Pottery factories in WW2

[bykerlads]

Can anyone tell me what happened to the pottery/ceramic factories during WW2? Did they continue to produce ceramics or were they re-purposed for the war effort?
Also, did the factories keep records of employees, specifically female painters employed from the late 1930's?
Thanks for any replies.( Staffs, Stoke and the Potteries is a new area for me)
Byker.

[ChrissieL]

I have just spoken to my aunt who is 95. She started work when she was 14 in 1942 at a pottery called Sampson Bridgewood in Longton. She was a 'junior' in the office, so it was part way through the war. She told me that Sampson Bridgewood were still producing pottery (it was earthenware, rather than china) but it was not decorated when she worked there during the war years.  They produced a lot of mugs, plates etc that were sent to army barracks in the UK.  She had to type the labels for the crates and she can remember one address was in Didcot.  The ware was created up using straw to protect the products. During the war she had to get a certificate from the vet to say the straw was safe.  She also had to get a certificate from the local solicitor (cost 2/6) to verify the contents of the crates.  She can only vouch for Sampson Bridgewood but I hope this helps
Chris

[MeirSoul]

I know my grandmother worked in a longton potbank throughout the wars years

https://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/wartime-pottery/

[Talacharn]

Certainly some factories continued during the war. When firing, the fire could be seen from above, so metal fleets were placed over the chimney top. This reduced the temperature as less air was passing through, so to compensate they increased the height of the bottle oven neck. When certain ceramics required a higher firing temperature, there were specialist kilns with taller necks.

[bykerlads]

Thanks for the info and the link.
I had supposed that ceramic production would have been stopped at the outbreak of war, I hadn't thpught of all the new military bases etc that would have needed supplying, albeit with undecorated pottery.
A new question: would the unmarried young women working in the pottery factories have been allowed to continue or would they have been obliged to work in more war-related factory work eg munitions or in the military, land army or nursing? ie was pottery production considered necessary to the war effort?
( I am just following up an obituary I saw recently of a lady b.1925 who had been a "pottery painter at Spode". I am curious to know if she would have continued there during WW2 or done something different. She did not marry until 1949, so would have been subject to wartime rules about unmarried women's work. In 1939 the her family lived in Minerva Rd, Stoke on Trent, near to Wedgewood rd.)

[Talacharn]

Stoke on Trent Archives are moving at present, but they may be able to tell you is they keep information on the factory and period you are looking at. stoke.archives@stoke.gov.uk
There is also the Spode factory who could tell you as they have a museum.
https://spodemuseumtrust.org/

[bykerlads]

Thanks. I'll definitely follow this up with the Spode museum.

I was especially struck by the 1939 register entry for the family in question because the mother, unlike the majority of married women with children then was not doing "unpaid domestic work" , an official category in the register. She was employed as "pottery cup maker". Clearly the women of the potteries were an interesting group of ladies.

[ChrissieL]

Women were a huge part of the pottery industry.  Hand painted decoration and gilding were highly skilled occupations which were mostly done by women

Chris

[MeirSoul]

Thanks. I'll definitely follow this up with the Spode museum.

I was especially struck by the 1939 register entry for the family in question because the mother, unlike the majority of married women with children then was not doing "unpaid domestic work" , an official category in the register. She was employed as "pottery cup maker". Clearly the women of the potteries were an interesting group of ladies.

Ye the women in general tended to do the painting and that sort of work where the men did the more heavy lifting kind of stuff like the slip house or saggers etc.