The Barlaston village sign is located near to the war memorial on the village green.
Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone.
The village sign was unveiled on 14th May 1994 to celebrate the centenary of the Barlaston Parish Council.
A plaque located on the wooden post is inscribed as follows;
'BARLASTON PARISH COUNCIL
CENTENARY 1894-1994
THIS VILLAGE SIGN
WAS UNVEILED BY
COUNCILLOR MRS.R.M.DICKSON M.B.E.
CHAIRMAN OF THR PARISH COUNCIL
AND
COUNCILLOR K. BROWN
MAYOR OF STAFFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
ON 14TH MAY 1994
IN COMMEMORATION OF
THE PARISH COUNCIL'S CENTENARY'
The colourful sign has the following relief features that represent the village;
above the village name,
Barlaston Hall.
Barlaston Hall an English Palladian country house that stands on a hill, overlooking the Trent Valley. It was built by architect Sir Robert Taylor for Thomas Mills in 1756-8, to replace the existing manor house that he had acquired through marriage. The hall has a red-brick exterior. It is one of a few of Taylor's buildings which retain his trademark octagonal and diamond glazing in the sash windows.
In 1774 Barlaston Hall featured on one of the dishes of a dinner service produced by Josiah Wedgwood for Empress Catherine II of Russia. Barlaston Hall and estate was later purchased by the Wedgwood family in 1937; they developed a modern factory and village there.
The hall has been subject to major restoration by Save Britain's Heritage's in the 1990s. As a consequence of extensive coal mining the area was subject to subsidence and considerable work was needed to stabilise the hall. (
visit link)
The new St. John the Baptist parish church.
This church replaced the St. John's Church that is situated close to Barlaston Hall. The earliest part of the church is the tower, dating from the twelfth century; the remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1888. Set into the south wall is a sundial, inscribed 'J. Aston, Church Warden'. Inside are memorials to the Wedgwood family. The building was closed in 1980 after subsidence caused cracks in the masonry. (
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Heron and clay vase
The heron was the Adderley family crest. Hubert John Broughton-Adderley (1860-1931) who owned Barlaston Hall. The blue pottery vase a link to Wedgwood pottery.
Beneath the village name
A circle with a plume of feathers.
The village has a pub named the Plume of Feathers.
A circle with a white Tudor rose and a crown above it.
English history. The series of civil wars that preceded the rise of the Tudors was fought between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne. The wars were named years afterward from the supposed badges of the contenders: the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster.
The village has a pub named the Duke of York.
A shield with a Staffordshire knot.
The emblem of Staffordshire where the village is located.
Wedgwood moved their pottery manufacturing business from Etruria, Staffordshire to a large modern factory in Barlaston.
The factory was planned in 1936 and built in 1938-40 to the designs of Keith Murray who was also a designer of Wedgwood pottery. The factory has a tourist visitor centre containing the Wedgwood Museum. (
visit link)
'The old parish church of Saint John is sited on the edge of the Wedgwood estate. It was built to the design of Charles Lynam in 1886-8, retaining the west tower from the original medieval building, with the subsequent addition of a vestry in 1969. In 1981 the building had to be closed owing to mining subsidence and a temporary building next to the church took its place until the new church was built on Green Lane.
Wedgwood railway station was opened for the factory in 1940.
Nearby is Barlaston Hall c. 1756 by Sir Robert Taylor (architect) and at one time a Wedgwood family home.
The Upper House Hotel, another Wedgwood residence, is also located in Barlaston.
Notable people
Francis Wedgwood (1800 – 1888 in Barlaston) a grandson of the English potter Josiah Wedgwood
Edward Proctor (1870 in Barlaston – 1944) an English footballer who played for Stoke & Port Vale
Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood DSO, PC, DL (1872 in Barlaston – 1943) Josiah Wedgwood IV a British Liberal and Labour politician, the great-great-grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 1906-1942.
Felix Wedgwood (1877 in The Upper House, Barlaston – 1917) an English author, mountaineer and soldier who died on active service in WWI
Horace Barks OBE (1895-1983) Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in 1951–2, cultural interests were Esperanto and the writer Arnold Bennett.
Harry Davies (1904–1975) an English footballer, played over 400 games for Stoke City & Port Vale, subsequently owner and landlord of the Plume of Feathers' Source: (visit link)
The village has two pubs the Plume of Feathers (with Neil Morrisey) situated near to the station and the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Duke of York situated near to the village hall and village green.