Churchyard Works, Burslem – Birthplace of the Wedgwood Pottery Dynasty

The Churchyard Works, adjoining St John's Church in Burslem, were the home of the Wedgwood family pottery for more than a century.

Four generations of the Wedgwood family worked here before Josiah Wedgwood established his own independent pottery at the Ivy House Works in 1759.

The Churchyard Works at a glance
Works name:	Churchyard Works
Operating period:	By 1656, Thomas Wedgwood had taken possession of the Churchyard Works. The Wedgwood family operated these works until the later eighteenth century. Sold to Thomas Green in 1795 who operated until 1811. The pot-works were then held by various tenants and, until about 1858, were let off in small holdings to different potters. In 1887, Messrs. A. J. Wilkinson took the Churchyard Works from Edward Clarke, and continued into the twentieth century.
Location:	Situated alongside the Parish Church of St. John, Burslem.
Maps:	view location on Google Maps
Significance:	Birthplace of Josiah Wedgwood.
Relevant Links:	St. John's Passage, Churchyard Works St. John's Church

Generation	Name	Connection with the Churchyard Works

1st	Thomas Wedgwood I (c.1617–1679)	Believed to have taken possession of the Churchyard Works around 1656. He established the pottery that became the family's base for over a century.

2nd	Thomas Wedgwood II (1653–1716)	Inherited and continued the pottery business at the Churchyard Works.

3rd	Thomas Wedgwood III (1685/1687–1739)	Josiah Wedgwood's father. Operated the Churchyard Works until his death in 1739. Josiah was born there in 1730.

4th	Thomas Wedgwood IV (1716–1773)	Josiah's eldest brother. Inherited the works after their father's death and took Josiah as an apprentice in 1744.

Around 1653, Thomas Wedgwood I acquired the Churchyard House through his marriage to Margaret Shaw, daughter of the Rev. John Shaw. Following legal disputes over ownership, the property remained with the Wedgwood family. By 1656, Thomas had taken possession of the Churchyard Works, and this is the earliest date at which the site can be firmly associated with the Wedgwood family. The pottery remained in successive generations of the Wedgwood family for over a century. Four generations of Wedgwood potters worked there, including Josiah Wedgwood's great-grandfather, grandfather, father and elder brother. Josiah himself was born at the works in 1730 and served his apprenticeship there before establishing his own independent pottery at the Ivy House Works in 1759.

Why the Churchyard Works Matter

The works, situated beside St John's Church in Burslem, were the original home of the Wedgwood family pottery business and the birthplace of the Wedgwood ceramic dynasty. The works were established by Thomas Wedgwood I during the mid-seventeenth century and remained in family ownership for generations.

Josiah Wedgwood was born at Churchyard House, adjacent to the works, in 1730 and baptised at the neighbouring Church of St John on 12 July of that year.
Following the death of his father in 1739, he began learning the potter's craft there and, in 1744, was formally apprenticed to his eldest brother Thomas, who had inherited the family pottery. It was at the Churchyard Works that Josiah acquired the practical skills and began the experimental approach to ceramics that would later transform the industry.
Although Josiah left the family business in the early 1750s to work with other Staffordshire potters, the Churchyard Works remained closely associated with the Wedgwood family. His later success can be traced directly to the knowledge, experience and craftsmanship gained there before he established his own independent pottery business in 1759 at the Ivy House Works

Josiah Wedgwood's apprenticeship

After leaving the family pottery in the early 1750s, Josiah Wedgwood broadened his experience by working with several of the leading potters of North Staffordshire.

He entered into partnership with John Harrison at Cliff Bank, Stoke, before joining the successful Fenton Vivian pottery of Thomas Whieldon around 1754.
During his years with Whieldon, Josiah refined his technical skills, experimented with new clay bodies and coloured glazes, and developed the innovative approach to pottery manufacture that would later distinguish the Wedgwood name.
By the time he established his own independent business at the Ivy House Works in 1759, he had gained extensive practical experience as both a skilled potter and an accomplished ceramic innovator.

The Churchyard Works therefore represent the beginning of the Wedgwood story rather than the beginning of the Wedgwood business. It was here that Josiah acquired the foundations of his craft, but his years working alongside other Staffordshire potters gave him the knowledge and confidence to establish his own pottery at the Ivy House Works in 1759. From that point onward, the Wedgwood name became synonymous with innovation, quality and artistic excellence.

Two Views of the Churchyard Works

Two distinctly different illustrations of the Churchyard Works have been published.

The engraving published by Llewellynn Jewitt in The Wedgwoods (1865, p. 97) appears to be a contemporary nineteenth-century view, showing the buildings as they then existed.
The inclusion of Burslem National School, erected in 1817, confirms that it records the later appearance of the site.
By contrast, Figure 52 in Volume I of Eliza Meteyard's The Life of Josiah Wedgwood (1865, p. 188) appears to be a historical reconstruction intended to evoke an earlier appearance of the Churchyard Works.
Its depiction of St John's Church with a thatched roof suggests that artistic licence was employed to represent an earlier period in the history of the site, rather than to provide an exact record of the buildings during Josiah Wedgwood's lifetime.

Churchyard House and Works, Burslem. Behind the house is the Parish Church of St. John

Unlike the better-known illustration showing Churchyard House and St John's Church commonly attributed to Eliza Meteyard, this engraving depicts the Churchyard Works from the opposite direction.

The artist's viewpoint is from within St John's Churchyard, looking across the rear of the pottery. The church itself lies immediately behind and to the left of the viewer, while Burslem National School, erected in 1817, can be seen beyond the works on the left.
This perspective provides a valuable record of the layout of the pottery and its relationship to the neighbouring school.

Churchyard Works, Burslem. Engraving published in The Wedgwoods by Llewellynn F. W. Jewitt (1865), p. 97.

Map of the potworks in Burslem - 1800

Locations associated with Josiah Wedgwood (173-1795) are highlighted in red.

» The Churchyard House and Works is where Josiah was born. His eldest brother, Thomas Wedgwood IV, took Josiah as an apprentice here in 1744.

» Near the Town Hall and on the opposite side of the road to the Wedgwood Big House is the Ivy House Works - Josiah established his own independent pottery business here in 1759.

Note the Big House was owned by the brother John and Thomas Wedgwood, who were distant cousins of Josiah Wedgwood.

» Josiah Wedgwood expanded his business in 1763 when he rented the Brick House Works from the Adams family of potters.