Nello

One of the most profiled living people in the Potteries is Neil Baldwin ('Nello') - yet most have never heard of him.

His was an unpredicted life.  Best described as 'neuro-diverse' he has no particular skill, except the marvellous one of making people like him, and somehow that has been enough.  Many, many people have liked him enough to want to have him around - from circus owners to students at Keele (the local university) to the manager at Stoke City Football Club. 
And then, somehow, this local unassuming figure got 'found' by writers and TV dramatists... and this month there is to be a play perfomed all about him and his life. It's on at the local professional theatre, the New Vic.  The phenomenon is all quite astonishing, not the least to Neil himself.

In Longton Market (see pic above), they've even named one of the aisles after him.  Amazing.

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Concrete greenery

In the concrete wilderness that is the ugliest shopping area anywhere, ever, ie the Bennett Precinct in Longton, there are these small tucked-away, struggling shrubs.  They are the only sign that Nature ever passed through this spot.

Relics of the pottery towns

Bottle ovens - the specifically shaped kilns in which large amounts of pottery ware used to be fired in the good old bad old days - are still the symbol of the Potteries towns... even though there is not one left that is still in use.   Bottle ovens are now relics - and listed buildings.

The most famous bottle ovens are the ones left at the Gladstone Pottery Works in Longton. The works is now a much-praised museum.

Toffee knot

Toffee - believe it or not - is a Stoke-on-Trent delicacy.  Edward Walker began making his own version in a backroom sometime in the early 1900s... and suddenly 'Walkers Nonsuch Toffee' was a runaway success.

This keystone sits over the original entrance to the Horlestone confectionery factory in Longton. 
The factory, just yards from Edward's first shop, was taken over by Walkers in the 1940s as the firm expanded exponentially - and it is still there to this day.

Note the proud Stafford Knot.

Great preserver

... jar upon jar of 'colours' used in the pottery industry from a hundred years ago.

Lots of people will descend upon Gladstone Pottery Museum this Easter weekend - because it's a fun place (believe it or not) with its maze of courtyards & outbuildings and quirky displays.

However, it does have a serious purpose too, as preserver of the history of this once-pervasive industry.  As this display shows.

Cuts cut potters

The Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton really is an outstanding experience. Sited in an authentic old 'pot-bank' factory, there are lots of different sections, and sights and sounds - including real potters making real pottery - so it's a proper family day-out, but one that historians can savour too.  My favourite section is the one on the history of indoor sanitation - but, maybe that's just me.

Because it is council-funded, the latest round of local government cuts have hit it badly; and it looks like it will be open on fewer days in future, according to the BBC's report.
Oh well. Oh well.

Trading since 1914 - and going strong

Williamsons is the most old fashioned – in a very nice way – shop that I think I’ve seen in a long while.
In fact, it doesn’t seem to have been changed since the 1950s... with its long glass cabinets all made of polished wood. (The cabinets actually date back to 1931).

Miss Oldcroft, who has been there since forever, runs it on behalf of the family. The present Williamson descendant lives away so she doesn’t come in all the time.
This same Williamson is the widow of Arthur Berry, the painter and writer – so that explains the small gallery upstairs dedicated to the artist's work.

Williamsons, which can be found in the centre of Longton, will celebrate its century of trading next year.  It trades mostly in jewellery, ornaments and photography equipment.
I wonder if any other shop in Staffordshire has been owned by the same family for one hundred years and is still trading...?

See: Williamsons - heritage site...

Is it a tree? A camel?

This tree in Longton Park resembles nothing so much to me as a resting camel... or elephant.

How it got its amazing curvature is a mystery. Some park-keeper must know though.

Getting eco-friendly in Longton

In the back streets of Longton, they've renovated the old America Hotel (in front), and built on to it a brand spanking new structure - now taken over by CORE (Centre of Refurbishment Excellence). 
CORE is a sort of learning centre for people in the construction industry wanting to know about eco-friendly methods.

I suppose the CORE building itself had better be a good example of what they are promoting, or it would fail in its own mission!
Actually, inside and out, it looks okay.

