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Emma Bridgwater Factory

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

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Emma Bridgwater Factory

Lichfield Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3EJ
Website
  • Monday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Tuesday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Wednesday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Thursday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Friday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Saturday9:30am - 5:30pm
  • Sunday10:00am - 4:00pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

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Emma Bridgwater Factory, Stoke-on-Trent
Courtesy of Emma Bridgwater Factory
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Stoke-on-Trent’s reputation as a centre for world-class pottery has been much revived in recent years by the great success of contemporary designers like Emma Bridgewater who, it is said, founded her company in 1985 after she tried and failed to find a suitable birthday present for her mum. After drawing an ardent fan-base and feverish-following for its iconic colourful polka dots and the satisfying solidity of its simple yet distinctively-stylised mugs, today Emma Bridgewater is one of the largest pottery manufacturers based entirely in the UK.

Over 1.3 million pieces of pottery – each one touched by over 30 deftly-skilled hands – are now made at the Hanley-based factory per year. Bridgewater bought the former Victorian Eastwood Works from the Wedgwood company in 1996 and it has since become something of a mecca for pottery lovers, not least because of the factory shop with its heavily discounted lines and numerous special offers.

Aside from shopping, what really makes this place such a popular attraction is the factory tour (10am, 11.30am, 1.30pm Mon-Fri, £2.50 – advance booking required) where visitors have the chance to meet the jiggers, jolliers, fettlers, casters and decorators under whose attentive craftmanship mere lumps of clay are transformed into the brightly-patterned cream-coloured earthenware coveted by so many. Combine the tour with a visit to the Decorating Studio where you can create your very own Emma Bridgewater masterpiece to take home (slots available every day 9.30am-2.45pm, price depends on the piece you choose plus £2.95 studio fee).

The café here is a must. Feast on dishes inspired by Bridgwater’s own recipes or enjoy a classic Afternoon Tea (presented on an Emma Bridgewater tea set, of course) either indoors or outside in the factory’s colourful courtyard. Follow with a visit to the secret walled garden.

Discover more places to visit and things to do in Stoke-on-Trent this summer here.

What's on near Emma Bridgwater Factory

Knutsford for Creative Tourist
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Secrets of Knutsford

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From £20.00
Southern Cemetary Chorlton by Tom Jeffs
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Southern Cemetery Tour

Within Chorlton’s Southern Cemetery lie fascinating stories, beautiful architectural details, and the inspiration behind one of The Smith’s best songs.

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Horse and Jockey Chorlton
Walking TourManchester
The Secrets of Chorlton

From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to one of Manchester’s most desirable suburbs. What’s the story behind Chorlton-cum-Hardy?

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Until
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All That Matters at The Edge

Alan Jones’s photography exhibition in Chorlton explores fragments of impossibly large systems through images of discarded objects with long afterlives.

Free entry
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Where to go near Emma Bridgwater Factory

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

Home to the most significant collection of Staffordshire ceramics in the world and the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found, a visit to Stoke-upon-Trent is not complete without an afternoon whiled away in The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

Stoke-on-Trent
Library
City Central Library, Hanley

Described as “the finest and most distinctive example of Modernist architecture in Stoke-on-Trent”, City Central Library is Stoke-on-Trent’s largest library, home to the city archives.

Bethesda Chapel, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Place of worship
Bethesda Chapel

Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley is considered to be one of England’s grandest surviving town chapels – and it’s easy to see why.

Stoke-on-Trent
Gallery
AirSpace Gallery

AirSpace Gallery is a collaborative, artist led project in Stoke-on-Trent, providing studio and exhibiting space as well as professional support and development opportunities for artists.

Stoke Minster, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Place of worship
Stoke Minster

Just a short walk from Stoke-on-Trent train station is Stoke Minster, believed to have once been an important Celtic religious site and where Christian worship has taken place since Saxon times.

The Wedgwood Institite, Burslem summer in stoke on trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Tourist Attraction
Burslem Town Square

‘Mother town’ of The Potteries, Burslem dates back to at least 1085 when it appears listed in the Domesday Book. Today, the wealth and fortune generated by the boom in global demand for Staffordshire pottery can still be seen reflected in the town’s many fine red brick buildings and grand displays of civic pride.

Middleport Pottery
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Middleport Pottery

Built in 1888, the beautifully-conserved grade II* listed Middleport Pottery has been producing its world-famous Burleigh pieces for over 120 years. Today it is the only working Victorian pottery left in Stoke-on-Trent and a multi award-winning visitor attraction.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Summer in Stoke on Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Museum
Gladstone Pottery Museum

The last complete Victorian pottery factory in Britain, Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton provides a unique insight into the history of Stoke-on-Trent; an area renowned for its world-class pottery and ceramics.

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