Places Features

You may think one chimney pot looks very similar to any other chimney pot, but to those in the know there are hundreds of different types. Collector Lance Bates, had more than 800 different styles on show at his chimney pot museum in Burslem for 12 years, before it shut it's doors in 2007.

"The closure was down to funding really" he says "It's always been a non profit making concern, and then people got concerned about public liability and insurance."

The museum was popular with many tourists to the area.

"We had visitors form all over the world, Japan, Australia, America . We've got visitors books crammed with very nice comments about the museum. People used to come as part of their trip to the Potteries. They weren't only coming to just see us - they went to Wedgwood, Doulton, Spode and so on."

Brickyards

In fact, Lance believes the link between chimney manufacturers and the pottery and ceramic industry has always been a strong one.

"A lot of these chimney pots were manufactured in this area, as well as in Burton on Trent which was a heavier clay industry.  Bascially, wherever you had a brickyard - and there were a good many in Stoke on Trent -  you'd have a corner producing chimney pots."

"Firms in Stoke made every shape and size. The very common bishop style, there's lots of those and also spiked, the ones that look like dog ears. They made many of those, but also made some very exotic pots too."

The One Show

Lance's interest in chimney pots stretches back more than 25 years. He was even on the BBC's One Show chatting to John Sergeant about his passion.

"It started when I was doing a bit of photography, and the chosen subject was chimney pots," he says. "I liked the shapes, and the fact to produce a chimney you need a combination of art, science and engineering."

Now Lance's enthusiasm along with a local campaign group, the chimney pot preservation society, could see the museum re-opened by the end of 2009.

"The preservation society have been very supportive and we've also got funding from Stoke on Trent city council. We hope to make this a little jewel in the city's tourist crown".

For more information on the re-opening of the museum, telephone: 01782 825 801 or email: stefginge@live.co.uk