Etruria Industrial Museum

About the museum

The Etruria Industrial Museum is the home of Jesse Shirley's Bone and Flint Mill, also known as Etruscan Mills, which supplied ground flint and bone to the pottery and agricultural industries from the early 1800s until 2011. The site lies at the junction of the Trent and Mersey and Caldon canals, which have given it water transport since the 1770s. Jesse Shirley had the present mill built in 1856 to 1857 on a site previously used by a dye works and a bone-boiling business.

The mill is driven by an 1820s beam engine, with steam raised in a Cornish boiler built locally in 1903, and it is described as the only operational steam-powered potters' mill in the world. Flint was ground wet to avoid the dust that caused the lung disease known as potters' rot, and bone was added to the clay to make the translucent ware that became Staffordshire bone china. Visitors can see the calcining kiln, crusher room and gear room, and the engine in steam on open weekends.

The wider site includes a working forge, a canal warehouse and check office, the summit lock of the Trent and Mersey canal, the only staircase lock in Staffordshire, and the site of the Dispensary and House of Recovery, the first public hospital in the area, built in 1803. The museum is a Stoke-on-Trent City Council museum jointly managed with Shirley's Bone and Flint Mill Volunteers CIO, a charity that owns the mill and operates it with volunteers.

Highlights

• 1857 steam-powered bone and flint mill
• 1820s beam engine and 1903 Cornish boiler
• Calcining kiln, crusher room and gear room
• Working forge and canal warehouse
• Staircase lock at the junction of the Trent and Mersey and Caldon canals

Permanent exhibition

• Jesse Shirley's Bone and Flint Mill – The 1857 mill with its calcining kiln, crusher room, gear room and 1820s beam engine, which drives the grinding pans when the mill is in steam.

Founded

1991

Operated by

Shirley's Bone and Flint Mill Volunteers CIO and Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Admission & discounts

The standard adult price applies when the mill is not in steam. Entry is free on the Heritage Open Days weekend in September, when donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The mill is a Victorian factory building that is a scheduled monument and Grade II* listed, so access is limited for visitors with mobility difficulties; the museum asks them to get in touch for details. The visitor centre has toilets, including accessible toilets. There is a car park for disabled visitors, entered from Castlefield Street and Lower Bedford Street.

Kids & families

Under-16s are free when with a paying adult.

Getting there & parking

From the M6 leave at junction 15 from the south or junction 16 from the north and take the A500 towards Stoke-on-Trent. The postal address is Lower Bedford Street, Etruria, ST4 7AF.

Amenities & dining

• Café

The visitor centre has a tea room, a terrace and toilets, and there is room by the canal for a picnic.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit