Firing a kiln in a pottery factory

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Date:1930 - 1950 (c.)

Description:Pottery factory interior depicting a man firing a kiln.

Formed ware is made hard by exposing it to very high temperatures, which was commonly achieved by firing it in a bottle oven.

The bottle oven consisted of the kiln, which was the inner active firing part, and the hovel, which was the structure around it.

The hovel protected the kiln and acted as a chimney.

Local ovens were characterised by their bottle shaped hovels, hence the term ‘bottle oven’.

The doorway that can be seen on the kiln is known as the clammins. This was a temporary door that was bricked up and sealed with mortar for the duration of the firing.

Note the large lumps of coal used to fuel the kiln.

Taken from the Gladstone Pottery Museum Photographic Collection.

This photograph is part of the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.

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Source: Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

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