As stated, Longton is the newest of the six towns to evolve but its evolution has been innovative and inspired even though it had a poor reputation as a dwelling place. The rapid industrial growth that drove the town into the record books inevitably went hand in hand with poverty and slum dwellings as the population grew from few to many. No planning schemas existed, no thought beyond function motivated housing, and Longton became a unique town in many ways. Disease and death were common in the dour streets dogged with a heavily polluted environment. Character, as ever, flourished amongst such trial.
Longton itself seems to the author to have been a district rather than a town. The modern town encompasses an area previously well known as Lane End. So much so that early records point to the current town as being slightly west of but including Lane End. Indeed, Lane End seems to have originally been exactly that. Dwellings here are not truly recorded but something triggered the naming of a site that is at the end of a lane from the village of Meare (now a town called Meir). Meir comes under the auspices of Longton today, as do many of the districts referred to in this text. They are identified as being in the postal (and one time phone district) of Longton.
Back in 1666 things were a little different. Wealth was judged by the amount of hearths a person had in their home. Not unreasonable as to have hearths you needed rooms to put them and in the days before modern heating, a fire was your main source of heat. No hearth meant you were too poor to tax. The author does not know the criteria that separated the class of a fire and a hearth but it is reasonable to assume that even poor folk kept warm in winters depth but there evidently was a point wherefore a fireplace was officially a hearth. The Hearth Tax records for the area in this year indicated:
| 1666 HEARTH TAX RECORDS | |
| Town | Taxable Houses |
|---|---|
| Burslem | 41 |
| Tunstall | 17 |
| Hanley | 50 (inc. Shelton) |
| Stoke | 43 |
| Fenton | 33 |
| Longton | 13 |
| (Meare) Lane End | 12 |
| Normacot Grange | 9 |
| Table 1 | |
The Hearth Tax figures also showed the following:
Longton, Lane End and Normacot were still distinct areas at this time and, although the author has no accurate population figures, there must have been few people populating the district which by 1738 still only had a Longton/ Lane End population figure of around 500. This highlights Longton's boom as it influenced the Industrial Revolution within the Potteries of North Staffordshire when compared to pre-industrialization figures. Below is a classic example of how lack of planning saw an uncontrolled mixture of homes and factories.
Some Longtonians at the time will have been attracted from neighbouring towns and therefore been familiar with this tough lifestyle. Many others however would have been attracted by the promise of regular work from rural districts. I don’t suggest for one minute that living and working in the countryside at any time isn’t hard work, but many would have found this seasonal. Suddenly they are into a daily trudge of misery and long hours of hard work all year. Living so unhygienically in cramped, overcrowded conditions amongst dense industrial waste and pollution must have been absolute misery. But this was still to come at this stage in history.
As stated, the Roman's had known the area but mainly as a route to the North West of Britain with trading posts and perhaps a settlement at Penkhull. The Roman road finally became the A50 (now bypassed with a dual carriageway designated the A50) and was turnpiked in the 18C which signified an explosion period of population and industry in Longton.
New industries sprung up throughout the Victorian period, farming though still formed the primal occupation within the locality. Once turnpiking began, Longton’s economic growth was stamped. This move to turnpiked roads by entrepreneurs did not happen overnight however as the figures below indicate:
With an area suddenly attractive to industrialists we see a shift as corn mills become converted to flint mills for the pottery industry or new flint mills grew alongside corn mills. By 1695 the record books indicate the first coal mine in the Longton region at Sandford Hill (between Longton and Adderly Green). Coal and ironstone smelting is on record by 1721.
From 1750 there was a steady increase in the number of pottery factories. Known locally as potbanks to this day, 13 had appeared by 1784. Perhaps the trigger to Longton’s success was actually a failure. An ambitious project was launched at Longton Hall to manufacture porcelain to the same standard as imported Chinese ware. This may be the first known attempt to produce this product in the UK but after 15 years of experimenting and failure the potbank went bankrupt in 1760, its ware fragile and inferior.
Two years later in the High Street in Longton (now Market Street), John Turner was producing ware to challenge the excellence of Wedgwood. Longton was evolving and people with vision and a healthy competitive nature were in the driving seat.
The town was still a headless chicken though. At the start of Queen Victoria's reign, Longton had no local government and came under the jurisdiction of Newcastle Manor. One police constable maintained peace with four assistants and stocks sited on the junction of Market Place and the High Street.
