Bottle ovens are almost a symbol of north Staffordshire, the centre of the pottery industry. They are the old, nineteenth-century kilns in which pottery ware was fired, usually with coal as the fuel.
There were literally hundreds of them in the city of Stoke on Trent, all belching black smoke. The atmosphere in the area must have been horribly thick, and fairly unhealthy.
Now, thankfully, modern kilns are electric and the air is clear; and these kilns that you see here are simply hstoric sites, preserved for heritage.
The best place to view bottle ovens now is at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, a converted old pottery works in Longton.
Great shots of a local icon, agree that it is better that they are only for display rather than belching smoke.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the Dudson Museum, that's in a bottle oven and is a fantastic place to visit.
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