Etruria, Staffordshire
Encyclopedia
Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent
, Staffordshire
, England
.
Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood
pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood
, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works in 1769. It was named after the Italian
district of Etruria
, home of the Etruscan
people who were renowned for their artistic products. The site covered 350 acres (141.6 ha) and was next to the Trent and Mersey Canal
. As well as Wedgwood's home, Etruria Hall
, it included the Etruria Works
which remained in use by the Wedgwood enterprise until 1950. The Wedgwood factory is now in Barlaston
, a village about six miles to the south of the Etruria site.
Etruria Hall was the site of the substantial invention of photography by Thomas Wedgwood
in the 1790s.
. Since the Festival closed at the end of 1986, the site has been given over to the Festival Park commercial and retail development. Etruria is also home to The Sentinel, the local evening newspaper for the Stoke-on-Trent area. The press hall there is responsible for printing several newspaper titles, including The Sentinel, and many northern editions of The Daily Mail. The Sentinel had previously been based in Hanley.
Etruria was served by a railway station
which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway
on October 9, 1848, but it was closed on September 30, 2005.
Etruria is home to the Etruria Industrial Museum
, a scheduled ancient monument, which includes a working steam engine
called Princess. The Museum buildings were originally a bone and flint mill built in 1857 to grind materials for the pottery industry. Inside visitors can see displays on the history of the site and original machinery. On the first weekend of each month the museum's 1903 coal-fired boiler provides steam to operate Princess which then turns the grinding machinery.
Etruria Canals Festival takes place annually at Etruria Industrial Museum on the first weekend in June.
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Home of Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works in 1769. It was named after the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
district of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
, home of the Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
people who were renowned for their artistic products. The site covered 350 acres (141.6 ha) and was next to the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
. As well as Wedgwood's home, Etruria Hall
Etruria Hall
Etruria Hall in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England was the home of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. It was built between 1768–1771 by Joseph Pickford.Etruria Hall was the site of the innovative research into photography by Thomas Wedgwood in the 1790s...
, it included the Etruria Works
Etruria Works
The Etruria Works was a ceramics factory opened by Josiah Wedgwood in 1769 in a district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which he named Etruria...
which remained in use by the Wedgwood enterprise until 1950. The Wedgwood factory is now in Barlaston
Barlaston
Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 2,659.-History:The old parish church of...
, a village about six miles to the south of the Etruria site.
Etruria Hall was the site of the substantial invention of photography by Thomas Wedgwood
Thomas Wedgwood (1771-1805)
Thomas Wedgwood , son of Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, was an early experimenter with Humphry Davy in photography.-Life:...
in the 1790s.
After Wedgwood
Much of Etruria became derelict with the move of Wedgwood after the Second World War and the subsequent closure of the nearby steelworks. Large-scale regeneration began in the 1980s with the Stoke-on-Trent Garden FestivalStoke-on-Trent Garden Festival
The Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
. Since the Festival closed at the end of 1986, the site has been given over to the Festival Park commercial and retail development. Etruria is also home to The Sentinel, the local evening newspaper for the Stoke-on-Trent area. The press hall there is responsible for printing several newspaper titles, including The Sentinel, and many northern editions of The Daily Mail. The Sentinel had previously been based in Hanley.
Etruria was served by a railway station
Etruria railway station
Etruria station is a closed station in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which served the areas of Etruria and the larger district of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It closed on 30 September 2005....
which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
on October 9, 1848, but it was closed on September 30, 2005.
Etruria is home to the Etruria Industrial Museum
Etruria Industrial Museum
The Etruria Industrial Museum is located in Etruria, Staffordshire in England. Located along the Caldon Canal, the museum is a Grade II* listed building which includes a working steam engine called "Princess". The museum buildings were originally a bone and flint mill built in 1857 to grind...
, a scheduled ancient monument, which includes a working steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
called Princess. The Museum buildings were originally a bone and flint mill built in 1857 to grind materials for the pottery industry. Inside visitors can see displays on the history of the site and original machinery. On the first weekend of each month the museum's 1903 coal-fired boiler provides steam to operate Princess which then turns the grinding machinery.
Etruria Canals Festival takes place annually at Etruria Industrial Museum on the first weekend in June.