1970 Gladstone Works goes up For Sale
In May 1970 the derelict Gladstone Works, which was then owned by the local pottery manufacturer Hostess Tableware Ltd., was put up for sale. Hostess engaged an estate agent for advice. |
| The rear of Gladstone Works c1970 Photo by Sid Meir, courtesy Ian Mood |
The entire site was made available "for redevelopment" at £12,500. According to measuringworth.com the relative value of this in 2018, using the percentage increase in the Retail Price Index, was £173,000.
A group of foresighted individuals had been considering the purchase of a traditional potbank in order to establish a museum of the pottery industry and when the Gladstone site became available they jumped at the opportunity. An outline plan for its purchase and development was prepared and sent to Stoke-on-Trent City Council for comments. Unfortunately, at that time there was no real feeling for preserving the past and the project stalled.
Much work had gone into the planning but after twelve months the owners of the site needed a definite proposal and issued a deadline. If the works had not been purchased by the end of March 1971 then the site would be bulldozed and sold as a plot of land.
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| Derelict Gladstone Works The biscuit oven and yard Photo: source unknown Date: 1971 |
Below is the story of the rescue of Gladstone Works as told by the Municipal Correspondent of the local newspaper.
March 6th 1971 - Campaign to save city pottery
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| Courtesy The Evening Sentinel 6th March 1971 |
Full text of the Sentinel article:
Mr. Colin Prosser, 29-years-old city councillor, to-day launched an emergency campaign to beat the bulldozers which threaten the picturesque 19th century Gladstone Pottery at Longton. Backing a proposal to turn it into a national centre for the history of pottery manufacture, he lambasted the City Council, local industrialists and officials for "dilly-dallying until it is almost too late". The pottery will be demolished in a month's time unless Mr. Prosser can prod the City Council and Whitehall into action, says our Municipal Correspondent.
Trust Between £75,000 and £100,000 [£1.3m in 2018] is needed for the project, and Mr. Prosser wants to see a trust established to help finance the venture. Gladstone is a complete potbank possessing what the City Architect, Mr. J. W Plant has described as a magnificent grouping of bottle kilns - the last in the city. He envisaged it being turned into a working industrial museum, used as a major cultural and educational facility, in a report which he presented officially more than 12 months ago.
Mr. Prosser began his last-ditch fight by calling an emergency meeting of the council's Professional Consultancy Group on Environmental Improvement, of which he is the Chairman. He is hoping the Group, an advisory body, will call on the Secretary of the Environment, Mr. Peter Walker, to step in and back the battle by authorising an historic buildings order.
"This will give us breathing space," he said. ''The situation is extremely urgent if we are to beat the bulldozers. I have been in touch with the Ministry, and they sound most helpful."
Heritage Criticising the delay since the council received the City Architect's initial report, Mr. Prosser hit out; 'There has been a general dilly-dallying by the administrators and the council. This is typical Town Hall bureaucracy. It is scandalous. It seems that people just don't want to know. If this pottery is demolished it will go down in the city's history as an act of folly without precedence."
Mr. Prosser said he was disappointed by the reaction of the pottery manufacturers: ''I would have expected more from an industry to which this city owes its heritage" He summed up: ''This project is not merely to preserve an old relic. It is to turn an historic potbank into a live museum which could attract 100,000 visitors a year. We must not let this golden opportunity slip."
Mr. Arnold Mountford, Director of the City Museum, said preservation of both the Gladstone Pottery and the adjoining Rosslyn Pottery had been considered. ''this is part of our heritage," he said. "I feel sad that it is threatened with demolition."
Turned down Mr, Derick Turner, Secretary of the British Pottery Manufacturers Federation, told me: 'We have only just been approached about the matter. It will go before our Finance Committee in a fortnight, but I am extremely doubtful about the prospects. We have turned down similar proposals in the past."
A spokesman for Hostess Tableware, the concern owning the Gladstone, said, ''Our attitude is that if we get a reasonable offer we will sell to anyone wishing to buy it. But if we do not, we shall reluctantly have to take our valuers' advice, demolish the place and sell the site for redevelopment. We are sympathetic towards this project but we are running a public company and we have to consider our shareholders interests." He added, "these negotiations with the corporation have been going on for 12 months. Now there is less than month to go''.
