Potbank

A potbank is a colloquial name for a pottery factory in North Staffordshire used to make bone china, earthenware and sanitaryware.

The term potbank has been used for generations; traditionally it is believed to originate in a business strategy employed by Josiah Wedgwood, the famous early industrialist.

Unable to meet the demand for his creamwares, he sub-contracted other potters to make shapes to his specification, and to hold these in stocks until he required them.

Depending on ware, the item could be decorated and gilded by hand and be fired for a third time in a muffle kiln at 1,250.

The Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1777 provided cheap transport for the china clay from Cornwall, the bones and the coal from local collieries, and a smooth passage to Liverpool to export the finished goods.