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the potteries bottle oven complete guide to bottle ovens and bottle kilns in the potteries pages home what s a bottle oven how many what s left types construction saggars how to fire 1 how to fire 2 coal smoke clean air demolition survey 76 firings 76 77 last firing 1978 bottle oven day essays guest page 1 guest page 2 tunstall burslem hanley stoke fenton longton newcastle national index world wide gladstone videos innovation links about search the potteries bottle ovens and bottle kilns at their peak in the 1930s about 2 100 of these towering and complex buildings dominated the skyline of stoke on trent today jan 2026 only 47 remain complete with their bottle shaped chimney there are 2 more which have collapsed a third one a muffle oven without its chimney was demolished in september 2025 in 1963 it became illegal to fire bottle ovens and kilns with coal the clean air act of july 1956 made a provision for abating the pollution of the air pottery manufacturers were given 7 years to completely change their firing methods to use smokeless fuels bottle oven at gladstone pottery museum longton for a 90 second audio introduction to the potteries bottle ovens click this soundcloud link no need to sign in https soundcloud com user 359396863 brief intro to the potteries these huge towering and complex brick built structures were once the dominant feature of the potteries landscape they were an integral part of a potbank and an essential tool in pottery manufacture bottle ovens in art seven sisters j g meakin ltd eastwood works lichfield street hanley terry woolliscroft collection at their peak in the 1930s around 2 150 existed in the city of stoke on trent most of the potters bottle ovens were fired once a week some twice at each firing a minimum of 10 tons of coal was burnt in each oven some very large ovens with up to 14 firemouths used over 30 tons per firing each firing could last over 72 hours sometimes longer in difficult conditions bottle ovens 1954 46 seconds from the film called the peak district thick black choking smoke always filled the air sooty smuts clung to everything but a change initiated in the first quarter of the 20th century was gaining momentum as manufacturers searched for more efficient and cleaner ways to fire their products town gas oil and electricity were taken on to fuel the innovative intermittent and continuous firing tunnel kilns the use of coal fired bottle ovens and kilns began to decline the clean air act of 1956 finally put a stop to their use and sealed the fate of the traditional coal fired oven pottery manufacturers were forced to change but were allowed seven years to fully adapt to the alternative methods and fuels by 1960 there were fewer than 200 operable coal fired bottle ovens by july 1963 all bottle ovens and kilns were redundant although just a few were used illegally after the deadline the skills of the people who used them were redundant too their skills faded away the rush to demolish encouraged by the local council began in earnest 47 precious examples remain standing complete with their bottle shaped chimney an additional 2 examples are mere remnants and have lost their chimney update september 2025 the small decorator s muffle kiln which stood on the site of the falcon pottery in town road hanley was demolished on 16th september 2025 of these 47 only 30 are potters ovens used for biscuit or glost firing 18 of these are within a very short walk of gladstone pottery museum in longton the southernmost of stoke on trent s six towns interestingly throughout the whole of the uk fewer than 100 pottery oven and kiln structures remain more details here don t get confused oven or kiln the terms bottle oven and bottle kiln are often used interchangeably to most of us they mean the same thing a complex brick built bottle shaped structure for the firing of pottery or associated materials most of us assume them to be the same and to do the same job and although both ovens and bottle kilns have that curious bottle shaped chimney and both were fired with coal there is an important technical difference between the two as with all potteries terms the usage of the words kiln and oven varied from factory to factory and from town to town but over time the terms became interchangeable bottle oven in the potteries the term bottle oven meant the potter s biscuit or glost oven which was fired with coal to produce long flames that passed from the firemouths directly into the firing chamber heat then passed up through the setting and out through the bottle shaped chimney the heat was used once pottery inside the chamber needed to be protected from the flames smoke sulphur fumes ashes and dust in fireclay boxes called saggars there were other types of bottle ovens which included downdraught two tier structures and salt glaze ovens temperatures of around 1000 c to 1400 c were reached in bottle ovens bottle kiln a bottle kiln was constructed differently from an oven there were several types a muffle kiln was constructed in such a way that the flames and products of combustion were prevented from entering the firing chamber by being circulated through enclosed flues which surrounded it the products placed inside the chamber were thus kept away from the filth of fire and did not need to be protected in saggars muffle kilns were used for the firing of onglaze enamel decoration and for hardening on underglaze transferware temperatures typically around 700 c to 850 c were reached in muffle kilns a calcining kiln was used by potters materials suppliers for example flint stones or animal bones were calcined in kilns to make them friable and able to be crushed and ground ready for use in pottery recipes there were also frit kilns and lime kilns other types of kiln kilns for the firing of bricks and tiles were not bottle shaped at all they were described as beehive kilns they generally operated by downdraught and had a separate tall chimney and no hovel no two alike no two bottle ovens or bottle kilns were the same they were all built differently the vast majority without architect drawings many were built by eye and based only on the experience of the oven builder and the requirements of the factory owner an old bottle oven builder tom clewes of longton told me at the last bottle oven firing in 1978 they just went up you won t find any of these ovens drawn on paper since you just built them we did it on a day work basis and got on with it the decorative brickwork at the top of the hovel chimney was created on the whim of the builder and owner in their heyday the different types of bottle oven and bottle kiln were not specifically listed or classified