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Things you probably didn't know about Stoke-on-Trent

Six towns, one industry: the pottery of the world.

  1. 1759 — fact 1 of 4

    Wedgwood set up shop here

    Josiah Wedgwood founded his pottery in 1759 and turned Staffordshire clay into a global luxury brand.

  2. Fact 2 of 4

    The Potteries

    Stoke is a federation of six towns — including Burslem, Hanley and Stoke — that together made most of the world’s ceramics.

  3. Fact 3 of 4

    Bottle ovens once defined the skyline

    Dozens of coal-fired bottle kilns remain; at the industry’s peak there were thousands, smoking day and night.

  4. 1974 — fact 4 of 4

    Robbie Williams was born here

    The singer grew up in Stoke-on-Trent (Tunstall/Burslem) before Take That made him famous.

    See what 1974 was like →

Our Stoke-on-Trent collection is part of a growing local-history library — more cities and facts are being added.

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