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      • Congleton Unplugged 2014 >
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      • The Fire Beneath The Sea - Blackpool
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        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Friday
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      • Parklive 2013 >
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      • No Strings Attached - Congleton >
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    • 2012 Gigs >
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      • The Rittz and Friends Festival - Congleton >
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      • The Dirty Dozen - Congleton >
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    • 2011 Gigs >
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      • Johnnie Walker - Bradford
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    • 2010 Gigs >
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    • 2009 Gigs >
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        • About SRF 2009
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      • Keep It True
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    • 2007 Gigs >
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    • 2006 Gigs >
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      • Monsters of Rock 2006 >
        • About Monsters of Rock 2006
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Roadstar
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      • Journey - Manchester
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      • Bob Catley - Leek WM
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    • 2005 Gigs >
      • Velvet Revolver - Manchester
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      • The Midnight Creeps - Providence RI
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      • Donington 2005 >
        • About Donington 2005
        • Donington 2005: Fozzy
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      • Kings of Leon - Manchester
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      • Leeds Festival 2005 >
        • About Leeds Festival 2005
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Funeral For A Friend
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iggy Pop
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        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iron Maiden
      • Iron Maiden - Hammersmith
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    • 2004 Gigs >
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      • UFO - Wolverhampton
      • Marillion - Wolverhampton
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    • 2003 Gigs >
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      • Budgie - Crewe
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    • 2002 Gigs >
      • Chris Farlowe - Crewe
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      • The Blues Brother's Band - Manchester
      • Man - Crewe
      • Mountain - Dudley
      • Stray - Dudley
      • Iron Maiden - Brixton >
        • Iron Maiden - Brixton Academy: Getting there
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      • Diamond Head - Crewe III
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      • HITS Blackpool 2002
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      • Diamond Head - Hanley
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      • Diamond Head - Crewe IV
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      • Monsters of Rock - Manchester >
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      • Rockshield Festival >
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  • Travels
    • 2015 Travels >
      • Toxteth Walkabout
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      • Brimham Rocks
      • Harrogate
      • Liverpool - Divergence I >
        • Liverpool - Sefton Park
        • Liverpool - L7 4LB
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      • Leeds Walkabout 2014 >
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    • 2013 Travels >
      • Fenton Town Hall
      • Stoke Minster
      • Beauty and Bursley >
        • The Wedgwood Institute
        • The School of Art
        • Town Hall Tales
        • The Leopard
        • Desolation Boulevard
      • Blackpool - An Alternative View
    • 2011 Travels >
      • Blackpool (Post Apocalypse)
      • Manchester >
        • Manchester - The Trafford Centre
        • Manchester - Tutanchamun
      • Liverpool
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      • Faschingsdienstag
      • Manchester - Brief Walkabout
      • Manchester/Glasgow
    • 2009 Travels >
      • What Marky did in The Fatherland >
        • Arrival
        • First Munich Walkabout
        • Faschingsdienstag
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        • Dachau
        • Hannover
        • Olympiapark Sealife Centre
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        • BMW Welt
        • Home from Home
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        • Tutanchamun
        • Back in the UK
        • Neuschwanstein
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        • TiPi Fest
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        • Pan 'n' Chris
        • Oktoberfest >
          • Shlocktoberfest
          • Fear and Loathing in München
          • When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
        • Blackpool
        • The Flaming Gummi Bär Incident
        • Oberammergau
        • Garmisch
        • Christmas 2009: Christkindlmarkt
        • Christmas 2009: Snow
        • Christmas 2009: Absinthe, Drunkenness and Fireworks
    • 2006 Travels
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      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • The Krispy Kreme Fiasco
        • King of Prussia
        • Snow
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        • Sunset
        • Lancaster County
        • The Philadelphia Cheese Steak Debate
        • Food For Thought
        • More Food for Thought
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        • Ocean City NJ
      • Boston >
        • The Cheesecake Factory
        • Copley Plaza
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        • Downtown Boston
        • Charlestown Naval Yard >
          • USS Constitution
          • USS Cassin Young
        • Beacon Hill
        • Call Me Spiderman
        • Providence RI
        • Boston Skyline
        • Final Boston Walkabout
        • The Third Time I Nearly Got arrested
      • Oss
    • 2004 Travels >
      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt I >
          • The Franklin Institute
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt II >
          • The Liberty Bell
          • Monopoly
          • USS Olympia & USS Becuna
    • 2003 Travels >
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 25th Flying In
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Brooklyn >
        • The Brooklyn Bridge
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Baltimore
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 27th New York
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 28th Oakland
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 29th Sacramento
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th The Sierra Nevada
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco >
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st SF Walkabout
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st San Francisco to Lost Angeles >
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd - Walk of Fame
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Lost Angeles (South Gate)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd Costa Mesa & The Beach
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd LA (Corona)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 3rd San Diego
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 4th Phoenix
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 5th Phoenix to San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 6th San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 7th Austin
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 8th Dallas
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 9th Oklahoma City
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 10th Flying Back
      • US Tour 2003 - Epilogue
    • 2002 Travels >
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 30th
      • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th Union & Clifton
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 6th Providence RI
      • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ
        • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ (Later)
      • US Tour 2002 - Sun 8th Asbury Park NJ
      • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Long Island NY
      • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC
        • US Tour 2002 - Tuesday 10th ESB
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC II
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th- Manhattan and beyond
      • US Tour 2002 - Wed 11th
  • Music
    • Phuxubtelty Review
  • Movies
    • Skyfall Review
  • Books
    • Ted Simon
    • Charley Boorman & Ewan McGregor
    • Mike Carter
    • Robert Fulton Jr
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    • Simon Gandolfi
  • Artworks
    • Diamond Head - Acoustic Cuts
    • The Skeptix - Hate and Fear
    • Demon - Child of the Dark Sky
    • Demon . Better The Devil You Know
    • Demon - Time Has Come
    • Demon - Live at Tiffany's
    • Demon - Live in Germany
    • Demon T-Shirts
    • Mjollnir
  • The 39 Steps
  • New Page