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| Relics of an historic era in the pottery industry, these graceful old bottle kilns at the Gladstone Pottery will be demolished unless a last-ditch fight to preserve them as part of a museum succeeds. Courtesy The Evening Sentinel 6th March 1971 |
March 15th 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) https://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-15031971-report-stoke-preservation-kilns |
| Screen Shot - ATV Today: Report from Stoke Sue Jay, Robert Copeland, Colin Prosser 3 minutes (first 30 secs silent) Date: 15 March 1971 https://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-15031971-report-stoke-preservation-kilns |
March 24th 1971 - Trust abandon fight to save kilns
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| Courtesy The Evening Sentinel 24th March 1971 |
Full text of the Sentinel article:
Prospects of bulldozers ripping through the "finest group of bottle kilns left in Stoke-on-Trent" - the 19th century Gladstone potbank at Longton came nearer to-day. Hopes of establishing a trust to finance the old factory as a working industrial museum have been abandoned, says our Municipal Correspondent.
Mr. Robert Copeland, who has been working behind the scenes to save the works, told me "My optimism has evaporated. Unless someone comes along who is prepared to devote his whole time to the project, this is the end." Mr. Copeland, a director of Spode, and Chairman of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust, said the trust members had decided they could not at this stage extend their obligations to the Gladstone, despite their enthusiasm.
A considerable sum was involved. It was not merely a question of the capital, but of providing for a curator, living quarters and maintenance and running of the mill. Mr. Copeland pointed out that if the City Council had endeavoured to get people interested when they first became aware of the Gladstone's potential as a working museum, 12 months ago, there would have been time to have taken more positive action.
Bitter pill
That the corporation had remained inactive for so long was "a bitter pill to swallow." He said: "I think the City Council have treated the whole of this business in an off-hand manner. It has left rather a bad odour." Mr. Copeland added, however, that he hoped there was still the possibility of preserving another old-type pottery.
Mr. Arnold Mountford, Director of the City Museum and Art Gallery, who is also a member of the Cheddleton Trust, said: The financial bogy has beaten us. There is definitely a need for a Working Pottery Museum, and I am sorry the proposal has fallen through".
News that financial backing had fallen through was a disappointment for Mr. Colin Prosser, Chairman of the City Council-constituted Environmental Studies Group, who made a last-minute personal effort to persuade the council to help financially. ''Gladstone was the best but there are other old potteries worth saving," he said. A further meeting of the Group would be held to consider the position, Mr. Prosser added. Meanwhile, Hostess Tableware, owners of Gladstone, said the site was on offer for redevelopment for £12,500. A spokesman said the whole matter is now out of their hands and in those of our estate agent.
Full text of the Sentinel article:
A dramatic eleventh-hour reprieve for Longton's 19th Century Gladstone potbank was announced to-day. The Gladstone, officially regarded as ''the finest group of bottle kilns in Stoke-on-Trent," has been saved from the demolition man's hammer by a demolition expert.
Mr Graham Rathbone 31-years-old head of Rathbone (Steeplejacks) Ltd., has demolition expert has stepped in with an offer to restore the kilns and provide a watchdog patrol to prevent further vandalism. And an anonymous sympathiser is willing to provide an interest-free loan to cover the cost of buying the site - about £12,000 - to preserve the potbank as a live industrial museum. The reprieve has gladdened the hearts of two men who have fought to save the Gladstone from the bulldozers.
Fantastic
Shortly after we decided to separate the organising of the Museum from fundraising, and I resigned as a trustee and became Director of the Gladstone Pottery Development Trust. Our initial target was to raise £100,000 and which was soon raised to £250,000. Derek said that when we reached this figure he would give the deeds of Gladstone to the Preservation Trust.
Our next task was to advertise for a director who would be responsible for planning and running the Museum. Of the many applicants interviewed the most outstanding was David Sekers who was not only a ceramic enthusiast but also very interested in industrial archaeology. The progress he made working on our basic plan was astonishing and the Museum opened for a trial period during the 1974 August Bank Holiday. Our first visitors were children representing many schools in the district. Their obvious enjoyment and interest assured us that we were creating a very useful additional attraction to North Staffordshire.
David Malkin, written 2015
Mr. Arnold Mountford, Director of the City Museum and Art Gallery, who is also a member of the Cheddleton Trust, said: The financial bogy has beaten us. There is definitely a need for a Working Pottery Museum, and I am sorry the proposal has fallen through".
