A Trip Up North

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Grandad
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A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

Nothing much going on in my world so; I had mentioned that we were planning a couple of days next month in the midlands, or Staffordshire to be precise. I will tell you about it after the event but I thought I would post this preamble and then come back to it next month.
This is Horus's part of the country so I contacted him for suggestions on things that would be of interest to us so that I could plan one of our days. As is his way, Horus has been more than helpful, so much so that we have more than enough for one day and an interesting place to visit is being held over to our next trip. Remember that we have relatives in the area and will certainly be going again, probably in October as last year.
Stoke on Trent, the home of English china and pottery is where our interest is focussed. The area is networked by canals with all the old potteries along the canals for receipt of raw materials and the transport of finished wares. This was before the railways and road transport. As a result my family and me now find the canal system, and the industrial history along its banks, fascinating.
The item suggested by Horus that we will save for next time is Middleport Pottery. Here is a picture ('borrowed' from their website) with the pottery sitting right on the Trent and Mersey canal.
10237
I think that is a great picture with factory buildings unchanged in about 200 years, and an original bottle oven in the centre background.

This is still a working pottery producing the well known Burleigh Wares. Modern processes for producing the wares are used today, but the methods are little changed. During the working week factory tours are available to see the processes involved in making these wares.
But that is for next time. Meanwhile expect something very interesting, at least I think so, next month ;) :lol:


:gg:
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Kiya
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Kiya »

That is a nice picture :)

Now you leave us all on suspense , cant wait to see you pics......enjoy :)
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

@Grandad - Hope your trip is enjoyable and you get some good sightseeing and some even better photos too. Hopefully your day will be good weather-wise too. Have you figured out if there are any really good restaurants in the area for your meal(s)? Can't wait to see your photos of the area :)
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

Like most industries; in pottery manufacture there were specific job titles for the task performed. I have had to turn to Wiki but found these from old Stoke on Trent pottery manufacture. I don't know if any or some still exist today with changing manufacturing methods:

Thrower, turner, fettler, dipper.
Pugman, jollyer, sponger, jigger.
Mouldrunner, cod placer,
and
one legged dancer,
and my absolute favourite
saggar maker’s bottom knocker.
:lol: :lol:
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

WOW - Wonder would life would be like as a "saggar maker’s bottom knocker" :o :o Wonder what their actual job duties would have been that brought about that name for the job?

There are cod pieces for male ballet dancers - wonder what the 'cod placer' in pottery does (although I can't make a link between pottery making and ballet dancers) :P :P
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Horus »

A quick intervention here from me, in answer to your question.
A saggar is a rough oval shaped receptacle made from a type of fire clay and it is used to place the ceramic ware inside when it is fired, they can vary is size but often are about the size of small coffee table and about 12” to 20” high on the sides. These saggars were used because of the soot and dust from the coal used to fire the ‘Bottle Kilns’ from damaging the ware inside, modern ceramic kilns do not require these. They have to be shaped by hand from a flat strip of clay and it is (was) a highly skilled job. This open oval shape required a base and this was the ‘bottom’ and was a simpler much less skilled object to make, they did it by pounding the clay ball flat or ‘knocking’ it. As the factory would not want the skilled saggar maker doing a less skilled task and slowing him down he was given an assistant to help him and this man would ‘Knock the sagger bottom’ Hence a Sagger Makers --------------- Bottom Knocker, simples. :D
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

Cheers mate :up

I believe the bottom knocker was not employed by the pottery but by the Sagger Maker who paid him from his own wage. I think the point was that, as you have said H, Saggar making was a skilled job and it was worth the Saggar Maker paying an assistant to boost his, the Saggar Makers, output.
I would love to be able to turn the clock back and see that and everything else going on around a pottery like Middleport......
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Horus »

That may have been the way at one time long ago, but in my experience they were all usually employed by the company they worked for, saggars were made in the same way right up to the general demise of the Pottery industries from the mid 1970's onwards. You didn't need to go back that far to see all of those jobs being performed and many were being done even within to the last few years, apart from a few well known companies industrialisation came very late to these industries and I have seen all of these jobs being done as a persons daily job in factories even in my lifetime.

Believe it or not but in the mystery place you are yet to visit, even as late as the 1990s the consistency of the finished product was determined by an old guy (Vic) who would dip his finger into it and after sucking it and running his tongue around his mouth would then declare it to be ready or not! I knew him well and often gave him all my paper back war books after I had read them. ;)
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

So Horus, how about the one legged dancer, what is that all about? If we were talking something to do with fabric threads or weaving I could imagine a machine part having such a name but not in the potteries?

PS: I think that picture of Middleport Pottery is so good I now have it as my desktop wall paper. :up
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Horus »

I think you may be testing my pottery making knowledge Grandad ;)
It was a very old term used for the (usually young girl) who was employed to turn a great big wheel that turned a hand throwing potters wheel. To get the gear ratio correct it was a very big diameter as it was just a rope drive to the potting wheel spindle pulley, so imagine this small girl as she attempted to get the handle past 12 O-clock :sd arms stretched upwards and balancing on one leg to get the height, ergo a "one legged dancer" :a80:
There are literally hundreds of names for job descriptions and workplace items that you need to be a local to know what they are, we even have our own dialect that if spoken by an old timer you would not understand it, although a lot of the words are still used in everyday speech in some areas.
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I'm going to ask a really practical question here, Grandad. How are you getting there and back? The reason I ask is because I was supposed to be on a course on the 1st June in Worcester, but it is only a one day course and it has just come to light just how much DH is dreading the drive! :( Originally, the idea was to drive there the day before; stay overnight in the local Premier Inn; attend the course, and then drive back again. However, DH was diagnosed with arthritis of the spine some years ago, and the intervening years haven't made it any better, so it looks like I will be cancelling. It's a big disappointment but I don't feel I can put him through it, although he is willing. I just wish there was another easier way but I can't think of one offhand! :(
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

@Ruby Slippers
RS, after I gave up driving about 2 years ago, we have relied on public transport and taxis for local trips.
Our daughter and her husband have been really good in doing the transport jobs when we have appointments away from the city. They also include us if they are going out or even away as at Christmas when we went to Austria.

So, to answer your question, my daughter works in a school and the Easter holiday starts early April. Her husband has some spare holiday available and it was he who suggested that we take a short break. They really enjoyed exploring the canals when we went north last October and want to explore further afield.

So David does the driving and, although he doesn't have to pay for fuel, I pick up quite a few bills. ;)

Our sons would do the same but they are both in jobs with irregular working routines.
:gg:
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by Grandad »

Horus wrote:I think you may be testing my pottery making knowledge Grandad ;)
Well H, as we never had any potteries down here in the south you have the advantage. ;)
And the only canal that I can claim hereabouts is the Royal Military Canal that runs between Folkestone and Hastings. But that was never constructed for commercial use and has never seen a narrow boat :lol:
It was dug between 1804 and 1809 to provide a barrier against Napoleons army should they decide to invade Southern England; and there is not even a pub along its length :lol:
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Re: A Trip Up North

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

@Grandad - hope you have a grand time. Lots of photos too please. I"m off to pottery today myself but want to assure I am NOT dancing about on one leg in the studio I go to! :P :P (Course I'm not turning out anything even remotely close to what those Pottery Kilns produced either)

I do definitely love pottery though - and I'm not talking the rough pottery that is made here re: handbuilding or throwing.
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