Traveler Overview

5.0 834 reviews

Excellent80%
Very good17%
Average1%
Poor1%
Terrible1%

Travelers talk about

“bottle kilns”(69 reviews)

“stoke on trent”(69 reviews)

“hands on activities”(19 reviews)

About

Gladstone is the only complete Victorian pottery factory from the days when coal burning ovens made the world's finest bone china. Traditional skills, original workshops, and the cobbled yard and huge bottle ovens transport visitors back in time...more

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Hours Today: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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Contact

26 Uttoxeter Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent ST3 1PQ, England

Website

+44 1782 237777

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Reviews (834)

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1 - 10 of 821 reviews

David H

6

Reviewed 3 days ago

Lovely Museum

I arrived expecting to rush round in 30 minutes, but stayed over two hours. a really good overview of how pots were made in the last century. The various experts demonstrating the various skills and techniques were very friendly and obviously very proud of their...More

Date of experience: March 2019

Thank David H

Thank you very much for your review and we were pleased to hear that you enjoyed the museum and the demonstrations. We're lucky to be close to many other ceramic attractions and finding out about the history of pottery in the area at Gladstone and...More

sheepygold

london

40811596

Reviewed 1 week ago via mobile

Much better than World of Wedgewood

My wife and I spent nearly 3 hours walking around this excellent museum. You guide yourself which works well as there is plenty of information to read, videos to watch and volunteers to talk to and who are demonstrating the various processes and who have...More

Date of experience: March 2019

Thank sheepygold

Thank you very much for taking the time to review the museum, we were so pleased to hear that you thought it was excellent.

Joanne L

Madeley, United Kingdom

83

Reviewed 1 week ago via mobile

We love this place!

Visited during February half term. We're always made very welcome by staff. We threw a pot, crafted clay flowers, painted pottery. We had an excellent lunch in the cafe. We did the trail and purchased items from the gift shop. Allow a full day for...More

Date of experience: March 2019

Thank Joanne L

Thank you very much for the great review and rating you've given the museum. We really appreciate your kind words and were very pleased that you enjoyed yourselves.

Londoncalling4

London. UK

413

Reviewed 3 weeks ago

Top of Stoke-on-Trent list

We visited over the February half term. The website suggested allowing at least two hours but we were there for five and a half. It was a shocking reality check to learn about the workers and how our lives today are thankfully so very different...More

Date of experience: February 2019

Thank Londoncalling4

Thank you very much for your review, we really appreciate your kind words about the museum and the café and we're very glad you enjoyed visiting. We don't try and be glamorous as Gladstone was never a 'famous' pottery but the site is a great...More

peaclond

Newport, United Kingdom

2520

Reviewed 3 weeks ago

A step back in time.

I have visited this pottery several times but finally did the Factory Tour with some American friends who were visiting. It was absolutely astonishing. There was so much to see with plenty of vintage machinery running and several people demonstrating crafts including a potter with...More

Date of experience: August 2018

Thank peaclond

Thank you very much for the excellent rating and lovely review you have given us. We were so pleased to hear that you've enjoyed visiting and we hope your American friends enjoyed their trip to the Potteries.

Miniblueegg

Cambridge, United Kingdom

187

Reviewed 3 weeks ago via mobile

A surprising gem

We were looking for something to break a trip and decided to stop somewhere we pass by occasionally. We weren't expecting much but we loved it and particularly enjoyed the chats with the demonstrators and watching some young girls using the potters wheels. We have...More

Date of experience: February 2019

Thank Miniblueegg

We're really pleased you loved it! Thank you very much for your great review.

audreypetunia

Cotswolds, England

5

Reviewed 4 weeks ago

Go now

Great museum that really gets you into the heart of the potteries. The descriptions of the workers conditions and what they did are very interesting and engaging, there are plenty of interactive opportunities - e.g. getting inside the bottle kilns, throwing a pot - we...More

Date of experience: February 2019

Thank audreypetunia

Thank you very much for your review and great rating of the museum. We were really pleased to hear that you enjoyed visiting Gladstone and the demonstration staff are incredibly skilled and wonderful to watch.

CHERRY R

West Midlands, United Kingdom

1316

Reviewed February 7, 2019

A must see Museum

After visiting the Weeping Poppies at Middleport last year,got to thinking what else was to do in Stoke on Trent.There are lots of Heritage sites around as this was the heart of the Pottery making many years ago,hence the nickname 'The Potteries'.Picked this one randomly,and...More

Date of experience: February 2019

Thank CHERRY R

Thank you very much for your great review, we really enjoyed hearing how much you enjoyed visiting the museum and appreciate your kind comments about the staff. It does take quite a while to see everything at Gladstone! We're very lucky that our volunteers, including...More

Mart D

Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom

5331

Reviewed January 28, 2019 via mobile

Great place to visit especially when the beer festival is on in July

Lovely place to spend a few hours. It shows you what I was like a few decades ago what it was like working in the pottery industry

Date of experience: January 2019

Thank Mart D

Thank you very much for your lovely comments about the museum and great review, we were very pleased you enjoyed visiting the museum.

Moriston

Newbury, United Kingdom

321103

Reviewed January 24, 2019 via mobile

Loved it here

We visited on a weekday in January so we almost had the entire museum to ourselves which was a bonus. On arrival I thought the site looked quite small and it wouldn't take us long to go round. I was wrong - 3 hours later...More

Date of experience: January 2019

Thank Moriston

Thank you very much for the great review and rating. It does take a while to see the whole museum and we were really pleased to hear that you enjoyed it, it's lovely to hear Gladstone described as wonderful!

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Questions & Answers

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kateandnick2

hi i was thinking of visiting the museum on thursday the 21st it would seem to be a great place to visit would our grandchildren of ages 6 and 9 be able to have a go at throwing a pot and other activities Regards Terry ( Grandad )

February 19, 2019|

AnswerShow all 13 answers

Usually yes but it depends on what time of day it is around noon should be ok

rgibbard9

Hi, we have an 8 week old baby, is the museum accessible for pushchairs? Thanks

July 6, 2018|

AnswerShow all 3 answers

The museum is very much a pottery frozen in time. So, some of it is on ground floor level whilst other aspects are on an upper level. I have two children, and were we visiting when they were the age of yours, we would... More

ginaandjoy

Can you get to the museum on public transport if you are staying near the centre?

January 19, 2018|

AnswerShow all 9 answers

Hello, the museum is a short walk from Longton train station and there is a bus stop right outside - the 6A from Blythe Bridge to Hanley stops there and the buses run every 20 minutes Monday - Saturday. The museum is open... More