PHOTOGRAPHY • VIDEO • DESIGN • DRONE
Phil Crow ABIPP is a photographer based in Lincoln, UK
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The Last Bottle Ovens and Kilns of The Potteries

An exhibition by Phil Crow.

Christmastime

Save the date! 3 December FORTYSEVEN is back for one day only!

 “FORTYSEVEN” is back in Middleport‘s bottle oven on Sunday 3 December. I’ll be about all day, so make sure you say hello! You’ll most likely find me drinking tea with the fantastic Emma Bailey in her studio just across the way from the bottle oven entrance. Visit Emma’s studio where you will be able to buy some amazing Christmas ceramic gifts from Emma and I will have a number of special items also available for sale with a few discounts too! 

If you missed the exhibition the first time, this is the perfect opportunity to check it out amongst all the festivities that Middleport have to offer.

2 December I’ll also be at Barewall Gallery

I’ll also be spending a day with Barewall Gallery on Saturday 2nd December at their “Christmas Cheers” weekend. Barewall have loads going on over these two days so it’s definatley worth popping in and saying hello. There will be book signings, amazing people, art (obviously!) plus check out Iain’s Lost and Found Project in the studio just behind Barewall. His work is fantastic and certainly worth a visit.

Barewall Gallery can be found at 2-4 Market Place, Burslem.
w3w ///dizzy.wacky.caller

Middleport Christmas
FORTYSEVEN: The Last Bottle Ovens and Bottle Kilns of The Potteries

NOW AVAILABLE

FORTYSEVEN: The Last Bottle Ovens and Kilns of The Potteries

A new photographic book to accompany the exhibition with additional images showing more details documenting the remaining ovens and kilns.

exhibition dates

21 April – 21 May 2023
Keele University Chancellors Gallery, Chancellors Building
Free Entry. Monday to Saturday 9am-7pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
Free parking after 5pm on weekdays, Free parking at the weekend 

27 May – 30 July 2023
Gladstone Pottery
in the “Great Pottery Throw Down” Room
(museum admission charges apply)

18 August – 17 September 2023
Middleport Pottery
in the hovel of the Bottle Oven
(free entry to the bottle oven)

At the height of the pottery industry, the skyline of Stoke-on-Trent was dominated by thousands of bottle ovens.
Before the outbreak of war in 1939, more than 2000 had been documented.

The Clean Air Act of 1956 was the beginning of the end for these iconic buildings and by 1964 only 20 were still operable. 

Currently, 47 bottle shaped structures remain in 27 locations. 

“The difference in condition is astounding. Some are loved, most are not, but they are all beautiful in their own way.” 

A photographic exhibition that celebrates the heritage of The Potteries. 
This exhibition shows the dark beauty of a bygone industry in a modern world and,
thanks to the Warrillow Collection, also depicts a thriving industry back in its heyday. 

Warr130. Etruria, Wedgwood Works, 1946
Warr130. Etruria, Wedgwood Works, 1946

what people are saying about FORTYSEVEN...

Rated 5.0 out of 5
28/05/2023

May I say how much I enjoyed your show at the Gladstone. Great photos, great juxta-positioning with the Warrillow prints, and – actually – very evocative. It saddens me to reflect on how our industrial heritage has been neglected and recording what is left is clearly important – and you have done this here with the eye of an artist, a different take of the usual architectural / historical record.

David
Rated 5.0 out of 5
18/05/2023

Visited twice. Being of a certain age found the exhibition brought back memories of how Stoke was in the 50’s

Chatterton

sponsored by

FORTYSEVEN: The Last Bottle Ovens and Bottle Kilns of The Potteries

NOW AVAILABLE

FORTYSEVEN: The Last Bottle Ovens and Kilns of The Potteries

A new photographic book to accompany the exhibition with additional images showing more details documenting the remaining ovens and kilns.

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