Etruria Park

Etruria park laid out in Etruria Valley at the start of the 20th century opposite Josiah Wedgwood's Etruria pottery works and Earl Granville Shelton iron works. Today (2000) neither the pottery or iron works remain and a walk through the small park reveals well laid out flower beds with tennis sand basketball courts a playground and two bowling greens.

In the park is a fountain (1904) presented by the Shirley brothers (Henry and Jessie) of Etruria bone and flint mill and a plaque erected in 1953 to commemorate Henry Wedgwood's photographic achievements.

The park was built next to St. Matthews church on a triangle of land between Lord Street, Etruria Vale Road and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Lord Street (Now Etruria Road) is a main road from Burslem and Hanley to Newcastle under Lyme. A number of streets of terraced houses laid out below the parks are named after South African towns prominent in the South African Wars (1899-1902), also known as the Boer Wars, a conflict in southern Africa between the British Empire and the allied, Afrikaner-populated Transvaal (or South African Republic) and Orange Free State (modern Free State), in what is now South Africa.

click on the page number and/or use the 'next' button:-

Pages on Etruria Park
Page
1	View from Etruria Valve / Dundee Road entrance
2	View from the Etruria Road entrance with the fountain
3	The monument to Thomas Wedgwood
4	Children playing -1950's, Shelton steel works in background
5	Map of streets around park in 2000
6	1898 Ordnance Survey map (takes a couple of mins. to load)

	photos: S. Birks 2000 (unless noted)

'tour' of Wedgwood's Etruria

questions/comments/contributions? email: Steve Birks