Autumn Meeting of Friends

The Friends of the Wedgwood Museum met on 10th September 2005, which by a happy coincidence was also the date on which the foundation stone was laid at the new Barlaston Works in 1938. The afternoon’s activities were preceded by a guided tour (otherwise known as a ‘mumble and stumble’!) in order to point out one or two features of the Barlaston estate.

Present at the original occasion of the laying of the foundation stone was an 18-month-old Alan Wedgwood, aided by Norman Wilson in the task of sealing up the casket, which was then placed beneath the main office entrance. Now President of the Friends of the Wedgwood Museum, Alan returned on Saturday, commemorative trowel in hand, to share his personal reminiscences of the Wedgwood family and his own perception of his ancestors` strengths and weaknesses (Thanks should be conveyed to Mrs. Alan Wedgwood and to his cousin Richard Wright for their timely contributions to Alan’s paper).   Alan’s own father, Tom was responsible for much of the choice and layout of trees on the Barlaston estate as well as some of the groundbreaking technology designed to enhance factory production. With his cousins, John and Hensleigh, and Works Manager, Norman Wilson, all under the leadership of Josiah Wedgwood V, this 6th generation of Wedgwoods accomplished a heroic feat while the Second World War loomed ever closer. 

Attendance at the meeting was excellent and as well as a large Wedgwood contingent, we were also delighted to welcome Dr. and Mrs. John Skellern. In his capacity as Art Director, John’s father, Victor, had his own vital role to play in the company’s re-emergence at the vanguard of British industrial design.  Our second guest speaker, Kathy Nibblett, superbly handled the subject of Wedgwood Design from 1940 to 1967. In contrast to Alan, Kathy concentrated on the nature of production at Barlaston, showing the stylistic progression from one Art Director to another - from Victor Skellern to Peter Wall and Robert Minkin - as well as examining the    influence of technical developments such as multi-colour lithography and two-colour clay ware.  Kathy’s explanation of Wedgwood rooms and her references to two rather avant-garde launches of new products ‘Design ‘63 and ‘Design for Today’ (1967) added yet another dimension to the image of Wedgwood in the 20th century.