V&A Wedgwood Collection

V&A Wedgwood Collection Celebrating the history and creativity of Wedgwood in the heart of the Potteries. Home of one of the finest ceramic collections in the world. Admission free.

Winner of the Art Fund Prize in 2009 and with astounding archives recognised by UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register. Like the V&A Wedgwood Collection to discover the latest news from our collections and programmes, and to stay up to date with special events. Share your photos with us using

Open Wednesdays-Sundays. 10am-5pm.

Calling all Teachers! 📢Join us on 14 July for an inspiring and hands-on free Teacher CPD event designed for Art & Design...
01/06/2026

Calling all Teachers! 📢

Join us on 14 July for an inspiring and hands-on free Teacher CPD event designed for Art & Design and Design & Technology educators in the Stoke-on-Trent area.

Rooted in the V&A’s DesignLab Nation (DLN) National Schools Programme, this session will explore how historic objects can spark rich, contemporary classroom practice. Drawing on this year’s DLN project where students reinterpreted the iconic Wedgwood Portland Vase through four-day projects, we’ll share insights, outcomes and approaches that can be translated into your own teaching context. During the event, you will be guided be the project designer, ceramic artist, Jaccqui Ramrayka.

Participants will experience a range of practical activities, including object-based learning in the gallery, artist-led drawing exercises, and a collaborative clay-making workshop focused on crafting expressive teapots and vessels. The evening will also highlight further opportunities for schools, including resources and wider programming across the V&A to support creative learning.

Whether you’re looking to refresh your curriculum, build confidence with materials, or connect with other educators, this CPD offers space to reflect, make and reimagine your practice.

DesignLab Nation specifically targets KS3-4 students, however, we warmly welcome all phases, including secondary, primary, SEND, artist educators and teaching assistants to join this event. Refreshments and all materials will be provided.

14 July 2026, 4pm – 6pm

V&A Wedgwood Collection, Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, ST12 9ER
Book here: https://www.worldofwedgwood.com/content/designlab-nation-free-teacher-cpd-clay-collaboration-creativity

Our astonishing collection of ancient pottery! 😲During our mass cataloguing project, we’ve made some amazing discoveries...
29/05/2026

Our astonishing collection of ancient pottery! 😲

During our mass cataloguing project, we’ve made some amazing discoveries. This includes a set of pots which date from around 5th – 4th century BCE.

Manufacture locations include Ancient Corinth, Etruria (Central Italy) and Athens.

Why would these objects be in the Wedgwood Collection? Their provenance is unclear, but it’s possible these were used by Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) and the company as source material for neo-classical designs.

After all, Wedgwood named his first factory ‘Etruria’ to honour the ancient Etruscan potters he sought to emulate.

Image 1: Athenian white-ground lekythos, decorated with palmettes. c. 500-450 BCE (WE.7674-2014)
Image 2: A squat lekythos, red-figure, decorated with a swan. Athens. c. 440-420 BCE (WE.7672-2014)
Image 3: Two handled cup (known as a skyphos) produced in Corinth, about 5th century BCE (WE.7671-2014)
Image 4: Two handled cup (known as a kylix) decorated with ivy leaf motif on its rim. South Italy. 5th century BCE. (WE.7668-2014)

Another brick in the wall? 🧱One of the more curious items in our collection is a brick inscribed with the name Hamlet Wo...
28/05/2026

Another brick in the wall? 🧱

One of the more curious items in our collection is a brick inscribed with the name Hamlet Wood. Who was Hamlet Wood?

Born to the prominent Wood family of Burslem on 4 October 1774, he joined Wedgwood in the 1780s.

The article explores his life story and his connection to the company’s Etruria Factory, the place where this brick came from.

To read, please follow the link in our bio.

This week: Craft Club! 🎨Join us this half term, where we will be exploring Josiah Wedgwood’s earliest designs and how he...
26/05/2026

This week: Craft Club! 🎨

Join us this half term, where we will be exploring Josiah Wedgwood’s earliest designs and how he became ‘Potter to her Majesty!’. Will you make a crown fit for a royal, or design a hat to rival Josiah Wedgwood’s famous cauliflower teapot?

Book a free spot to avoid disappointment, but you are welcome to drop in any time during the two sessions.

Each craft takes around 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete, but you are welcome to drop in any time during the two sessions.

Adult supervision required.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11.30 - 1.00 or 1.30 - 3.00

V&A Welcome Space

Another fantastic find during our 'Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection' project! This black basalt award was designed ...
22/05/2026

Another fantastic find during our 'Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection' project!

This black basalt award was designed and made by Wedgwood for the 21st British Academy Film Awards in 1968. The design features a Greek muse holding a comedy mask, and gold printed text noting that the 'Specialised Film' category winner was a short animated work called 'Energy and Matter', directed by Robert Verrall (1928-2025)

Photographs from the 1968 ceremony also show a memorable moment in which Dame Edith Evans (1888-1976) accidentally broke the head off her own Wedgwood ‘Best Actress’ award after playfully having it kiss Paul Scofield’s (1922-2008) ‘Best Actor’ award!

🚨 Final Reminder - Job opportunity! 🚨We are seeking a Curator to help us lead our dynamic programme here at the V&A Wedg...
18/05/2026

🚨 Final Reminder - Job opportunity! 🚨

We are seeking a Curator to help us lead our dynamic programme here at the V&A Wedgwood Collection.

