Category: Heritage and Culture

Stoke-on-Trent’s Remaining Bottle Ovens

About half of Stoke-on-Trent’s remaining bottle ovens are featured in this short video.

A bottle oven or bottle kiln was a type of kiln used in the ceramic industry. For many years, Stoke-on-Trent’s bottle ovens and kilns symbolised our industrial heritage.

Some were built in the late 18th century. Many were built in the 19th century and a few in the 20th. They remind us that Stoke-on-Trent was once the centre of the world’s pottery industry.

Only 47 bottle ovens are left. They are all listed buildings. Longton has more than any town in the Potteries. Stoke-on-Trent’s remaining bottle ovens will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.

New Grant Programme for Museums

The National Archives is launching a new national grant programme for libraries and museums.

The programme, called the ‘Spaces, Places and Belonging’ Community Hub, is being funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

It will support inclusive, community-led research projects throughout the United Kingdom. There will be three grant schemes.

They are: Skills Bursaries, Seed Corn Grants and Project Grants (for more details, click the names of the grants)

Applications for Seed Corn Grants and Skills Bursaries open on Monday, 15 September 2025.

A webinar to launch the grants is taking place on Wednesday, 17 September 2025.

To be part of the webinar, follow this link to Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spaces-places-and-belonging-community-hub-launch-webinar-tickets-1524899849499

How to apply for a grant of between £10,00 and £250,000 for your heritage project

Does your organization want to apply for a grant of between £10,000 and £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund? If you have an idea for a heritage project, this video tells you how to apply for Heritage Lottery Funding.

For more information, please visit The National Heritage Fund’s website at https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/fundi…

Two Film Shows at the Brampton Museum

Two Film Shows at the Brampton Museum in September, telling the story of North Staffordshire’s Pottery and Textile Industries.

There are two film shows at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Brampton Museum in September.

The first film, The Pottery Industry – 20th Century to Today, will be shown on Sunday, 14 September at 2.00 pm. Admission Free.

The second film, Leek and the Story of Silk Twisting, will be shown on Thursday, 18 September at 2.30 pm. Admission £5. The film marks the start of an autumn programme called Textile Take Over at the Brampton Museum. The programme will include exhibitions, talks and events relating to North Staffordshire’s textile industry.

Biddulph Grange

One of the wonders of Victorian England, Biddulph Grange Garden is unique. The garden, created by James Bateman, is a major tourist attraction. It will help to make North Staffordshire’s Industrial Landscape a World Heritage Site.

Claybody Theatre to Stay at Spode Works

Stoke-on-Trent’s Claybody Theatre is going to stay at The Dipping House on the historic Spode Works site in Stoke-upon-Trent’s town centre.

The theatre has taken a 15-year lease on The Dipping House, which has been its home since 2023. Deborah McAndrew, the theatre’s co-artistic director, said:

We absolutely delighted to have secured the future of the Dipping House.

The Dipping House has proven to be a great space for us and we have already welcomed thousands of visitors who have come to watch our performances and participate in workshops and other events.

In going forward we will continue to collaborate with the City Council to develop the venue for theatre, arts and community events right in the heart of this incredible and historic site at Spode Works.

Researching Members of Your Family Who Served in the Armed Forces

The Staffordshire History Centre in Stafford has a collection of military records, personal letters, photographs and regimental histories. If your ancestor served in the armed forces, the centre could help you to trace them.

Military Family History

Friday NewsDesk

Friday NewsDesk is a new regular weekly post that will tell you about North Staffordshire Heritage’s activities.

Worldwide interest has been shown in Chatterley Whitfield’s future. The creation of a circular heritage tourist trail linking Burslem, Ford Green Hall, Chatterley Whitfield and Biddulph Grange with Mow Cop and Kidsgrove.

North Staffordshire Heritage is continuing to research Mercia and its legal system. This is a long-term project, which is expected to last for eight or nine months.

Our new series of posts about the Township of Tunstall starts in September, and we will give you more details at the end of August.

We hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Take care and stay safe. We’ll see you again on Tuesday.

Image of Biddulph Grange Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)

Can You Help Give Leek’s Nicholson Institute a New Image?

Leek’s Nicholson Institute is looking for people who live in the Staffordshire Moorlands to help shape its future.

If you are enthusiastic about local museums, heritage and culture, this is your chance to help make the Nicholson Museum more vibrant and inclusive.

Since May 2025, volunteers have been meeting to explore how the museum can be given a new image.

Four subgroups have been formed. These are Visitor Experience & Museum Operations, Content Development & Programming, Fundraising & Income Generation and Marketing & Audience Development.

New subgroups are being created to focus on education and the museum shop.

More volunteers are needed to join all these subgroups.

The Big Feast 2025

The Big Feast is NOT a Food Festival. It’s a weekend of amazing arts, curious culture and outdoor spectacle. Visitors to the Feast will see some of the UK’s best artists performing on Hanley’s streets. The two-day event takes place in Hanley/City centre on Friday 22 and Saturday 23rd August.