Primary Research Day 2

On the next day I went to Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, it is the last complete Victorian pottery factory in the country. The first impression of the museum was the fact it was highly distinctive with the shape of the chimneys, I later learn that these are bottle kilns.

From the start the museum has the right style of architecture I have been looking for. The building looks like a typical Victorian factory, with the right shape windows and patchy brickwork.

This is one of the smaller furnaces. The round shape is similar to previous furnaces I had seen in the previous day, and appear to be quite common. The rivets add interesting detail to an otherwise flat surface and I will be using a similar design in my work.

This part of the museum was in working condition still, with it constantly in motion I decided a video would also be appropriate. This is due to the sounds the machinery made, as well as the way it all moved and worked together to perform quite a complex task.

This is a close-up of a bottle kiln, with the metal band running round the building to stop the bricks from expanding and cracking. The shape obviously gives it's name, and is visually stunning.

From the inside of the bottle kiln you can see more about how they worked. The centre was enclosed, where the pottery would be stored and fired. Once again the middle section was highly reinforced, presumably to stop the bricks expanding. The construction of these kilns were built to last, although they are now a rare sight, with the majority being demolished in the 20th century.

Often the kilns seemed to be slightly different shapes, some more wide, others thin and taller. They created an eye catching scene together and it would be useful to consider how any buildings I make could be just as unique and interesting.

Here is another example of a barrel, much more reinforced than the previous barrel with loops of metal which could be used to lift it mechanically. Once again showing how different a seemingly simple object can be when created for a specific purpose.

Here is another example of working machinery, an engine which powered the previous moving mechanisms. Due to being so large each part required its own room, being connected through holes in the wall.

The architecture often had a haphazard look, with so many different angles in the photograph. The right wall looks like it is leaning so much that they added brick supports to stop it falling down! Different roof heights and angles made the building more interesting to look at.

This part of the museum showed the area where colours were created and tested for use of the pottery. The bottles were different in shape and size, creating the scene of an apocrathy.

While eating lunch I noticed how crooked the windows were. While Victorians had access to such great engineering, they did not seem to build straight buildings for some reason!

These stairs were similar to how I wanted any stairs in my project to look like, with the strong, cold feel that they gave. The wall behind is equally interesting, with the wall brace and guttering showing giving more interest to the building exterior.

This was the old time clock, with the box which stored the cards next to it. A seemingly ornate object for its use.

This was a smaller example of a bottle kiln, firing pottery in smaller quantities and at a lower temperature. The rest of the building was build directly onto this kiln, a feature repeated in other areas.

Round the back of the museum I found more wall supports, as well as many of the unused containers for the pottery. I love the different angles these buildings have within the architecture.

As I was leaving, the brickwork near the roof caught my attention, the way it was angled creating the zigzag pattern. Another detail which could be considered beautiful, yet is not going to be seen often.

Next I went to Quarry Bank Mill, which is in Cheshire. It is one of the best preserved textile mills from the industrial revolution. The outside of the building was highly repetitive, similar to other Victorian factories. The windows were all the same size and shape, while the wall braces form part of the overall pattern.

The interior lighting within the mill was ornate and visually pleasing, with two different lamp designs in the same room. Such examples are useful for any extravagant lights within my project, if I need any.

The next area contained many examples of textile machines, with one in working condition. The noise must have been awful with every single machine working at once, with each floor possibly containing over forty! The sound could be heard on each floor even with this single machine running.

 Here is an example of one of the cogs used to power the machines, they must have been incredibly heavy, for the size and durable construction of the object.

This was part of the waterwheel housing, I particularly liked the condition of the bricks. It was clear to see that water had been running over these for hundreds of years. Decay is a feature I would like to include in many of the assets that I will be creating, as well as the walls and roof.

 This image gives an example of how large one of the boilers were, spanning well over 5 meters. The heat produced must have been enormous! All of the objects and pipes coming off the boiler are good examples of what could be included within the project.

Once again the shape of the boiler is cylindrical, with rivets running along the edge. Such features will be important to consider when making such objects.

This photograph gives a good example of the sheer size of the building, as well as how insignificant the workers must have felt living alongside it. This is something I want to capture when making the factory, along with how dangerous it must have been to work in such a building.

These doors caught my attention, with the windows incorporated into the top section, presumably just for light. Certainly not for seeing through!

Here is another example of a huge cog used within the machinery. The force that was used to move these would have needed to be unimaginable.