Spode Pottery: Buildings Around North West Courtyard, Including Entrance Gate, Gate Piers And Remains Of Bottle Kiln

These buildings occupy the north-western corner of the historic Spode factory site. They date from after 1829 with later alterations, corresponding to the early years when the Copeland family controlled the firm. Constructed of red brick with slate roofs and some stone detailing, they are arranged around the north, east and west sides of the 'China Bank' courtyard, extending northwards from what was the main entrance on Church Street. The early 20th-century shops and signage fronting Church Street are not included in this listing.

Lodge, Gate Piers and Gates

A distinctive bow-fronted counting house or lodge forms part of the ensemble defining the principal factory entrance. Built of brick, it rises two storeys under a slate roof. The façade features a continuous multi-pane window curving around the ground floor, with two six-by-six sliding sashes at first floor level. A dentilled eaves cornice and string course separate the ground and first floors. The north façade appears to have been refronted, as the dentilled eaves do not continue around this face, though an eight-over-eight pane sliding sash on this side appears original. New window and door openings have been inserted at both ground and first floor levels elsewhere in the building. A curving external stair provides first floor access. Large square brick gate piers surmounted by lanterns with coloured glass stand in front of the lodge. The cast iron gates, probably dating from the late 19th century, formerly carried the company name.

Building to North of Lodge

This building, used as offices at the time of inspection in 2007, is also largely of the earlier 1833 date. Constructed of brick with a dentilled eaves cornice under a pitched slate roof, it has a series of two- and four-light top-hung casements under segmental arches at ground floor level. At first floor, various 20th-century windows occupy original flat-arched openings. A door and window opening and window under a concrete lintel have been inserted at ground floor level. The building extends over a carriage arch towards the lodge. The interior has been altered.

Range to West and North of Courtyard

After entering the site from Church Street, to the left (north) lies the so-called 'China Bank' courtyard. A four-storey range, now used as a shop, stores and offices, stands to the west, facing east onto the courtyard. Constructed of brick under a slate roof with three truncated stacks, it is single-depth and built on an undercroft, possibly the foundations of an earlier building. This undercroft is slightly deeper and contains examples of Copeland tiles fixed on built-in benches. The building was originally three storeys with a fourth storey added later in the 19th century. As originally built, it was symmetrical with a regular pattern of windows and doors under segmental arches at ground floor, repeated at first and second floor. The later third storey is taller with a series of nine tall three-light top-hung paned casements. The building was fireproofed to all floors when originally constructed, and jack-arched construction remains in situ.

The building extends to the north on a diagonal to connect with an earlier range on the north-west side of the courtyard. This extension is also three storeys under an apparently flat or shallow pitched roof, with a door and window at ground floor level and paired windows under segmental arches at first and second floors. A single tall three-light window on the third floor resembles those on the main warehouse range. The building to which it attaches is of two storeys, constructed of brick under a slate roof. It comprises seven bays and curves to join the showrooms to the east via a carriage arch. It has a series of six-over-six pane sliding sash windows under stone lintels, set within recessed blind arches separated by brick pilasters, all above a brick pediment defined by a projecting string. The first floor windows are recessed four-over-eight pane sashes with stone lintels set on a continuous projecting string. This range has a delicately moulded eaves cornice.

Some internal detailing survives, including a stone stair (thought to have originally been an external stair) within the three-storey extension, and some ceiling roses, cornicing and joinery. The well-known Spode Museum is currently housed within the building, incorporating numerous free-standing and fixed display cabinets showcasing part of the extensive Spode collection.

Showrooms

The buildings to the east of the courtyard connect to the previous range via a three-storey extension over a flat-arched passageway. At the time of inspection, the building served as showrooms for the company, replacing earlier showrooms that fronted Church Street during the 19th century. The principal range is three storeys with an eight-bay, roughly symmetrical façade of brick under a hipped slate roof. A projecting flat-roofed entrance porch has been added at the north of the façade as part of the 1930s refitting of the interior showrooms. A further door is placed centrally, flanked by paired windows under segmental arched heads. First floor windows are also segment-headed, whilst those at third floor have stone sills and lintels. A slight projecting string course runs immediately above the ground floor windows. An arched passageway formerly provided access around an adjacent bottle oven.

