Etruria, Staffordshire

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name = Etruria
latitude = 53.0189
longitude = -2.1994
population =
unitary_england = Stoke-on-Trent
lieutenancy_england = Staffordshire
region = West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Stoke-on-Trent Central
post_town = STOKE-ON-TRENT
postcode_district = ST1
postcode_area = ST
dial_code = 01782
os_grid_reference = SJ867468

Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England.

Home of Wedgwood

Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works in 1769. It was named after the Italian district of Etruria, home of the Etruscan people who were renowned for their artistic products. The site covered 350 acres (1.4 km²) and was next to the Trent and Mersey Canal. As well as Wedgwood's home Etruria Hall, it included the Etruria Works which remained in use by the Wedgwood enterprise until 1950. The Wedgwood factory is now in Barlaston, a village about six miles to the south of the Etruria site.

Etruria Hall was the site of the substantial invention of photography by Thomas Wedgwood in the 1790s.

After Wedgwood

Much of Etruria became derelict with the move of the Wedgwood works and the partial closure of the nearby steelworks. It was regenerated in the 1980s as part of the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival; the Festival site has been developed with the Festival Park commercial and retail development. Etruria is also home to The Sentinel, the local evening newspaper for the Stoke-on-Trent area. The press hall there is responsible for printing several newspaper titles, including "The Sentinel", and many northern editions of The Daily Mail. The Sentinel had previously been based in Hanley.

Attractions

Etruria is home to the Etruria Industrial Museum, which incorporates a scheduled ancient monument. [ [http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure/museums/etruria-industrial-museum Etruria Industrial Museum] ]

Etruria railway station

Etruria was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on October 9, 1848, but it was closed on 30 September 2005. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/england/staffordshire/4295540.stm |title=Last train departs from station |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2007-01-22 |date=Friday, 30 September 2005]

References