Volunteers and Staff
Volunteers are a major part of the Gladstone Pottery Museum Story.
1971 Volunteer Engineering Group
They started it all and the group is still going strong (June 2022), albeit with reduced numbers.
Fred Greasley, Brian Colclough, Graham Cotton, Roy Burgess, Frank Underwood, Albert Degg, Paul Niblett, Arthur Maxfield, Peter Hambley.
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum Volunteer engineers work on the steam engine Photos: Arthur Maxfield |
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum - volunteer engineers Photos: Arthur Maxfield |
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum - volunteer engineers Photos: Arthur Maxfield |
1972 Work proceeds
Installing tongue and groove floor boards in the, then, brick gallery |
| Gladstone Pottery Museum volunteers Terry Woolliscroft standing/leaning Photo: Arthur Maxfield Date: 1972 |
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum volunteers Photo: Arthur Maxfield Date: 1972 |
1974 What's Next?
End of the preview season. What's next?
1977 Early Days
Staff and Vols have a 'bit of a do' |
| 1977 approx |
1992 Volunteer Veterans - special awards
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum Story Press cutting from The Sentinel 1993 |
1993 Long standing volunteers 'retire'
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| Gladstone Pottery Museum Story Press cutting from The Sentinel 1993 |
1995 Long service presentations to volunteers and staff
1998 Rare staff photograph
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| Photo courtesy of Hamish Wood Director 1996 - 2002 |
2016 Steam engine repairs
Engineering volunteers Paul Niblett, Fred Greasley and Brian Colclough working on the steam engine which requires essential maintenance.
2021 Rodney Hampson MA 1928-2021
Extracts from his obituary
"Local historians and ceramics enthusiasts from around the world are mourning the recent death of Rodney Hampson. A modest man, Rodney was enthusiastic in everything he did and in helping anyone in any way that he could."
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| Photo: Brian Colclough Collection Date: December 1978 |
"Rodney and his wife Eileen became members of the first volunteer group that was helping to establish the Gladstone factory as a museum. That was in the summer of 1971."
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| Eileen and Rodney Hampson Gladstone Pottery Museum 40th Anniverary Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: 2015 |
"Our district has lost a great ambassador of its history and its staple products." Full obituary here> Download the pdf file
1973 - 1978 David Sekers OBE
1978 - 1986 Dr. Francis Celoria
1986 - 1988 David Malkin
1988 - 1989 Morris Rushton
1989 - 1996 Malcolm Hawksworth
The City of Stoke-on-Trent took ownership of the museum site in 1989, and took over the management of the museum 1992/94. Following this, the manufacturing section was closed and John Gould (Works Manager) was redundant.
The Assistant Director of the city museum service, Ian Lawley, was directly involved in the negotiations with the museum trust and the transfer of Gladstone to the local authority. He had input into the day to day management and staffing appointments, as was the line manager for the Gladstone Manager, Malcolm Hawksworth, then Hamish Wood. Ian Lawley’s own line manager at Stoke-on-Trent city council was Peter Vigurs who was Director of Museums, Arts & Heritage, then later, Director of Leisure & Cultural Services.
June 1996 - April 2002 Hamish Wood
April 2002 - Nov 2007 Sally Coleman
2008 - April 2019 Angela Lee
April 2019 - April 2022 Alison Nicholls
2021 December - 50 years!
December 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the start of renovation of the Gladstone Pottery Museum. A team of volunteers started their work and three of the original 'engineering vols' carried on right through to 2021.
Staff
Museum Directors/Managers
1973 - 1978 David Sekers OBE
1978 - 1986 Dr. Francis Celoria
1986 - 1988 David Malkin
1988 - 1989 Morris Rushton
1989 - 1996 Malcolm Hawksworth
The City of Stoke-on-Trent took ownership of the museum site in 1989, and took over the management of the museum 1992/94. Following this, the manufacturing section was closed and John Gould (Works Manager) was redundant.
The Assistant Director of the city museum service, Ian Lawley, was directly involved in the negotiations with the museum trust and the transfer of Gladstone to the local authority. He had input into the day to day management and staffing appointments, as was the line manager for the Gladstone Manager, Malcolm Hawksworth, then Hamish Wood. Ian Lawley’s own line manager at Stoke-on-Trent city council was Peter Vigurs who was Director of Museums, Arts & Heritage, then later, Director of Leisure & Cultural Services.
June 1996 - April 2002 Hamish Wood
April 2002 - Nov 2007 Sally Coleman
2008 - April 2019 Angela Lee
April 2019 - April 2022 Alison Nicholls
Alison's role as Heritage Manager (Curator) was 'deleted' in January 2022 when Stoke-on-Trent city council decided to restructure the city's museums service. Alison together with all of her colleagues (except the tea room staff) were made redundant in the major shake up which caused great controversy in the museums world. By the end of April 2022 the staff changes had been completed.
April 2022 - Dec 2022
Following the restructure management of Gladstone came under the control of the city council department known as 'Lifecourse | Adult Social Care, Health Integration and Wellbeing'. The person responsible for the museum is Jean Milton | Museum & Gallery Manager who also manages the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. Her immediate superior is Alistair Fisher | Strategic Manager – Lifecourse | Adult Social Care, Health Integration and Wellbeing
Dec 2022 - April 2023
Jean Milton, Museum & Gallery Manager who also manages Gladstone Pottery Museum and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. Leaves of her own accord. No announcement of her successor, if any, has been spotted.
Further restructuring by Stoke-on-Trent in early 2023 meant that the remaining two ceramics curators based at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery were given notice of redundancy. Their roles, which included work at Gladstone, were terminated from April 2023. Stoke-on-Trent now left without any ceramics expertise.
Do let me know if you can spot any errors or can fill in any names or missing dates here> terry.woolliscroft [at] gmail.com