The Potteries

Back in the day this city
thrived with potteries everywhere
But now the bottle kilns are gone
though the history’s still there

Back in the day the smoke and smog
belched up and filled the sky
But now lie open brownfield sites
more pleasing to the eye

Back in the day Josiah
made Wedgwood a household name
But now the city ‘Stoke-on-Trent’
rejuvenates again

Back in the day ‘The Potteries’
earned a heritage worldwide
But now when visiting today
one single kiln I spied

Back in the day they covered
every tiny little place
But now they’re just a memory
with lots of open space

But ‘back in the day’ returns again
with history on repeat
And with museums here a plenty
the memories are complete

Affectionately known as “The Potteries’, Stoke-on-Trent claimed the title of World capital of Ceramics back in the day when industrialists like Josiah Wedgwood set up in the area. Sadly there a very few of the original bottle kilns still evident (although you can see one in the far background above). However, the history of ceramics and pottery very much remains in a city which is in the process of rejuvenating its brownfield sites with both colour and imagination. (Photo – Jempics)

Tags: Ceramics, heritage, Josiah Wedgwood, poem, poems, poetry, poetry blog, poetry writing, poets, poets corner, pottery, rejuvenation, Stoke-on-Trent, writing, writing poetry