Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the industrialisation of the manufacture of European pottery.
Emma Darwin was an English woman who was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.
Josiah Wedgwood II, the son of the English potter Josiah Wedgwood, continued his father's firm and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-upon-Trent from 1832 to 1835. He was an abolitionist, and detested slavery.
Tarrant Gunville is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated at the head of the Tarrant Valley on Cranborne Chase five miles northeast of Blandford Forum. The parish covers 3,469 acres at an elevation of 70 to 170 metres. In the 2011 census the parish—which includes the settlement of Stubhampton to the north—had 119 dwellings, 108 households and a population of 233.
Ellastone is a village in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands of England. It is on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove and is directly opposite the village of Norbury in Derbyshire. It is between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne.
Maer Hall is a large Grade II listed 17th-century country house in Maer, Staffordshire, set in a park which is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens
Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 2,659, rising at the 2011 Census to 2,858.
Etruria Hall in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England is a Grade II listed house and former home of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. It was built between 1768–1771 by Joseph Pickford. The hall was sold by the Wedgwoods in the 19th century and is now part of a hotel.
John Wedgwood, the eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, was a partner in the Wedgwood pottery firm 1790–1793 and again 1800–1812.
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapidly successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery, "a firm that has done more to spread the knowledge and enhance the reputation of British ceramic art than any other manufacturer", exporting across Europe as far as Russia, and to the Americas. It was especially successful at producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were accepted as equivalent in quality to porcelain but were considerably cheaper.
The Reverend John Allen Wedgwood, normally known as Allen Wedgwood was rector of Maer Staffordshire.
Penkhull is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, part of Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and Stoke Central parliamentary constituency.
Stoke Minster is the Minster church of St Peter ad Vincula and main church in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is now the main church of the wider city of Stoke-on-Trent.
Foxhole is a village in mid Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It lies within the parish of St Stephen-in-Brannel, and has a primary school.
Ratley is a village in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 327. It is on the northwest side of the Edge Hill escarpment about 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level. The village is close to the county border with north Oxfordshire, some 7 miles northwest of Banbury, the closest town.
John Webb (1754–1828) was an English landscape designer, who also trained as an architect. He studied under William Emes between 1782 and 1793, and then established his own practice. He worked mainly in the Midlands and the north of England. In Staffordshire he was commissioned by Josiah Wedgwood to work in the gardens of Lowther Hall and Maer Hall. In Cheshire he designed work in the gardens of Rode Hall, Tabley House, Crewe Hall, Tatton Park, and Ardene Hall. He followed Emes at Eaton Hall where he added new terrace walls, improved one of the approach roads by levelling it and planting 130,000 trees along it, and built a lake in the grounds.
St Mary's Church in the village of Downe, Bromley is the Church of England Parish Church for the parish of Downe. It is a Grade II* listed building, which dates from the 13th century. The church is dedicated to either St Mary the Virgin or St Mary Magdalene. The west window is the oldest stained glass, depicting Christ as the Good Shepherd, by Daniel Bell (1840-1915).
Winton Square in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, houses Stoke-on-Trent railway station, the North Stafford Hotel, and several other historic structures. The square was built in 1848 for the North Staffordshire Railway, whose headquarters were in the station building, and is a significant example of neo-Jacobean architecture. Today, all the buildings and structures in the square are listed buildings and the square is a designated conservation area.
Maer is a civil parish in the district of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. It contains 27 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the villages of Maer and Aston, and the surrounding countryside. Most of the listed buildings are houses, cottages, farmhouses and farm buildings. In the parish is a country house, Maer Hall, and another large house, Lea Head Manor, both of which are listed, together with associated structures. The other listed buildings are a church, memorials in the churchyard, and five mileposts.
Berth Hill is an Iron Age hillfort in Staffordshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and near the village of Maer. It is a scheduled monument. Other forms of its name have been Bryth, Bruff and Burgh Hill.
