Messrs. J H Weatherby & Sons established a small works at Tunstall in 1891. In the following year they moved to the larger Falcon Pottery at Hanley. Good quality earthenware tableware has been produced up to the present time. The marks include the initials J H W & Sons or the name 'Weatherby'. At its height over 200 people were employed here.
Currently, the entire building carries a Grade 2 listing. Manufacturing ceased in 2000 as a result of increased competition. By then the workforce had shrunk to 10.<
Back in the day when the pottery was operating. Access through window 14th from right picture 1 😂
This was a grim mooch around dark dingy miserable old building; perfect.
I found out about it from the local rag who had reported that a few months before my visit a 17yr old kid had fallen through the roof and that the building is off limits to the public. Yeah right!
Whenever I’m mooching I always go to my right and travel anti-clockwise. Don’t know why but it’s the way I am wired. Pretty soon it was evident this was one sketchy behemoth of a building
But I couldn’t find the gents anywhere
It was soon clear what I was likely to encounter during my wander, but I was alone throughout, maybe they were hiding in the shadows.
Even the graffiti was depressing and DERPy
I did manage to access some of the upper floors, though most had rotted away.
Found some great old moulds still stacked up in storage
So that was it, can’t say it was a pleasant hour, but it was a worthwhile hour: history is all around us. So it was back out through the same window; “politely” telling the council bin man to mind his own business when he asked me what I was doing!