News that financial backing had fallen through was a disappointment for Mr. Colin Prosser, Chairman of the City Council-constituted Environmental Studies Group, who made a last-minute personal effort to persuade the council to help financially. ''Gladstone was the best but there are other old potteries worth saving," he said. A further meeting of the Group would be held to consider the position, Mr. Prosser added. Meanwhile, Hostess Tableware, owners of Gladstone, said the site was on offer for redevelopment for £12,500. A spokesman said the whole matter is now out of their hands and in those of our estate agent.
March 25th 1971, Morning - Bottle Kilns Must Go
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| Courtesy The Guardian Morning newspaper - 25th March 1971 Many thanks go to Chris Wayman for finding this news article |
March 25th 1971, Evening - 11th Hour reprieve for 19thC potbank
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| Courtesy The Evening Sentinel Evening newspaper - 25th March 1971 |
Full text of the Sentinel article:
A dramatic eleventh-hour reprieve for Longton's 19th Century Gladstone potbank was announced to-day. The Gladstone, officially regarded as ''the finest group of bottle kilns in Stoke-on-Trent," has been saved from the demolition man's hammer by a demolition expert.
Mr Graham Rathbone 31-years-old head of Rathbone (Steeplejacks) Ltd., has demolition expert has stepped in with an offer to restore the kilns and provide a watchdog patrol to prevent further vandalism. And an anonymous sympathiser is willing to provide an interest-free loan to cover the cost of buying the site - about £12,000 - to preserve the potbank as a live industrial museum. The reprieve has gladdened the hearts of two men who have fought to save the Gladstone from the bulldozers.
Fantastic
Mr. Colin Prosser, the city councillor who unsuccessfully attempted to get Council backing. said: ''This last minute news is fantastic. These public-spirited men who have saved the situation financially will go down in the history of the Potteries as having the foresight to preserve something. of our heritage."
And Mr. Robert Copeland, a Spode Director and Chairman of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust, told our Municipal Correspondent: ''We had given up hope now the situation has changed completely. I have retained our option on the site, and we shall form a trust of people who are particularly keen on the project."
Mr. Copeland was visiting the Gladstone this afternoon with Mr. Rathbone and the man who he described as a ''financial uncle." Their reaction has been marvellous." he said. I want to thank the Sentinel for help in giving this matter such good coverage".
Mr. Rathbone, who has been in business on his own account for 10 years, said: "There is a certain magic about bottle kilns. I have helped to demolish hundreds, and it has always made me sad to, see them vanish in a cloud of smoke. They reflect the history of the Potteries; they are part of our heritage. If we do not grasp the opportunity, offered by the Gladstone, we may never get another potbank so fine a type to establish as a working museum." Mr. Rathbone hopes that when the Gladstone becomes a. museum it will be possible to fire a kiln as an annual ceremony.
Meanwhile, Longton Chamber of Trade have stepped into the battle with a call for public support. Mr. Ellis Bevan, the President, declared today; "If this place had been in Hanley instead of Longton. The City Council would have been all for it. Three or four weeks ago we were told that Stoke-on-Trent would become part of the Midlands circuit for tourists. Here is a wonderful opportunity to give visitors, including the Americans, an insight into the processes which helped make the Potteries." Mr. Bevan said the question of encouraging public support for the project had been placed on the agenda for the chamber's meeting next week. ''I am sure we can enlist the support of other Longton organisations," he added. "We are willing to give a hand to raise subscriptions."
Director of Spode Ltd., and Chairman of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust
Colin Prosser
City Councillor, Chairman of the City Council-constituted Environmental Studies Group
Graham Rathbone
Head of Rathbone (Steeplejacks) Ltd., offered to restore the kilns and provide a watchdog patrol to prevent further vandalism.
Derek Johnson
Chairman and Managing Director of H&R Johnson Richards Tiles offered £12,000 (anonymously) to purchase the site.
Also
David Malkin
Director of H&R Johnson Richards Tiles
Arnold Mountford
Director of the City Museum and Art Gallery and member of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust
Ellis Bevan
President, Longton Chamber of Trade
During the 1960s a group of enthusiasts, of which the late Robert Copeland was one, formed a Trust to save what is now known as the Cheddleton Flint Mill. At the same time they also considered restoring a complete Victorian pottery works. Of four that were possibilities the Gladstone Works [in Longton] was the most suitable. It had closed its doors in 1960.
In the event an outline plan was prepared and sent to Stoke-on-Trent City Council for comments. Unfortunately, at that time there was no real feeling for preserving the past and the idea was shelved.