The town was now a jumble of potbanks and houses. Many manufacturers built houses for their workers that backed upto or collected around the factories. Blind alleys were normal. Working and living co-existed under one mantle. Misery must have plagued the brightest heart.
1783 saw the first steps towards incorporating the towns of the Potteries by Hanley Corporation but the attempt failed miserably from lack of support. No hint of unification came of the abortive effort.
John Turner was established as a master potter in every type of available ware but was also being noticed for his innovative introduction of previously unknown products. The earliest record of his work is an earthenware teapot dated 1762. Elaborately designed and decorated to depict a young Lord Trentham with his collection of French Dolls, it laid down the challenge that epitomized the quality and imagination that lifted Longton to the top league of Potteries producers.
He was also a noted producer of the finest black basalt pieces. Known locally as 'Egyptian Black', only Wedgwood came close to competing with Turner though his ware is rated below Turner's. This is significant praise as Wedgwood improved Egyptian Black for his own ware and produced high quality samples.
Today Jasper Ware personifies Wedgwood Pottery. The distinctive blue offset by fine white decoration speaks Josiah Wedgwood to the mind of any pottery fancier worldwide. It wasn't always so.
Many master potters produced Jasper Ware, only Turner truly competed with Wedgwood, this time his own distinctive formula fell short of the Wedgwood magic. Turner later adopted the Wedgwood technique and blue backed style. This has become termed 'True Jasper'. Until their potbank ceased trading in 1875, partners Chetham & Wooley produced busts, statues and figures in an unglazed ware very similar to Jasper.
Wedgwood also produced ware termed 'Red China'. Pre-communist, this term purely described the red tone of the stoneware that Wedgwood called 'Roso Antico'. Again many master potters referred to themselves as producers of fine Egyptian Black and Red China.
While the rest of the City had grown within the dictates of the Industrial Revolution, Longton had been slow to evolve from a rural to an urban area. Change came to start with from mineral exploitation to feed localized pottery and steel working. The 18C saw pottery manufacturing explode in Longton and the population exploded with it. As the 19C came in growth was established but was not anywhere near peaked. Future troubles were unseen but initiated.
These problems would come from the unplanned expansion of housing and industry in a town that had failed to exist a few short years earlier and had no self-government, planning schema nor social institutions. Reform by the dedicated was slow and suffered many setbacks in establishing schools, churches and hospitals not to mention any hint of civic amenities.
1802 saw Longton gazetted as a market town and by now it had two market halls. One opened in Times Square in 1789 only to be followed five years later by a market opened by 22 locals in Commerce Street. Trade roads, potbanks and housing grew rapidly with great irregularity regarding the position and layout. Many blind alleys and enclosed courtyards were developing in ever-crowded confusion among the smoke and smog of the bottle ovens used to fire the ware.
The manufacturers often owned the supply industries too and saw the need for government. So they formed a government that was not democratically elected but was selected and controlled between them. National government at the time would have seen nothing wrong with this, as full and true democracy in Britain was very far off.
The town had 13 potbanks in 1784 and 65 by 1867. Many of the potbanks were smaller than in the other Potteries towns that gave a distinct look to the town. The reason for this was probably specialization and sometimes master potters had partnership in different factories. Table 2 shows the population growth to enable this economic expansion. The population figures also reflect the growth in support workers for the mines, building and craftsmen etc.
| LONGTON | |
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1780 | 2,500 |
| 1811 | 5,000 |
| 1831 | 10,000 |
| 1871 | 19,000 |
| Table 2 | |
The 18C may have seen the stone start rolling but rather than gather no moss, it gathered moss, momentum and attitude. The push for prosperity and economic strength came straight off the back of folk who suffered. The suffering was pitiless and eternal. Injustice and a feeling of helpless victimization were etching into the psyche of suffering souls. A tinderbox was drying in a scorching sun. As the 19C came with all its successes, anger was bubbling.
The clutter of potbanks and associated poor housing was a hotbed for disease and low morale. Sited in a hollow, Longton was plagued by the worst pollution of any of the Potteries towns. Coal mines, marl holes and schraff tips were abundant. Clustered in a suffocating mass, Longton earned all its reputations. The quality of its products being overshadowed by its evil social inadequacies.
