Report - J H Weatherby & Sons Falconworks - Hanley, Stoke - October 2021

[MK83]

History - The Falconworks at Hanley was owned by John Henry Weatherby From 1891. From what we can find online the works already existed when J H Weatherby moved to the site but has been expanded and modified at various times since. In 1892 the works had 4 kilns and one in the process of being built, by 1900 there were 8 kilns and in 1906 a large entrance range was built to the works with 3 stories and 23 bays. From 1925 to 1961 there were 5 bottle kilns, these were replaced by electric kilns following the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. Weatherby first made domestic ware such as basins and ewers, later moving into tableware and giftware.
In April 2000 the company chairman, Christopher Weatherby, the great-great grandson of company founder John Henry Weatherby, announced the winding up of the company. At its height the company employed 200, but the figure was down to 50 in 1999 and stood at 10 at the time of closure. The works is grade 2 listed.

The Explore - We've attempted this place on 2 previous visits to Stoke and it's been sealed but finally managed to get in on the third attempt. The access is a bit of a scramble and is overlooked by a fairly busy path but wasn't difficult. The building itself is in an absolute state and felt like it might collapse at any moment but there are some bits worth seeing, The bottle kiln is very cool although the outer part has collapsed.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Mikeymutt]

Nicely done. Made two visits here over time. Your right it's a death trap in places, but some nice bits too see. The kilns are deffo nice though. It looks really in a poor way now though.

 

[HughieD]

Far gone but still very photogenic. Great snaps...

 

[MK83]

Nicely done. Made two visits here over time. Your right it's a death trap in places, but some nice bits too see. The kilns are deffo nice though. It looks really in a poor way now though.

Thanks. It is in a bad way, a proper death trap. Glad we got to see it but missed it at it's best.

Far gone but still very photogenic. Great snaps...

Thanks, it is still photogenic and we do like places were nature has taken over but this place is definately on its last legs.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Cant believe they havent pulled this yet but does still make some nice pics.

 

[MK83]

Cant believe they havent pulled this yet but does still make some nice pics.

If they wait much longer they wont need to pull it down!

 

[FalloutShelter]

No squatters? I was there recently but alone and thought the "entrance" looked well used. It's a very commonly used site for grow-ops in the area and there's an abundance of "ACAB" type graffiti around the place. It's not the nicest of neighbourhoods and the whole street is more or less abandoned. Great pics by the way, there's a lot more to it than I thought.

 

[MK83]

No squatters? I was there recently but alone and thought the "entrance" looked well used. It's a very commonly used site for grow-ops in the area and there's an abundance of "ACAB" type graffiti around the place. It's not the nicest of neighbourhoods and the whole street is more or less abandoned. Great pics by the way, there's a lot more to it than I thought.

It's an awful area. No there weren't any squatters but the place is soaking top to bottom so cant imagine were youd sleep. There was a lot of evidence of drinking and drugs dotted around and a few campfire remains. Maybe the squatters use the broom factory over the road, it's in better nick and we did see some evidence of rough sleeping in there. Although they've started to demolish that now.

 

[Calamity Jane]

You captured this lovely. The decay, the nice og bits. The kilns are great. Yes to potteries :

 

[MK83]

You captured this lovely. The decay, the nice og bits. The kilns are great. Yes to potteries :

Thanks Jane, there is something cool about old potteries. They always seem to have plenty left behind to photograph.

 

[GRONK]

Some lovely shore their mate, cheers for sharing.

 

[MK83]

Some lovely shore their mate, cheers for sharing.

Thanks. Despite the fact that it's an utter wreck it's quite photogenic.