It looks as if this video clip is not available online yet.
Use the enquiry button on the right and we’ll get back to you to discuss the quickest way for you to view it.
The film mixes archive footage and stills of the pottery, china and mining industries in Stoke-on-Trent with modern shots of pottery workers. The film is linked by a local people in a pub comparing conditions in the past with modern automated factories.
The local writer Arthur Berry is also featured. He is seen walking around the Stoke-on-Trent area with a voice over of his verse. There is also an unidentified photographer who returns to the site of a pottery in Hanley which is now a shopping centre.
There are shots from an unidentified silent drama covering memories of old cinemas.
We then see a woman visiting the empty Stoke City football ground (The Victoria Ground) which cuts to archive of a 1950s Stoke City football match featuring Stanley Matthews.
There is extensive material of a modern (unnamed) pottery factory. The manager (?) provides a voice over to describe some of his staffing policies.
Arthur Berry provides verse celebrating 'the backs' or the alleys that run behind terraced houses. We see both modern and archive shots including children playing.
Shots of modern shops in Stoke-on-Trent are seen suggesting that the character of the town is becoming less individual.
We also see an elderly woman visiting residents of Stallington Hospital (a mental health facility). Her voice over explains that she is a Methodist preacher for Christian Endeavour. She is later seen walking in the hills overlooking the six towns.
Finally we see shots at a ceramic tile factory.
Verse - Arthur Berry
Archive film and stills by courtesy of
Ray Johnson
H & R Johnson Tiles
Royal Doulton
Royal Worcester Spode
Stoke-on-Trent City Museum & Art Gallery
Twyford Bathrooms Ltd
The Warrilow Collection, Keele University
Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd
Photography - Peter Greenhalgh
Sound - Bill Dodkin
Sound Dubbing - Colin Martin
Film Editor - Bob Cook
Production - John McLeod, Simon Massey, Pat Harris
Produced and Directed by Mike Connor
Central Television production number 6249/85.