The welfare of Longton's inhabitants relied on an evolving social and administrative structure keeping pace with rapid industrial and numerical growth. As we have seen, this didn't happen. Services were woefully inadequate and that people survived, let alone thrived was a tribute to the human spirit. Growth, ever synchronous with prosperity has no bounds when unchecked giving rise to hostile and often vile living conditions. Among such struggle, societies often thrive, born of adversity and interdependence. Longton was no different and the local brass band signified this spirit.
Turner maintained his prominent role in establishing the town and had often dabbled in attempts to produce fine china. Clay to produce this type of ware was in demand and the best source was Cornwall. Up to 1775 Richard Champion held patent rights to Cornish clays and stone but his application to extend the patent was challenged successfully by Josiah Wedgwood and John Turner.
Wedgwood had been using light coloured clays to make cream coloured earthenware (stoneware) for some years to capitalize on the popularity of pale products and in 1762 had made a famous service for Queen Charlotte called Queensware. Lane End potters Forrester & Meredith and Robert Garner soon made their own branded Queensware.
By 1780 Richard Champion was experiencing financial difficulties and formed a company of Staffordshire potters to manufacture hard-paste porcelain. Turner was a founder member of Champion's New Hall Company but quit two years later to concentrate on his own porcelain production. He achieved a coup by bringing esteemed designer Gerverot on board and all the significant Turner pieces came from his inspiration.
Turner worked hard and invested bravely to instill his status and luck helped him along some times. He discovered light coloured clay right beneath everyone's feet in Longton itself. This clay was not suitable for china or porcelain production but clay from the Peacock Marl Hole featured well for him and he used it extensively for stoneware products. His extensive range of off white to ochre coloured ware was very popular. The products depicted finishes such as pastry, cane and willow to name a few. Pastry was particularly well received in a time when flour was a valuable commodity and in short supply.
But what did it mean to the populace of Longton, having a marl hole in their neighbourhood? Take a look...
How do you keep the kids away from that?
Sadly, they probably worked there!
This kind of thing was a normal part of life, this isn’t Turner's Peacock Marl at Greendock but it is close by.
Turner, as ever, had been the advocator of new production methods. From 1780 machines had become the next big thing offering vast power sources. Newcomen’s atmospheric engine had found use even in corn mills for pumping water back over the wheel thus improving performance and many Potters had converted these to stone and flint mills or built new ones based on the corn mills standard. John Turner not only used a power engine but he had it placed outside his factory on full view, stating his forward thinking and commitment to change. It also hypothetically thumbed his nose to competitors.
Throwing engines and lathes were operated from the engine via extensive belt drives. Safety was ignored and many victims fell to this practice, not least the smaller people who could crawl about the system for maintenance. Children were often maimed, mangled and killed.
And so the monster grew with no concern or provision for the servants of desire, ordinary hard working folk. In 1850, Rawlinson of the Board of Health called for a uniform implementation of a health policy but he might as well have talked Klingon. The advocacy fell on ears deafened by greed and died away, like many of the populace.
Jealous competitiveness between the Pottery towns hindered practical reform as much as any ambition for money or success. Longton, growing without check nor forethought was suffering the worst.
30 years after Turner had made Lord Trentham's famous Teapot showing French Dolls, the Lord, now Earl Gower rescued Turner's son William from the guilotine during the French Revolution. Later William, along with his head, discovered a mineral in the local Tabberner's mine that was able to be moulded into enormous pieces. Called Tabberner's Mine Rock, this mineral took pottery manufacture to a new dimension, literally. A 22 gallon punchbowl was made by a Turner modeller for a Mr. Fletcher of Edinburgh. Though a matter of record, its whereabouts are today unknown. Maybe it is long destroyed.
Stepping back we see that the earliest hint of local government was the formation of the Highway's Board and this was followed up in 1839 by establishment of Improvement Commisioners. None were voted to office.
Wealth seems to have initiated the powerful roles and local laws on social behaviour were introduced and enforced. Justice mustn't be assumed and that was a problem. Unfairness kindles unrest but injustice breeds hate and malevolence.
Add to that local taxes introduced by the self appointed local government and many people became restless. The money raised did not go to aid local civic amenities but was used to promote the needs of local industry. Folk were fed up of working long arduous hours for poor pay only to be charged local taxes that had no social benefit. Longton was becoming belligerent and anarchy was simmering.
