Staffordshire Factory

The largest group of English ceramic factories, producing vast quantities of useful and ornamental wares from the 17th Century to the present day (generally lead-glazed or salt-glazed, never tin-glazed, earthenwares but also types of porcelain especially from the early 19th Century). They began as a purely national industry but were influencing Continental factories in the late 18th Century and were carrying on an export trade with all parts of the world in the 19th Century. They are situated in the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent, in the district commonly known as The Potteries or the Five Towns (Burslem, Stoke, Hanley, Tunstall and Longton, though also including Longport, Fenton, Cobridge, Shelton, Lane Delph - now called Middle Fenton - and Lane End).