery Museum 2012 by Sammy Bell - 2012

A local history enthusiast visits Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, Stoke on Trent, to get a better understanding of the jobs, the people and the processes that powered the world famous North Staffordshire ceramics industry in its heyday.
Published on 5 Sep 2012

The Gladstone Pottery Museum by JuergensTV - 2012

"The Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Historic landmark for industrial manufacturing fine china & porcelain in the UK. You can follow the process of production & hand painting porcelain & china. With the background of kaolin, water, salt & wood and cheap labour costs in this area of SOT porcelain was produced in different mass production manufacturing companies." Published on 4 Oct 2012

Hometown by British Pathé - Stoke - 1959

The Potteries, Gone but Not Forgotten. Hanley and the Six Towns - 1964

Documentary -  When the swinging 60s hit Stoke its teenagers began to dance the twist and, on the surface at least, the city was thriving in the modern era. But this ATV documentary shows how the six towns that came together fifty years earlier to form Stoke on Trent, are still proud of their separate identities. With this historical backdrop Stoke is trying to modernise and move forward with Hanley as its new civic centre.

Pottery, British Pathe - 1970 1979

Flower Making at Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton by Phil Rowley - 2013

Rita Floyd making flowers, in clay, for visitors. Movies by Phil Rowley, one of Gladstone Pottery Museum's dedicated and long-serving volunteers.

The Potteries Festival of Bottle Ovens - Opening day 1st August 2018

The Festival of Bottle Ovens 2018 at Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. The Festival was opened on 1st August 2018 by Councillor Lillian Dodd, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent. Here is a fabulous little movie of the event by renowned local film maker Ray Johnson.

The Last Bottle Oven Firing 1978 - The film of the event and A Talk by the Fireman, Alfred Clough

click on the YouTube link to see the film

In August 1978 a group of elderly, retired, men together with a massive team of volunteers and staff from Gladstone Pottery Museum, fired the The Last Bottle Oven in Stoke-on-Trent. This was the last firing, ever, of a traditional coal fired oven, in the traditional and time-honoured way. It took place at Hudson and Middleton Works, in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. The mastermind behind the project was David Sekers, Museum Director at the time.  The Fireman responsible for the event was Alfred Clough, the local master potter and retired pottery manufacturer.

In October 1978, Alfred Clough presented a talk about the event to the British Ceramic Society. An audio record was made of the talk. This has remained dormant for almost 40 years. But now it has been edited, and together with still images of the Last Bottle Oven Firing, a 20 minute movie has been created.

David Malkin talks about Gladstone Pottery Museum

Gladstone Working Pottery Museum grew out of an old disused and unloved potbank in Longton, Stoke -on-Trent. In this movie David Malkin, one of the team of very special people with great foresight who established the museum, talks about his life in the tile industry, how the museum was launched and how the Tile Gallery was created in 2001. The Tile Gallery of 2001 replaced the original gallery of 1975 which used to be in the room above.  The movie also shows an interview with David Sekers, the museum's first director. (David Malkin died in the summer of 2018)

Fabulous Flusher - The Unitas by Twyfords 1883

               

  Movie Links  

2011 The Manchester Association of Engineers visit Gladstone Pottery Museum
http://www.mae.uk.com/Gladstone%20Video.wmv

1971 ATV Today: Report from Stoke

ATV Today: Report from Stoke on preservation of kilns. Sue Jay talks to the Director of Spode, Robert Copeland and Councillor Colin Prosser about hopes to preserve the kilns and turn them into a working industrial museum. (First 30 seconds are silent)
http://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-15031971-report-stoke-preservation-kilns