The metal information sign is located near to the marina and the Toby Carvery pub along side the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria.
The metal sign has two historical pictures, the top one shows- Shelton Ironworks, seen from Wedgwood's Factory c.1939, the bottom one shows a - Woodcut of Wedgwood's Etruria Factory c. 1815. It also includes traditional canal art roses and the following information:-
"The Festival Park site stretches north as far as Hanley. This is one of the most important sites in the industrial development of the city. The area was predominantly occupied by Shelton Ironworks, which along with coal mines and pottery factories created the characteristic industrial landscape of pre war Britain. Earlier in date than the Ironworks, and on the opposite side of the canal bank, was located Josiah Wedgwood's Etruria Works begun in 1767.
It was Josiah Wedgwood who persuaded the canal's surveyor James Brindley to alter the course of the intended canal to pass by his intended works and it was he who cut the first sod in 1766.Wedgwoods Etruria was to become the nucleus of an industrial village, the first such community in the Potteries and there seems to have been little else like it in the world at that time. It grew into a small town of workers cottages, bakehouses, shops, schools and chapels. Wedgwood himself lived in Etruria Hall, a mansion set on rising ground overlooking the works. This building now forms part of the Moat House Hotel on Festival Way.
The Wedgwood company relocated to Barlaston shortly after the war. The factory at Etruria being finally demolished in 1968 due to subsidence, its' only remains being the Roundhouse situated next to the bridge. Whether this was built as a hovel,(oven), or an office is not known.
Following the closure of the Steelworks by British Steel in 1979 a unique opportunity to reclaim and to develop the land was taken with the awarding to the City of the 1986 National Garden Festival. Work on the reclamation of the 65 hectare site was one of the largest schemes ever undertaken by a Local Authority. The Garden Festival attracted over two million visitors during the summer of 1986. Following its closure the land has been successfully developed for leisure, retail, office and hotel use."
Also on the bottom of the sign (with emblems)
City of Stoke-on-Trent
European Community
Groundworks Stoke-on-Trent
Cobridge Community Renewal
British Waterways
Festival Park was the site of the second National Garden Festival of England. It was officially opened on May 7th 1986, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Festival site, together with Shelton and Etruria were key areas in the industrial development of the City of Stoke-on-Trent. Less than a decade before the ground vibrated to the sound of heavy machinery and the landscape was dominated by blast furnaces, forges and chimneys of the Shelton Steel Works. Half a kilometre south of this point is Etruria Hall (now part of the Moat House Hotel), former home of Josiah Wedgwood whose famous Etruria Pottery Works were once sited by the canal.
The City was given an unique opportunity to redevelop the derelict site by hosting the National Garden Festival of England. Over two million people visited the event in the summer of 1986. Thousands of exhibitions and activities were featured including seventy themed gardens and visitors were able to view the spectacle by railway and cable car.
The Garden Festival attracted new private investment into the City as well as creating a lasting legacy of green space for local people. Today the site is a combined leisure, retail and business park set in the Festival grounds for visitors and local people to enjoy."
The main site was completed in 1995, and is now known as Festival Park. It has been, for the most part, sympathetically treated by St. Modwen Properties who took on its management and development.
The marina with a canal side inn and show houses was developed as part of the Garden Festival Site. The nearby lift bridge provides pedestrian access for people walking along the canal towpath and is lifted when canal boats want to enter or leave the marina to and from the Trent and Mersey canal.
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