Internally, the showrooms comprise the 'Blue Room', a long room at the front of the building open to the braced king post roof and housing the famous blue transfer collection of the firm, and a larger showroom to the rear. The 1930s porch gives access to a stair hall panelled to dado height in light wood, with a sweeping stair featuring a panelled wreathed balustrade surmounted by a brass handrail and lit by a tall arch-headed stair window with margin glazing. This leads to the imposing first floor showrooms housed in a 1930s rear extension. The showrooms are accessed through paired double doors and are panelled with wood block parquet flooring. The doors are of rich wood with contrasting inlay giving the impression of a door panel, and have brass door furniture. A deep, gently curving cornice provides a transition to the recessed skylight occupying most of the ceiling. A series of recessed glass-fronted and panelled niches provide display space for some of the fine collection of Spode pottery retained by the firm, including exceptionally rare examples of their best work.

Remains of Bottle Kiln

Adjoining the southern end of the building is the base of a bottle kiln: the only visible reminder of this essential component of a pottery works. Constructed of brick, it stands to only about 20 courses and comprises only the internal structure; the brick hovel—the iconic bottle-shaped cover and neck—has gone. It retains two rows of iron bands, or bonts, and a series of brick arched firemouths.

History

Stoke-on-Trent is synonymous with the pottery industry. A pottery has existed on the site of the Spode Factory from at least 1751 when documentary sources record that Benjamin Lewis transferred a 'newly erected' potworks to his son, Taylor Lewis. The site passed through several hands until Josiah Spode purchased it from Jeremiah Smith on 29th February 1776 (the adopted foundation date for the factory of 1770 is incorrect). Josiah Spode, father of the company, was born at Lane Delph, Staffordshire on 23rd March 1733. He went to work in a local pottery and by 1749 was apprenticed to Thomas Whieldon, a well-respected master potter in the district. By the 1760s Josiah I had begun his own small pottery and entered into several partnerships before finally acquiring the present factory site.

Spode, like his neighbour and rival Josiah Wedgwood, rapidly recognised the value of more direct access to markets in London. In 1778 he sent his son, Josiah Spode II (1733-1827), to take premises at No. 29 Fore Street, Cripplegate. William Copeland joined the firm in 1784 and, following the death of Josiah I in 1797, Copeland became an equal partner in 1805. Copeland became the sole owner of the firm in 1829, whereupon the factory underwent extensive rebuilding and enlargement. The listed buildings date largely from this heyday period and reflect the scale of the enterprise at its height. The earliest plan of the site dates from 1833 (company archives) and shows some of these buildings as standing. The precise use of the various buildings has changed over the years, and their original function awaits identification. The firm remained in the Copeland family until 1966, trading under a number of names. It was merged with the Carborundum Group of Companies in 1966 and in 1971 reverted to the original name 'Spode'. It was subsequently merged with Worcester Royals Porcelain Co to become Royal Worcester Spode Ltd in 1976.

Throughout its history, Spode has been at the forefront of innovation in pottery production. Josiah I is widely credited with perfecting the manufacture and successful marketing of bone china, and in 1784 he perfected the technique of transfer-printing on earthenware from hand-engraved copper plates, essential to the phenomenal growth of the English tableware industry. Renowned as a commercial enterprise, the firm also won a high reputation for its high standards of design and innovation. They have received a number of Royal Warrants since their first as Potter and English Porcelain Manufacturer to HRH The Prince of Wales in 1806, becoming Manufacturers of China to HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1971. Throughout its history Spode has produced a variety of wares including bone china, stoneware, earthenware and Parian ware. Spode's designs, particularly the original and much-copied Willow pattern, remain extremely popular both here and abroad and are still produced today. Astute marketing through their London premises and negotiated contracts such as that with the Hudson Bay Co to be their sole suppliers of earthenware from 1835 until the 1870s assured the success of the firm and have ensured that it is seen not just as a national, but as an international institution.

Significance

These buildings are designated for their national and international significance as part of the renowned Spode/Copeland firm, one of the world's leading pottery concerns. The site has unique status as the only one of the internationally famous potteries in the area to remain on its original site. The firm made key contributions to technological developments within the industry, specifically the perfecting of bone china manufacture and the development of the blue underglaze process which revolutionised the tableware industry, both of which took place on this site. The buildings reflect the phenomenal growth of the British pottery industry in the late 18th and 19th centuries and the historical development of the pottery industry in Staffordshire. They represent a cohesive survival of buildings in a single area of an otherwise much-altered site, which together reflect the scale and character of this notable enterprise and read as an inter-related group.