The record books still beckoned and Longton was putting itself firmly in print. When unrestricted access to Cornish clay and rock occurred in 1796 porcelain production finally came of age. Nowhere was the opportunity seized with such alacrity and vigour as in Longton where new levels of inspiration drove the town forth. The towns explosion can be tied to this event. The key? Well that was the invention of fine bone china and Josiah Spode II did it first.
Longton's supply of 'Long-Flame' coal was excellent for bone china production and one man came into his own in producing the finest bone china. John Aynsley started pottery production in 1775 in the area once known as Lane End. Indeed to this day the Aynsley factory is just along the road form a competitor named 'Lane End Pottery' and the Aynsley shop is right next door. The present business, John Aynsley & Sons, was formed in 1860. He was central to local government and even stood four times as Lord Mayor.
Bone China contains three crucial ingredients:
Longton's greatest expansion period began with the production of bone china. It was invented in the town and brought the town great wealth. Holder's Directory for 1805 lists only one china manufacturer in Longton and that was Turner. In fact this was likely to be hard paste porcelain and not bone china.
By 1834 there were 48 manufacturers, exactly half of which exclusively produced Fine Bone China. 3 more manufacturers did limited production. By 1867 these figures has risen to 65 producers, 26 exclusive and 11 small-scale producers. And skills grew with it.
As the ware was produced in exotic styles, decorative beyond useful function, finishing the produce fell to the skills of the workers. Realization of the imaginative designs came to the hands of painters, as a lot of ware was hand painted in delicate and even flambouyant style. Women usually trained in this skill as their delicate touch was harnessed. The reward for quality work outstripped other production wages. The Paintress always found employment.
Later in the 18C lithography came into its own as a cheap way of decorating ware. This involves transfers. Lithographers also earned good money and again this intricate skill often fell to women. Well into the 20C these skills were greatly prized.
Metallic finishes also became highly valued with gold, silver and copper gilding and burnishings. Complete coverage was also found.
These were not wages to make people rich however and many people struggled through life in stressful circumstances. Slaves on a plantation may not have been paid but they likely lived in better condtions than the Longtonians at this time and that is not a statement I make lightly nor with disrespect to the poor individuals enslaved barbaricly.
With little amenties, poor sewage facilities, acrid smoke filled air and disease littered streets coupled to taxes burdoning low wages, Longton was not a pretty place and certainly not des-res. At least the slaves had fresh air and better environments to live in, not that this made the pain of horrific enslavement palatable by any stretch of credulity.
Many towns in Britain at the time saw similar problems and as people became more to voice on the subject unrest was inevitable. The pot was simmering.
Social trends also drove change and a vital issue was the sudden growth in popularity of new beverages. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate were in vogue, a trend that has stood the test of time. Hot meals too came into favour. Traditional vessels and plates had been formed from wood but this material was totally unsuitable for the new tastes. The pottery industry quickly seized the initiative.
By providing extensive and varied ware of high quality, threat of competition from Chinese and European imports were removed. Many styles and patterns emerged in an innovative and imagination air of competition.
Ornamental figurines, vases and busts gave vent to creativeness too and the popularity of these items fuelled the bank accounts of many potters. Extravagance and imagination found a ready bed fellow.
Cheap land available at the end of the 18C with the dissolution of Longton Manor Estate triggered the whole thing and it grew, like an untamed monster and it achieved international greatness. The price was enormous, especially to life and life quality and as a witness to the collapse of the industry today the author has to ask if the cost was too high. Yes fame came to town but profit was channelled into narrow lanes and straight into rich mens pockets. They were the Entrepreneurs of course, the risks and the chances were theirs and many failed. Turner, that epitome of master potters could vouch for that.
Turner had also taken the lead in selling ware and as well as ventures with emporiums in London, he ventured abroad. Local ware in Holland and France was very poor at the time and Turner Ware became exceptionally popular. Other Staffordshire Potters followed but the foothold was Turner's. Indeed it was his French love story that pulled the rug out from under him.
To win and stay ahead meant investment and large amounts of capitol were tied up in France and for a shrewd businessman he was uncharacteristically caught short and the French Revolted leaving Turner Bankrupt. Peasants eh? Ungrateful lot!
Politics played a further role in French Exports as Napoleon blockaded British goods from 1806 causing the closure of untold pottery factories. Some had their eye on the ball however and had already sourced a new market. The natives call it Turtle Island but to you and me it's the USA. Other markets cropped up about this time in Gibralter, Morocco and Turkey.
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