Sometime during the early 1970s I was shown this plan. At the time, I was working with H&R Johnson Richards Tiles with whom my company Malkin Tiles had merged in 1968. My interest has always been with the history of the pottery industry and particularly ceramic tiles.
It so happened that in the spring of 1971 I was at the home of the late Derek Johnson, Chairman and Managing Director of Johnson Richards, and we were discussing the possibility of creating a tile museum at the factory. The local paper, the Evening Sentinel, had just been delivered with, I think, the headline ‘No hope of saving the Gladstone pottery, bulldozers arrive tomorrow’.
I think it was Derek who suggested that we might step in and save the building and perhaps turn it into a museum for all sections of our industry. We had no idea who owned it, but the late Christopher Campbell and I were sent to Longton to find out more about it and if the price was within a budget set by Mr Johnson, we were to make an offer for it. The price asked by the sellers was well within our budget: we stopped the bulldozers just in time.
We took Derek to see what he had bought and we were all appalled at the state of the buildings, although there were four magnificent bottle ovens in reasonable condition. We set about forming a trust with several well-known pottery manufacturers as members. We also needed a figurehead as chairman and I was asked to contact the late Lord Aberconway, at that time Chairman of English China Clays, a major supplier to our industry. He said he would take the chair for one year if we changed the title of our trust, which was the Staffordshire Pottery Industry Trust. He said that spells SPIT. So we changed its name to Staffordshire Pottery Industry Preservation Trust. Derek Johnson became Vice Chairman and I was one of the original trustees.
And Mr. Robert Copeland, a Spode Director and Chairman of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust, told our Municipal Correspondent: ''We had given up hope now the situation has changed completely. I have retained our option on the site, and we shall form a trust of people who are particularly keen on the project."
Mr. Copeland was visiting the Gladstone this afternoon with Mr. Rathbone and the man who he described as a ''financial uncle." Their reaction has been marvellous." he said. I want to thank the Sentinel for help in giving this matter such good coverage".
Mr. Rathbone, who has been in business on his own account for 10 years, said: "There is a certain magic about bottle kilns. I have helped to demolish hundreds, and it has always made me sad to, see them vanish in a cloud of smoke. They reflect the history of the Potteries; they are part of our heritage. If we do not grasp the opportunity, offered by the Gladstone, we may never get another potbank so fine a type to establish as a working museum." Mr. Rathbone hopes that when the Gladstone becomes a. museum it will be possible to fire a kiln as an annual ceremony.
Meanwhile, Longton Chamber of Trade have stepped into the battle with a call for public support. Mr. Ellis Bevan, the President, declared today; "If this place had been in Hanley instead of Longton. The City Council would have been all for it. Three or four weeks ago we were told that Stoke-on-Trent would become part of the Midlands circuit for tourists. Here is a wonderful opportunity to give visitors, including the Americans, an insight into the processes which helped make the Potteries." Mr. Bevan said the question of encouraging public support for the project had been placed on the agenda for the chamber's meeting next week. ''I am sure we can enlist the support of other Longton organisations," he added. "We are willing to give a hand to raise subscriptions."
March 26th 1971 - Old Gladstone works saved by anonymous gift
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| Courtesy The Evening Sentinel 26th March 1971 |
Full text of the Sentinel article:
Rescue of the 19th century Gladstone potbank at Longton to preserve as a working industrial museum has been finally assured by an anonymous gift of about £12,000. The windfall is on top of a promised £15,000 interest-free loan and another offer to restore the potbank's picturesque group of bottle kilns.
Mr. Robert Copeland, one of the campaigners to save the works from threatened demolition, said of the gift: 'It took my breath away. The manner in which the campaign has gained momentum in these last few days is very rewarding. Steps are now being taken to form an official trust, register it with the Charity Commissioners, and make preparations to restore the pottery."
The gift was announced at a meeting at the Gladstone yesterday attended by Mr. Copeland, Mr. Colin Prosser, who is Chairman of the city's Environmental Studies Group, and Mr. Arnold Mountford, Director of the City Museum.
Dumbfounded Mr. Prosser's reaction was "We were dumbfounded." And Mr. Mountford: 'It really floored us." All three stressed that although the financial situation had changed completely from a week ago, when the Gladstone seemed doomed, there would be need for voluntary work and public support of the trust when formed.
Mr. Copeland summed up: ''There is a lot of work to be done- probably it will take two years before the factory can be opened to the public. I am sure there are other people who are aware of the need to preserve something of the city's heritage who will be prepared to give a helping hand."
