Explored with OT, Speed and the better half.
What can I say, not really that trashed, just a little jumbled up!
This one was sealed tight when I was battering the potteries a couple of years ago, but in that time the place has been left to decline and today it's pretty smashed up. That said the building is in pretty good shape and still contains much of it's equipment, kilns and as usual, piles and piles of ware!
The front of the works is very old, and still retains it's old coach door. I assume (pardon me if I'm wrong) that post war development meant the bottle kilns were demolished and the tunnel kiln was built in a purpose built extension. It was common in there to see external windows inside, and even guttering and drain hoppers on the inside walls, which tells me that a cluster of buildings has at some point been linked up to make one large factory.
The most interesting room was the store room which housed examples of the "PDM" range of advertising ceramics. There was not a pub in the land in the 70's and 80's that did not have a Wade jug or ashtray on the bar. They were also famous for the "natwest pigs", but we did not see any of those around!
Wades are best known for those horrid little pot animals "whimsies". These were in fact not made here, but in the firm's sister factory down the road.
What can I say, not really that trashed, just a little jumbled up!
This one was sealed tight when I was battering the potteries a couple of years ago, but in that time the place has been left to decline and today it's pretty smashed up. That said the building is in pretty good shape and still contains much of it's equipment, kilns and as usual, piles and piles of ware!
The front of the works is very old, and still retains it's old coach door. I assume (pardon me if I'm wrong) that post war development meant the bottle kilns were demolished and the tunnel kiln was built in a purpose built extension. It was common in there to see external windows inside, and even guttering and drain hoppers on the inside walls, which tells me that a cluster of buildings has at some point been linked up to make one large factory.
The most interesting room was the store room which housed examples of the "PDM" range of advertising ceramics. There was not a pub in the land in the 70's and 80's that did not have a Wade jug or ashtray on the bar. They were also famous for the "natwest pigs", but we did not see any of those around!
Wades are best known for those horrid little pot animals "whimsies". These were in fact not made here, but in the firm's sister factory down the road.
