We are looking for volunteers to work with us on this important heritage project and would love to hear from anyone who is interested in part time working at the History Centre or who would simply like to learn more about Spode.
We can be contacted by email on:
contact@spodemuseumtrust.org
Below Tom Barlow, modeller, who started at Spode in 1935 and worked until his death in 1974
The Trust has been awarded a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant for a two year project to operate a Spode history centre in one of the historic buildings on the former Spode factory in Church Street, Stoke, provisionally entitled “On this Historic Site”. The project will include exhibits from the Trust’s collection, a quantity of archive material and will focus not just on the 200 year history of the company and its products, but also on the stories of some of the generations of people who worked at Spode, their skills and their working conditions in past centuries.
Among the objectives of the history centre are its engagement with the local community in Stoke, many of whom once worked at the Church Street site, or whose parents or grandparents did, and for whom the Spode heritage is of considerable pride. We are particularly grateful to all those who have supported us in our application for the grant, and especially to Stoke on Trent City Council, who have been so supportive in providing the premises for us.
We expect the Centre will open in Spring 2012. Quite a lot of refurbishment is first necessary for the building – like many others on the site, it is in poor condition at the moment. The total cost of the History Centre will be well in excess of our £50,000 grant and we are looking to raise an additional £20,000 through sponsorship and donations. If you would like to help us by making a donation please click onto our Contact Us page for advice.
One of the possible locations for the History Centre, shown in its current state (August 2011). Up to the time of the factory’s closure it was used as a sales area for factory seconds and white goods.
Biscuit Paintresses. Mrs Turners Shop 1930s. (Known as Mother “T”)
Below Placers carrying clay models of Winston Churchill Toby Jugs to the Bisque Oven in May 1941.
The Spode Museum has hundreds of photographs of Spode employees at work throughout the 20th century and can put names to many of them. Many will be on show at the History Centre. Might someone visiting this website today recognise their grandparents here?
