The Wedgwood Museum Overview

The winner of the 2009 Art Fund Prize, the Wedgwood Museum in Stoke-on-Trent is at the heart of the area known as The Potteries and is home to one of the most important ceramic collections in the world. The gallery tells the story of Josiah Wedgwood, his family, and the company he founded over 250 years ago. Since 2008 the Museum has been housed in a purpose-built state-of-the-art building to show off its wonderful collection to best effect.

Permanent collections

The collection is displayed chronologically from 1730 to today. It contains not just the ceramics themselves but a huge range of documentation, manuscripts, correspondence, factory equipment and models, exploring every possible aspect of Wedgwood’s fascinating past. It also contains paintings by famous artists. Highlights of the Ceramics collection include Josiah Wedgwood’s cream-coloured earthenware, later given royal approval by Queen Charlotte and renamed Queen’s ware, and his experimentations for his new invention, a high-fired stoneware, which he called jasper.

Visitor information

The Ivy-House Restaurant, named after Wedgwood’s original 18th-century factory, serves hot and cold meals on the best Wedgwood china.

The impressive shop provides ample opportunity for retail therapy for ceramics fans as it stocks the full range from the Waterford Wedgwood Group.

The purpose-built visitor centre gives the opportunity to meet skilled craftspeople in the demonstration area and to have a go at creating your own pottery masterpiece.