Beauty and Bursley

Beauty and Bursley Walkabout 2013

Burslem

A town, a township, a parish, and a subdistrict in the district of Wolstanton, and within the borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The town stands on the side of a hill, adjacent to the Grand Trunk canal and the North Stafford railway, 3 miles NNE of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Burslem

'The Mother Of The Potteries' or, 'The Mother Town', together with, Hanley, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall, and Stoke, make up the so-called six towns of The Potteries, forming the current city of Stoke-on-Trent, in the county of Staffordshire.

The concrete and the clay...

Disused Bottle ovens of Acme Marls on Bourne's Bank

What do you think of when someone mentions Burslem? Pottery? Wedgwood? Arnold Bennett? Oatcakes? A dead town?

Well, I will confess to all of the above, as well as a few more that I probably shouldn't mention in writing.

I was born in Leek and, to me, Burslem is somewhere on the road between Hanley and Tunstall that my mum used to talk about because she worked there in the 1950s. It used to be a thriving, bustling town with 100% employment and was essential to the origins of industry in this region, and at the centre of the Industrial Revolution, in general. Then, over the years, as with much of our industrial heritage, it slipped away through complacency, arrogance, ignorance, greed, and stupidity. It certainly doesn't have much to offer these days, at least it would appear so, on the surface. It looks run down, you can even watch it decaying before your very eyes, abandoned, unloved, unwanted, seemingly administered by a local council that is either staffed by the corrupt, idiots, incompetent morons or, all of the aforementioned and, from what I have seen, populated by people who have lost pride in their community, any vision for the future and all pride in their heritage. I could launch a tirade against the incompetence of local councils but this is not what this piece is about.

I came to be in Burslem, recently, purely because of the road that runs through it. I certainly never expected to find anything of interest there nor, was I seeking such. It happened to be that I was with someone who came from there. I'll be honest and say that I just thought Burslem is a shit-hole where you can get a great Kebab at 2am. I knew a little of its history but cared very little (and having researched the town for this piece, it seems most people in these parts have turned apathy into an art form). After all, is what a place was at all relevant when it looks the way it does, today? I believe that the history of this town does matter because it isn't all, entirely, in the past. I have no agenda or loyalty to Burslem but I do believe that, as an Englishman, from The Midlands, it deserves to be remembered and the history preserved.

The old Neo-Classical style Town Hall

As I see it, part of the problem with modern society is that we are so concerned with our virtual existence and our anti-social media networks that we are ignoring what is right under our noses. So, with this in mind, as I have done in San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Munich, Basel, Glasgow, Liverpool, Blackpool, and so many places around Europe and the USA (Click on the link for more Walkabouts ) I went on a walkabout around Burslem, with my camera, and my trusty guide, Sherpa Keith Graham, and was amazed at what I encountered. I hope that through my photographs and my words I can show the Burslem that you don't know and draw attention to the potential that the town still offers and, hopefully, ignite some kind of spark. I think my images show the reality of modern Burslem, its impressive history, and the future potential. See what you think and decide for yourself.

Historically speaking...

Credit where it is due, people. This historical information stuff in this next bit has been excised and re-written, by me, from information gleaned at www.thepotteries.org I am indebted to the creators of that website for their work. The photographs are all mine.

OK. Here we go. Burslem lies on the eastern ridge of the Fowlea Valley, the Fowlea being one of the main early tributaries of the River Trent. It encompasses the areas known as Middleport, Dalehall, Longport, Westport, Trubshaw Cross, and Brownhills. The Trent & Mersey Canal cuts through to the west and south of the town centre. Further west still, the West Coast Main Line railway and A500 road run in parallel, forming a distinct boundary between Burslem and Newcastle-under-Lyme. To the south is Grange Park and Festival Park, reclaimed by the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival. Hands up those of you who knew that? Keith, put your hand down.

So, we've given it a name and I've shown you where it is but, chances are, you sort of already knew that stuff. I suspect that you don't know that Burslem is mentioned in The Domesday Book, listed as Bacardeslim. There are other records that refer to the settlement as Burwardeslyn. a small farming hamlet, strategically sited above a vital ford at Longport. Although I am not an expert, looking at the name, I'd say it is of Saxon and/or Viking roots and, probably, means something like: clearing by the stream on the wooded hillside.

The town lay on part of the major pack horse track out of the Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands to the Liverpool/London road and, as far back as the late 12th century a thriving pottery industry existed. After the Black Death, Burslem is shown in records as a medieval town; the 1536 stone church is still standing and in use.

