Staffordshire Museums

Staffordshire contains a remarkable mix of industrial and pastoral heritage, which is reflected in its diverse museums.

Renowned for its Potteries, the five pottery towns immortalised in Arnold Bennett’s novels became amalgamated to form Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, which is home to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery where the world’s largest collection of Staffordshire ceramics can be seen. The story of how pottery came to be associated with Staffordshire is told in an imaginative and engaging display.

More of Staffordshire’s famous heritage can be seen at the Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke, the last remaining Victorian pottery factory complete with traditional coal burning bottle ovens.

As well as pottery, Staffordshire is famous for its leather works and Walsall lays claim to having been the leather goods capital of Britain. This fascinating heritage can be seen in the leather museum in Walsall where you can admire the finest saddles and tooled leather spanning more than 200 years.

Staffordshire museums are not just confined to the manufacturing sector,  in Izaak Walton’s 16th century cottage in Stone you can see where the celebrated author of `The Compleat Angler´once lived. Inside the Angling Museum there is variety of fishing collections on display, showing the quality of the craftmanship and range of materials used. 

At Newcastle under Lyne you can see one of Staffordshire’s most famous museums, the Borough Museum and Art Gallery where there is a mock-up of a street from the 19th century and a huge collection of armoury.

Your visit to the many Staffordshire museums is sure to be as memorable as this varied county’s rich heritage.