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| The crucial ''Save the Gladstone" conference at Longton's 19th century potbank yesterday. The group includes Mr. Robert Copeland, city councillor Mr. Colin Prosser, Mr. A. Mountford Director of the City Museum, and Mr. Graham Rathbone, who is willing to restore the bottle kilns. Courtesy The Evening Sentinel 26th March 1971 |
Key players in the rescue of Gladstone Works
Robert CopelandDirector of Spode Ltd., and Chairman of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust
Colin Prosser
City Councillor, Chairman of the City Council-constituted Environmental Studies Group
Graham Rathbone
Head of Rathbone (Steeplejacks) Ltd., offered to restore the kilns and provide a watchdog patrol to prevent further vandalism.
Derek Johnson
Chairman and Managing Director of H&R Johnson Richards Tiles offered £12,000 (anonymously) to purchase the site.
Also
David Malkin
Director of H&R Johnson Richards Tiles
Arnold Mountford
Director of the City Museum and Art Gallery and member of the Cheddleton Flint Mill Trust
Ellis Bevan
President, Longton Chamber of Trade
Approx. April/May 1971 - Handing over the Deeds
Derek Johnson, Chairman and Managing Director of H& R Johnson-Richards Tiles handing over the Gladstone Pottery deeds to Lord Poole, Chairman of the Staffordshire Pottery Industry Preservation Trust. This was a gift from H&R Johnson-Richards Tiles to the Trust. Others in the picture include Councillor J. Westwood, City of Stoke-on-Trent, Lord Aberconway (centre) and David Malkin, Trustee.
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| Handing over the deeds Photo: courtesy Gladstone Pottery Museum Date: unknown |
March 1971 - How Gladstone Museum became a reality
Personal recollections of David MalkinDuring the 1960s a group of enthusiasts, of which the late Robert Copeland was one, formed a Trust to save what is now known as the Cheddleton Flint Mill. At the same time they also considered restoring a complete Victorian pottery works. Of four that were possibilities the Gladstone Works [in Longton] was the most suitable. It had closed its doors in 1960.
In the event an outline plan was prepared and sent to Stoke-on-Trent City Council for comments. Unfortunately, at that time there was no real feeling for preserving the past and the idea was shelved.
Sometime during the early 1970s I was shown this plan. At the time, I was working with H&R Johnson Richards Tiles with whom my company Malkin Tiles had merged in 1968. My interest has always been with the history of the pottery industry and particularly ceramic tiles.
It so happened that in the spring of 1971 I was at the home of the late Derek Johnson, Chairman and Managing Director of Johnson Richards, and we were discussing the possibility of creating a tile museum at the factory. The local paper, the Evening Sentinel, had just been delivered with, I think, the headline ‘No hope of saving the Gladstone pottery, bulldozers arrive tomorrow’.
I think it was Derek who suggested that we might step in and save the building and perhaps turn it into a museum for all sections of our industry. We had no idea who owned it, but the late Christopher Campbell and I were sent to Longton to find out more about it and if the price was within a budget set by Mr Johnson, we were to make an offer for it. The price asked by the sellers was well within our budget: we stopped the bulldozers just in time.
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| The late Derek Johnson, Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson Richards Tiles. Photo: Brian and Maureen Colclough Collection Date: 24 April 1975 |
We took Derek to see what he had bought and we were all appalled at the state of the buildings, although there were four magnificent bottle ovens in reasonable condition. We set about forming a trust with several well-known pottery manufacturers as members. We also needed a figurehead as chairman and I was asked to contact the late Lord Aberconway, at that time Chairman of English China Clays, a major supplier to our industry. He said he would take the chair for one year if we changed the title of our trust, which was the Staffordshire Pottery Industry Trust. He said that spells SPIT. So we changed its name to Staffordshire Pottery Industry Preservation Trust. Derek Johnson became Vice Chairman and I was one of the original trustees.
Our next task was to advertise for a director who would be responsible for planning and running the Museum. Of the many applicants interviewed the most outstanding was David Sekers who was not only a ceramic enthusiast but also very interested in industrial archaeology. The progress he made working on our basic plan was astonishing and the Museum opened for a trial period during the 1974 August Bank Holiday. Our first visitors were children representing many schools in the district. Their obvious enjoyment and interest assured us that we were creating a very useful additional attraction to North Staffordshire.
David Malkin, written 2015
