New statue plan to honour female pottery workers

Richard Price
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC The Steel Man statue, a sculpture of a steel worker dressed in protective clothing and holding a metalworking tool. It is made from stainless steel.BBC
The Steel Man statue is due to be loaned to Goodwin PLC, where it was originally cast almost 50 years ago, under the plans

A new statue is being planned to commemorate women who worked in Stoke-on-Trent's ceramics industry.

The city council said the sculpture would be the first to honour the role of the women who made up about half of the workforce in the pottery sector locally at the start of the 20th Century.

Bosses wanted the statue to be installed outside The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery – where the Steel Man statue was currently located.

The plans are due to go before the city council's cabinet later this month.

Under the proposals, the Steel Man would be loaned to Goodwin PLC, returning to the foundry in Hanley where it was originally cast almost 50 years ago.

The firm would fund and commission the new bronze statue, the council said.

Steel Man was created by artist Colin Melbourne in 1974 and would remain on public display, visible from the road.

'Proud tribute'

The new statue forms part of the city's wider centenary celebrations.

"Women were often the backbone of the ceramics industry – decorating and finishing some of the world's most iconic pottery, often without the recognition or pay that men received," said council leader Jane Ashworth.

"For every Clarice Cliff or Susie Cooper, there were hundreds of women whose names we don't recognise but whose skill and labour made this city what it is.

"This new statue is a proud, permanent tribute to their work and their place in our history."

The authority said women played a vital part in the creation of ceramic products, and helped secure the city's global reputation which ultimately led to it being awarded city status in 1925.

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