Arthur Berry, who has been called Stoke-on-Trent’s Poet Laureate and the Potteries’ Lowry, was an artist, author, playwright and poet. In this video, he shares his unique and sometimes controversial views about the people he painted and wrote about. Use our Comments section to share your memories of Arthur.
Month: Jul 2025
Aerial Views of Longton’s Architectural Heritage
This aerial view of Longton showcases its distinctive industrial landscape and rich architectural heritage. How many buildings and places featured in this video do you recognize? If you live or work in Longton, please use the Comments section below to share your memories with us. Let us know about your family and friends, the schools you went to, the games you played and your hobbies. Tell us about your first job and your working life.
Longton’s Architectural Heritage will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.
Pop-up exhibition to celebrate Arthur Berry’s life and work
Appetite has organised an open-air pop-up exhibition to celebrate the life of Arthur Berry.
Berry was a playwright, poet and painter. The exhibition explores his life and the impact he had on art and culture in the Potteries.
The exhibition opens in the City Centre on August 4th. It runs there until September 14th. Then it moves to Newcastle-under-Lyme. It reopens there on September 20th and runs until October 1st.
For the Love of Stoke – an exhibition of Donald Morris’s photographs
For the Love of Stoke is an exhibition of Donald Morris’s photographs of the Potteries at the Spode Museum
Taken in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Donald’s photographs capture the atmosphere and character of Stoke-on-Trent as it was. His pictures show us a way of life that no longer exists. They record a cityscape that has undergone dramatic changes over the years.
Factories and canals, bottle ovens and gas lamps, corner shops and public houses were included in his comprehensive photographic survey.
Admission Free. Open from 10:00 to 16:00. Contact the Museum for more details
Art Exhibition Celebrates City’s Centenary
“A Century of Us” is an art exhibition that celebrates Stoke-on-Trent’s Centenary.
“A Century of US”, an exhibition at the Potteries Centre, runs until Tuesday, September 30. It showcases work by local artists and honours Stoke-on-Trent’s rich heritage. The exhibition features original 2D and 3D artwork, including paintings, drawings, photographs, textiles, ceramics, and sculptures, linked to the Potteries.
Amy Whittaker, The Potteries Centre’s Director, said: “This exhibition is a celebration of our city’s centenary. We’re excited to showcase the talent of local artists while honouring the history, culture and people that have shaped Stoke-on-Trent over the past 100 years.”
Admission Free. The exhibition is open from 10:00 to 17:00.
Paint your own centenary mug
Go to Middleport Pottery on the 23rd or the 29th of July and paint your own Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Mug.
When you have finished painting your mug, leave it at the pottery. It will fire your mug in its kiln, and you can collect it when it has been fired.
This is a free activity suitable for people aged 16 and above. Pre-booking required. For more details, contact Middleport Pottery.
Goldenhill in the 1790s
A Description of the Country From Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester, a book published in 1795, was compiled by Dr John Aikin. The book tells us about Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire’s pottery towns and villages in the 1790s.
This edited extract from the book describes Goldenhill as it was in the 1790s.
One would imagine from its name that Goldenhill is a large, splendid place. But names can be deceptive. In fact, Goldenhill is the smallest village in the Potteries.
Nonetheless, the valuable coal mines, which gave the village its name, make ample amends for its deficiencies.
At the upper [North] end of the village is Green Lane, which commands an extensive view of the surrounding areas. On one side of the lane, the Cheshire Plain can be seen with the Welsh Hills in the distance. On the other side, there is the best view of the Potteries and the countryside beyond it.
Old Filmstrip Shown at the Town Hall
The filmstrip ‘The Township of Tunstall’, last seen in the 1990s, was shown again last Saturday in Tunstall Town Hall.
Made by Highgate School in 1960, the filmstrip depicts life in the town during the 19th century and features images of historic buildings that have been demolished. Members of the audience were introduced to Anglo-Saxon Tunstall and told about the lives of Sir Smith Child and John Nash Peake.
North Staffordshire Heritage 