In and near Buckley were seams of coal which were near the surface. They could easily be dug up using shallow pits and lifting the coal up in baskets. With the coal they found hard fireclay.

This broke up into fine gritty mud when it was left in the sun and rain and could be readily collected. On the surface and in the nearby fields were beds of sticky pot clay.

Everything that was needed to make earthenware was on the doorstep and pot making could be carried out cheaply and easily, compared with many other places. Another very important benefit to pot making was a plentiful supply of potter's lead.

Lead ore was an important ingredient in the making of glaze to coat the pots. At Halkyn and Rhosesmor - both only a few miles away from Buckley - lead had been mined since Roman times.

Just as important as these advantages, was the means of selling these wares. In the 18th century Buckley was at that time in a far better position than many other pottery areas.

Several streams started from around here and ran down the hillside to the River Dee estuary. When they reached the shore-line they made deep gutters across the sand to join the main river channel.

At high tide these gutters filled up with water along which ships could sail up, and return out to sea. Hard tracks made of fallen trees and along which wooden rails were laid, were built down the stream valleys from Buckley to the coast and then alongside the gutters to where the ships lay.

At low tide, trucks drawn by horses carried pots, as well as coal, down these slopes and across the sand where they were loaded on to boats, and carried away at high tide.

These loading places were called marks and they were to be found at Sandycroft, Mancot, Queensferry and Wepre among others. Maps and records from the estate of the Lord of the Manor of Ewloe may be seen at the County Record Office at Hawarden.

Some of these show that many potteries were working in the north east of Buckley during the 18th century. Today, most Buckley pottery sties have been completely obliterated.

The sites of clay pans are still seen down Etna Road, Buckley, as well as on the Lower Common, between the Willow and Alltami cross-roads. Tram-way sleeper blocks are part of the wall on the Mount Hill, Drury Lane, as well as just below Pentrobin Methodist Chapel, Pentre.