This opportunity comes at an exciting time, with the Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection project continuing at pace, an engaging display programme in progress and the V&A touring exhibition Wedgwood: Artists and Industries opening in China this Autumn.

If this sounds like the role for you, follow this link to see the full job description: https://vam.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/4180465?cid=3279&rsid=24732&js=0&LinkType=1&FromSearch=False

Application deadline: Wednesday 20 May

Today is International Conscientious Objectors' Day.To mark the day, we wanted to share the experience of Wedgwood model...
15/05/2026

Today is International Conscientious Objectors' Day.

To mark the day, we wanted to share the experience of Wedgwood modeller and artist Arnold Machin (1911-1999). Machin was a pacifist, and with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was one of the 61,000 British men and women to register as conscientious objectors. His application was initially accepted by the Ministry of Labour due to his employment with Wedgwood.

However, restrictions in ceramic trade rendered his registration void in 1942. Shortly after, Machin was called up to active service. Following his principles, he refused and was subsequently imprisoned at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs facility in London.

His close friends and colleagues - including Wedgwood Managing Director Josiah Wedgwood V - battled to get Machin released, attesting the fact he was not only a talented artist, but someone who’s beliefs were unbending. Machin was released in October 1943.

He continued his employment at Wedgwood, and would later become known for modelling the royal portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, (1926-2022) which featured on United Kingdom decimal coins from 1968 to 1984.

Image 1: Letter from Josiah Wedgwood V to Ministry of Labour about Machin’s tribunal, 9 June 1942. V&A Wedgwood Collection Archives.
Image 2: Figure, 'Ferdinand the Bull', Queen's ware with hand-painted decoration, Arnold Machin for Wedgwood, Barlaston, ca. 1950
Image 3: Figure group, 'Country Lovers', Queen's ware, Arnold Machin Wedgwood, Barlaston, ca. 1943

Continuing our People of Wedgwood series, today’s post focuses on British artist Glenys Barton (b. 1944) who became Wedg...
12/05/2026

Continuing our People of Wedgwood series, today’s post focuses on British artist Glenys Barton (b. 1944) who became Wedgwood’s first Artist in Residence from 1976 to 1978.

A sculptural ceramicist, the residency gave Barton an opportunity to expand her practice by experimenting with techniques from around the factory.

The result was a series of 26 figurative sculptures in bone china and black basalt, exploring the human form with silhouettes and heads among repeated motifs.

Artist Residencies continue at Wedgwood to this day, with artists given the opportunity to experiment with iconic materials and to learn new skills.

Image 1: Sculpture, 'Head with relief figures', bone china, designed by Glenys Barton for Wedgwood, Barlaston, ca. 1976 (V&A: WE.10692-2014)

Image 2: Sculpture, 'Life Diagram II', bone china, designed by Glenys Barton for Wedgwood, Barlaston, 1976 (V&A: WE.4173-2014)

Image 3: Sculpture, 'Jungian Shadow II', bone china, designed by Glenys Barton for Wedgwood, Barlaston, 1976 (V&A: WE.18655-2014)

Image 4: Sculpture, Black Basalt, designed by Glenys Barton for Wedgwood, Barlaston, 1976 (V&A: WE.18663-2014)

Sometimes the reverse of an object tells a story that is almost as interesting as the one on the front…🤔Take this Wedgwo...
08/05/2026

Sometimes the reverse of an object tells a story that is almost as interesting as the one on the front…🤔

Take this Wedgwood jasperware portrait medallion of British watchmaker and publisher Ralph Griffiths (1720–1803) for example: there are two very noticeable and curious holes in the back. Are they mistakes? Would they enable easier hanging on the wall?

The answer has to do with the manufacturing process: the holes in the back are directly underneath the white relief portrait of Griffiths.

Cutting out sections of jasper body reduced the overall thickness underneath the reliefs, and therefore ensured a more even firing - and fewer losses in the kiln.

Have you seen the new ‘Wedgwood Today’ display in our galleries? 👀 If not, let us entice you to visit with some sneak pe...
20/04/2026

Have you seen the new ‘Wedgwood Today’ display in our galleries? 👀 If not, let us entice you to visit with some sneak peaks of the objects now on display…

‘Wedgwood Today’ illustrates how forging connections with creatives remains central to Wedgwood’s prestige products and core ranges. Discover the story of Wedgwood, including how the company continues to take inspiration from the spirit of its founder, Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95)

See the display at the end of Gallery 2, V&A Wedgwood Collection. Find us at World of Wedgwood.

Available to visit daily: 10.00 – 17.00. Free admission.

Image 1: Vase, ‘Portland Ribbons’, Alice Walton, designer and maker, Barlaston, 2021 (WE.13-2023)
Image 2: Jacket, ‘Pashmina’ pattern, Barbour x Wedgwood, England, 2016. (WE.34-2026)
Image 3: Coffee cup and saucer, Jonathan Anderson after Lucie Rie, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2025.
Image 4: Teapot and cover, ‘Botanical Flowers’, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2009 (WE.16983-2014)

Address

Wedgwood Drive, Barlaston
Stoke-on-Trent
ST129ER

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

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