Sixties record shop lives on

The Bevans Music Shop in Longton opened sometime in the mid 1960s, and is still going strong - but now under new management.

The former owner, Ellis Bevan, is something of a legend in the old town, and when I saw him last a couple of years ago, he was still proprietor of the shop - but surely must have been in his eighties(?) even then. He never updated the shop it seemed to me, and I half expected Freddie & The Dreamers (or some such ancient group) to be living out at the back.
He has retired now.

The new owner, Tom Mitchell, is something of a vinyl nut. You will find some CDs and even some tape-cassettes, but mostly it's a spreading mass of vinyl records, all round a battered sofa and Dansette record-player (on which one can play the discs).
He has kept on the name 'Bevans Music Shop' as a sort of tribute-cum-continuity thing.

The old listening booth was hauled out of the storage rooms. It doesn't work any more, but is installed there in the main shop now as a... well... sort of tribute-cum-continuity thing!

Related Link: Bevans Music Shop - Tom's quirky blog about Longton, Bevans and music on vinyl

Nemesis... now

It is very, very dark by 6pm these days, and in some neglected city streets, after workers have gone home, you can barely see your hand in front of your face.

This facade you see in the photo, underlit by strong lamps, gave me quite a shock as I saw it while driving round the back of Longton.  It reminded of that movie where the main character is assailed by ominously-appearing signs in the environment - and I wondered if this sign was intended for me personally in the same way! (Nemesis is of course the revenge of the gods on the over-arrogant...) Hmm.

The phenomenon was made worse by the fact that there is no indication at all on the building as to what Nemesis Now actually is.  It turns out that it's a place that makes Gothic-style figurines.

Princess Royal in Dresden

Princess Victoria? Yes indeed, this pub is named after her; and the pub-sign shows a likeness of this Victoria Princess Royal.
However, this is not the lady whom we know as Queen Victoria, but her daughter - who had the same name.
The man who built this pub (in the 1850s) in the Dresden district of Stoke-on-Trent was clearly of a monarchist turn of mind, and clearly was determined to tie in his fortunes with royalty.

However, the pub (and its sign) only confirm in my own mind that walking through parts of Stoke-on-Trent is like going back in time. Where else would a pub not only retain the name of a long-forgotten princess, but still have her portrait hanging outside?

(If you enjoy such facts, you'll be pleased to know the pub-sign picture is based on the work by the painter Winterhalter).

Happy Oatcake Day!

Yes, indeed, somebody decided a few years ago to institute a National Oatcake Day - to celebrate North Staffordshire's own local delicacy. (For those that don't know, it's a thick savoury pancake served with melted cheese - and it's wonderful).

Chris Bates

I must admit that I've never lost my taste for oatcakes, which really are the food of the gods, even if they are a 'poor man's dish'.  As a new book published today says: "An Oatcake Is For Life – Not Just For Breakfast".

The dozens of little shops making oatcakes in this part of the world are part of the charm (oatcakes must be eaten freshly made; after a day they are half what they could be).
The Oatcake Kitchen in Dresden is one of my favourites, and it even has a range of...yes...oatcake merchandise, including mugs, greeting cards and T-shirts!
Chris Bates, who runs the shop (and appears on some of the greeting-cards even), is something of a local legend...

Links: The Oatcake Guide

Bottle oven chimneys

As a Staffordshire site, it was inevitable that a picture of bottle-ovens would be my contribution to the City Daily Photo's Theme Day on 'Chimneys'. (Click here to view thumbnails for all participants).

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. 

Bottle ovens... still

I hear that there are only thirty or so bottle ovens still standing in Stoke-on-Trent, and - since the one at the Gladstone Museum stopped doing any firing - none working for a living.
Still, it's good to see that the last remaining icons of the area's pottery industry are mostly listed, like these two on the fringe of Longton town centre. They haven't been used here that creatively; but, elsewhere in the city, they've been incorporated into offices or made into a feature.

Another hot one today.