The Wedgwood Institute

Picture
The Institute stands on the site of the Brick House pottery works, which was rented by Josiah Wedgwood from 1762 to 1770. This was the second of his potworks in Burslem (the first being the Ivy House works).

The striking front elevation of the Wedgwood Institute was built by R. Edgar and John Lockwood Kipling (father of Rudyard Kipling) and took six years to complete. The foundation stone was laid by future Prime Minister, William Gladstone, on 26 October 1863.


Picture
Josiah Wedgwood guards the entrance to the institute that bears his name

   

Picture
It was built with funds raised by public subscription to make arts, science, and literature available to all, not just the rich who had previously had the only access. It was also designed to be the main centre for arts activity in the Six Towns of the Potteries. Highly successful, it soon extended into two new wings before the demand for art education necessitated the building of a new purpose built School of Art, on the opposite side of Queen Street.

During the late nineteenth century, the Institute played its part in developing ceramic artist, William Moorcroft, pioneer of radio, Oliver Lodge and, author, Arnold Bennett, in whose books, the Institute features regularly. It continued as a successful seat of learning in its own right through most of the 20th Century before becoming an annex for Staffordshire University and, most recently, Stoke-on-Trent College. In 1993 the building was inspected in the light of new fire escape regulations and its use was, consequently, restricted to the ground floor. The College ceased using the Institute later that year, leaving only the Library in residence, before closing permanently in 2009. Recent rumours rumble about The Princes Trust financing some renovation work. Let's hope so.

Why bother rewriting something when this says it all. From http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/047.htm

"This is not part of a sumptuous palace in some sunny Venetian square but the facade of the Wedgwood Institute, Burslem. The central character of this architectural spectacular is Josiah Wedgwood, who, from his vantage point over the tiled entrance, surveys the rush of traffic and pedestrians. His background consists of a colourful wall, richly decorated with carvings depicting the various stages of pottery manufacture; figures that represent the months; inlaid signs of the zodiac; arches, pillars, foliage, and many interesting examples of mosaic and brick work. The design and plans were by Mr. G. B. Nichols who was obviously influenced by the work of 15th century Italian architects; the terracotta details were by Rowland Morris and William Wright, national scholars from the Potteries School of Art. A decision to acquire a site for an institute as a memorial to Josiah Wedgwood was made in 1859, and in 1863 land was bought in Queen Street for £1,500. Mr. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer, laid the foundation stone in October of that year. Beneath the stone, a china casket was placed, containing a record on vellum of the building to be erected. In 1869, the building was completed and officially opened by Earl de Grey.

Burslem was the second town in the country to take advantage of the Free Libraries Act which insured an annual income of £200 for the Institute. The first school of art in the Institute was founded in October, 1869, and the appointed headmaster, Mr. G. Theaker of the South Kensington Art School, held the position until his death in 1902. In 1894, the new Technological Schools were incorporated and opened by Princess Louise. By 1898 there were 400 students attending the various technical and art classes. One student was Oliver Lodge, the great scientist."


Neville Malkin 13th
July 1974

The twelve friezes on the front of The Wedgwood Institute
The frontage of the Institute contains twelve large terracotta tiles depicting the months of the year, as well as a separate stone carving for each month. Beneath each month (except June and July) is a large, rectangular carving of the people of the Potteries performing their different jobs, together with a statue of Josiah Wedgwood, above the main entrance.
Twelve astrological signs...
Twelve carved reliefs of some ancient-looking dudes and dudettes...
Ten rectangular, carved stone panels showing scenes from everyday working life in The Six Towns.
(June and July are above the entrance and flank the statue of Josiah Wedgwood and do not feature these panels.)

The Card (1952) Dir: Ronald Neame
Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson, Petula Clarke, and Joey the Mule

The 1952 film version of Arnold Bennet's 1911 comic novel, The Card, was partly filmed on location in Burslem. The Five Towns Thrift Club is headquartered in [a stylised version of] The Wedgwood Institute. Interestingly, for the film, only the ground floor of the building is real. The Old Town Hall features in two Mayoral scenes, and a scene involving a removal wagon, a steep hill, and a canal was filmed on Navigation Road.
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