Until the mid-1760s, Burslem was relatively isolated, having no navigable river nearby nor, any good, reliable roads. By 1777, however, the Trent and Mersey Canal was nearing completion and roads had improved. The town boomed on the back of fine pottery production and canals, and became known as 'The Mother Town' of the six towns that make up the modern city. In 1910 the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent, and the borough was granted city status in 1925.

Burslem was, in fact, one of the first (and last) of Britain's industrial communities, where people lived in close proximity to the factories they worked in. To the casual observer, little of this remains today or, what does remain appears to be dead or, dying. What has not fallen victim to brutal 1950s and '60s town planning vandalism seems to be subject to years of council neglect and a clear lack of investment. Much of the nineteenth-century industrial heritage has survived but what there is, is largely in a terrible state of disrepair, blatantly neglected, showing signs of 'schemes' which never followed through, or a general lack of interest from everyone.

Literary Burslem...

Apart from the legacy of Josiah Wedgwood, Moorcroft, and its pottery giants, Burslem also has a literary heritage, courtesy of Arnold Bennett, who refers to the town and many of its streets with thinly-disguised names; Burslem becomes Bursley, Swan (Square and Pub) becomes Duck, after the local appellation. It is the setting for one of his most famous works, the Clayhanger trilogy, and the The Card, which was partly filmed on location in the town. His novels evoke the feel of Victorian Burslem, with its many potteries, mines, and working canal barges. The Burslem of the 1930s to the 1980s is also showcased by the paintings and plays of Arthur Berry.

Clayhanger Street, by the side of the Wedgwood Institute, looking at the Old Town Hall

Someone mention pottery?

Ceramica. The two rows of blue tiles show the inner and outer walls of the bottle kiln that once stood on this site.

Industrial scale pottery production has drastically declined since the 1970s; but specialist makers (Steelite) and smaller producers of high-value ceramics (Burleigh, Wade, Moorcroft) are thriving. Burslem is emerging as a centre for small, freelance creative businesses working in sectors such as fine art, animation, and crafts, as well as pottery.

Ceramica was a new award-winning ceramics family attraction, based in the imposing old Town Hall and funded by Millennium Lottery money but, due to the loss of council funding, has been closed.

Burslemicana...

Josiah Wedgwood
Robbie Williams, who is a major shareholder in Port Vale. His family are still resident in the area.
watercolour painter James Holland (1800–1870)
founder, bassist and lead singer of Motorhead, Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was born and spent his early childhood in the town
Darts legend and 15-time world champion, Phil Taylor
In the 17th century, Molly Leigh was resident of the town before being accused of being a witch and dying before her trial

William Frederick Horry owned the George Hotel in the 1860s before murdering his wife Jane at his father's house in Boston, Lincolnshire. Despite pleas for clemency he was hanged at Lincoln Castle on 1 April 1872 and his body interred with other executed felons in the interior of the Castle's Lucy Tower, where it can still be seen.

George Fomby's first sound film, Boots! Boots! got its world premiere in Burslem in 1934

Robbie Williams published a song, Burslem Normals in "Rudebox" (album), released in 2006. A short film, "Goodbye to the Normals" was made
A song "Waterloo Road" performed by Jason Crest was written (by Mike Deighan and Mike Wilsh) about the Waterloo Road in Burslem. The song became very popular and even reached #1 in France when the French singer, Joe Dassin, covered it under the title, "Les Champs Élysées"

The town is the setting for several novels, including: the historical mystery novel set in 1869, The Spyders of Burslem (2011); and the dark fantasy novel Necromantra (2005)

Arthur Berry artist and playwright, Berry also taught at his alma mater

William Bowyer (artist)
Clarice Cliff ceramic designer
Susie Cooper ceramic designer
Jessie Tait ceramic designer
Charles Tomlinson poet and artist
Sidney Tushingham etcher
John Shelton painter and ceramic artist

Anyone ever hear of some bloke called Wedgwood?

I'd probably be hunted down by an angry mob if I didn't mention Wedgwood's first crib in Burslem.

This is it. Of course, it didn't used to be on a corner by the traffic lights. That's progress, I guess. This is the site of the Ivy House Works, which Josiah leased in 1759, until the company got too big and the operation moved to the Etruria site, which he purchased on 1765.

Walkabout: Burslem

As I walked around Burslem, with my faithful, patient, and loyal guide, Sherpa Keith Graham, it was as though I traversed the Garden of Unearthly Delights. Behind the years of neglect and layers of graffiti can be espied some true architectural and significantly historical buildings.

This original merchants signage can still be seen today, on Queen Street.

The photographs below show some more of Burslem's forgotten treasures.