How to find potters in your family history

In Made in Great Britain, the team discovers Stoke-on-Trent's ceramics history. Nell Darby picks the best online resources to find your potter ancestors.

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On BBC Two's Made in Great Britain, the team of craftworkers travel to Stoke-on-Trent to discover the town's pottery heritage.

The centre of the British pottery industry has long been in the Stoke-on-Trent area.

Creamware was developed by John Astbury in the 1720s. The 18th century saw several iconic pottery companies form. Josiah Wedgwood founded his company in 1759, Spode in 1770, and Mintons in the 1790s.

When the railways enabled better distribution of pottery in the 1840s, the industry rapidly grew. The six towns that make up Stoke today remain known as The Potteries.

Here are three online resources that will help you explore the topic further:

A-Z of Stoke-on-Trent Potters

Stokeontrentpotters

A useful webpage detailing all known potters in the Stoke area, including their pottery marks and the factories they worked in.

The Wedgwood Museum

wedgoodmuseum

Find out more about workers employed by Josiah Wedgwood and life in the purpose-built Etruria Village - as well the holdings of the Wedgwood Museum, which include a photograph of most 19th century workers at the company.

Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums Blog

Museums_image

A fascinating account of how pottery could have been made by several generations of a family, and how different items were used.

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