people in the pottery industry knew exactly what they were so why bother listing them of the 2000 or so coal fired bottle ovens and kilns which once littered the skyline of the potteries only 47 remain standing complete today 2025 firing them is no longer permitted the clean air act of 1956 signalled their decline they were replaced with kilns using the alternative fuels of electricity gas and oil sources 1 alfred clough the fireman responsible for the last bottle oven firing in the potteries in 1978 he was a local pottery manufacturer and at one time owned over 30 pottery factories 2 in 1921 ernest sandeman described the various types of oven and kiln in his book notes on the manufacture of earthenware read all about bottle ovens and the story of the final firing 12 99 available from gladstone pottery museum shop and by mail order phone 44 0 1782 237777 isbn 978 0 9505411 3 6 http www stokemuseums org uk gpm produced with the generous support of the friends of the potteries museum and art gallery planned researched written designed printed published and distributed entirely in stoke on trent wonderful book superbly detailed and presented the copious illustrations and photographs are terrific ray johnson mbe love this book s mixture of information narrative memories snapshots technical diagrams and the glossary of stoke words val bott mbe incredibly interesting informative and very well illustrated i can recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history behind the pottery industry brian milner it s a delightful read and such an unusual and creative way of telling the story the reader is drawn into it professor jennifer tann director of potbank the official film of the last bottle oven firing potteries bottle oven day every august 29th the date in 1978 when a potteries bottle oven was kindled and fired for the last time the ovens are the most important part of the potter s plant and it is on their successful management that the results of the business will largely depend ernest albert sandeman 1901 the pottery kilns and ovens without these great bottles of heat there would be no potteries they represent the very heart and soul of the district j b priestly english journey 1934 the actual operations of the fireman and his assistants are obviously vital factors in successful oven practice stanley r hind 1937 when admiring a piece of fine pottery spare a grateful thought for the fireman robert copeland 2009 from these huge filthy curious brick built and iron strapped structures came the most exquisite delicate and utterly beautiful pottery in the world anon 2018 before 1963 the red hot heart of the potteries the potteries bottle oven the huge imposing and towering brick built bottle shaped structure up to 70 feet high essential on a potbank for the making of pottery in the pottery district of north staffordshire chimneys may at any time be seen vomiting forth black smoke filling the streets and roads to such on extent as sometimes to impede vision beyond a distance of a few yards extract from the report for 1878 of the medical officer of the local government board it s a fine day if you can see the other side of the road images of the remaining examples here where are they located here figure to yourself a tract of country the surface of which cut scarred burnt and ploughed up in every direction displays a heterogeneous mass of hovels and palaces farmhouses and factories chapels and churches canals and coal pits corn fields and brick fields gardens and furnaces jumbled together in the most admirable disorder and you will have a pretty correct idea of the staffordshire potteries pervade the space your fancy has thus pictured with suffocating smoke vomited forth incessantly from innumerable fires and the thing will be complete monthly magazine 1st november 1823 in the pottery district of north staffordshire chimneys may at any time be seen vomiting forth black smoke filling the streets and roads to such an extent as sometimes to impede vision beyond a distance of a few yards the report for 1878 by the medical officer of the local government board it seemed as though all the porcelain and earthenware for the supply of the world might be made here acre after acre and mile after mile of kilns and furnaces crowded together in some instances or a little more scattered in others covered this region wilbur fisk travels on the continent of europe with engravings harper brothers new york 1838 p 503 in 1939 there were about 2000 bottle ovens and kilns or strictly speaking bottle shaped structures of various types used for firing pottery ware or its components they dominated the landscape of the potteries of stoke on trent most were fired once a week at a push some were fired twice a week each firing required at least 10 tons of coal each baiting filled the atmosphere with thick belching black smoke in 2019 there are fewer than 50 bottle shaped structures still standing the bottle oven at hudson and middleton s factory in normacot road longton was the last one to be fired in august 1978 none will ever be fired again the clean air act of 1956 and their delicate condition have put paid to that in total 30 potters ovens remain standing these were the ones specifically used for the firing of biscuit or glost pottery 18 of those are within a 5 minutes walk of gladstone pottery museum in longton stoke on trent at the multi award winning gladstone pottery museum itself there are 5 bottle ovens there are also two next door at the roslyn works this is the most important and most precious group of buildings in the potteries throughout this website the term bottle oven refers to a bottle shaped structure of various types and functions used for firing pottery ware or its components bottle ovens can be classified into four main types within these four types are additional variations giving a total of twelve different types of oven all are listed here the last commercial bottle oven firing 1976 this was the penultimate commercial bottle oven firing in the potteries it was at the factory of acme marls bournes bank burslem and it took place in the summer of 1976 one further firing took place at the factory before production was transferred to a new site this small selection of photos was taken at the event more here acme marls burslem july august 1976 final temperature of close on 1400c has been reached thermocouple and block removed from the top of the clammins and the crown damper cracked open photos terry woolliscroft collection more here home glossary for explanations of the unusual words used here and peculiar to the north staffordshire potteries go to the potbank dictionary here awesome inc theme powered by blogger