The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

24/06/2026

The final events for the Archives Service for the ‘100 Books in a 100 Years’ project are taking place on Tuesday 30 June. Have a go at a Hand-press printing workshop with Dr Michael Durrant, 11am - 12pm and enjoy a ‘Read your own to grow your own’ writing workshop with Debbi Voisey, 1pm - 3pm.

Booking is essential as there are limited places available. To book your place on one of our events, please contact Stoke-on-Trent City Archives on 01782 238420 or email [email protected]

23/06/2026

This bone china cup and saucer was manufactured by Royal Albert Ltd and features the Old Country Roses pattern.

Chosen by Andy Bowker, Visitor Experience Assistant, Stoke-on-Trent Museums it is currently on display in our Favourite Things’ exhibition in our café area.
“Old Country Rose cup and saucer on the Montrose shape. Designed in 1962 and became best-selling bone china tableware pattern ever. I had the privilege to work at the St Marys factory from 1992 until its closure in 1999. That item represents what Longton was all about and carries memories of a wonderful workforce and factory.”

Please note that access to the museum will be via the café entrance by the Spitfire Gallery.

22/06/2026

22/06/2026

Our next Twilight event is on Friday 3 July when we will be screening Joyland Cert 15 as part of the Sensasian programme for 2026.

The Ranas - a happily patriarchal joint family - yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line. However, when their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for an ambitious trans starlet, their impossible love story slowly illuminates the entire Rana family's desire for sexual rebellion.

Sensasian is a celebration of art and culture that draws inspiration from, and created in consultation with, the South Asian and wider community in Stoke-on-Trent. Sensasian is a partnership between Appetite and our lead organisation, New Vic, and for 2026 The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and Arts Keele.

Donate what you feel, screening at 7pm – 9.15pm. Bar opens at 6pm.

Please note that access to the museum will be via the café entrance by the Spitfire Gallery.

20/06/2026

What is the dream artist residency for Stoke? Anna Francis and Rebecca Davies from The Portland Inn Project with Ben Miller from The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery will host a conversation for artists, creative practitioners and researchers to ask this question.

If you are an artist with experience of artist residencies, or a creative person who would love to do one, this event will be for you so join us at the museum on Friday 26 June, 6.30 – 8.30pm. Free.
To book a place please follow this link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-potteries-museum-art-gallery-dreaming-of-an-artists-residency-tickets-1990480840777?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Please note that access to the museum will be via the café entrance by the Spitfire Gallery.

19/06/2026

What a fantastic day hosting The Great Science Share for Schools at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. This year’s theme is Global Curiosity. Scientists and Engineers, like Reginald Mitchell, improve the world through asking scientific questions and then designing enquiries and prototypes to answer those questions. Just like the brilliant students who visited the museum today. The future of Science and Engineering in Stoke-On-Trent is in good hands. Thanks to The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Science Across the City and Great Science Share for Schools for all their help with organising the event. Thanks to Dr Caroline Keep for presenting the awards.

18/06/2026

We are delighted to announce that a new outdoor exhibition has just opened in Bethesda Gardens entitled Past Times.

From the intimacy of the home to the energy of bustling towns, and the openness of the countryside, Past Times brings together a variety of paintings from the museum’s art collection that explore the rhythms of daily life across generations. Scenes of hard work sit alongside moments of pause and connection: farmers tending the land, fishermen in conversation as they mend their nets, and the quiet concentration required for tasks demanding patience and precision.

Elsewhere, artists illustrate the simple pleasures of the seaside, and the excitement and spectacle of fairs and horse races. Family gatherings and moments of relaxation offer a contrast with their gentler forms of enjoyment and amusement.

Highlights include paintings by John Currie, June Burnett, Roderic O’Conor and Ethel Gabain, in addition to a monumental portrait of Josiah Spode II - a member of one of Stoke-on-Trent’s most celebrated pottery dynasties.

17/06/2026

Here is an earthenware, Cow Creamer named ‘Senatorial Bos’, which is on display in our Favourite Things’ exhibition in our café area. It is part of a collection presented to the museum by Mrs Gabrielle M. Keiller in 1962. The group consists of 667 cow cream jugs built up by Gabrielle and her husband, Alexander, over a 30-year period. Each cow is individually named, many with the second name Bos, Latin for cow.

It was chosen by Molly Beech, Visitor Experience Assistant, Stoke-on-Trent Museums.

“I love this little cow creamer because of its lovely colours and the interesting story behind the collection. It makes me smile every time I walk past them.”

Please note that access to the museum will be via the café entrance by the Spitfire Gallery.

15/06/2026

We have spaces available on our Flight School: Family Spitfire Simulator session on Saturday 27 June and Saturday 18 July. These sessions are for young people under the age of 16 years. £6 per 15-minute session. It is available to book online via the link below:
https://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/spitfire-simulator/family-experiences/

13/06/2026

You can find out more about some of the airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain in our Spitfire Gallery.