Stoke-on-Trent Audio Tour: Fired Earth

Name: Stoke-on-Trent Audio Tour: Fired Earth
Brand: AudaTours
Price: 4.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Audio guide8 stops

Stoke proper — a square kilometre between the Minster, the Spode works, the station, and the canal — was the engine room of the British ceramics industry. This tour is not about the great potters' families. It is about the throwers and paintresses, the kiln-firers and flint-grinders, the navvies who cut the canal and the boatmen who legged through Harecastle in the dark, the railwaymen who carried the finished ware south and the hotel staff who fed and housed them. It is about Potter's Rot, the workers' cottages Josiah Spode II built at minimum standard in Penkhull Square, the named casualties on the North Staffordshire Railway's war memorial, and the memorial school that Herbert Minton's workers' skills paid for.

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About this tour

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Duration 30–50 minsGo at your own pace
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2.9 km walking routeFollow the guided path
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LocationStoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
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Works offlineDownload once, use anywhere
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Lifetime accessReplay anytime, forever
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Starts at Stoke Minster, Stoke-on-Trent

Stops on this tour

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Stoke MinsterSt Peter ad Vincula — the parish church of Stoke, rebuilt on its present plan and consecrated in 1830. The churchyard contains the Grade II-listed tomb of Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), buried outside the church because he was a non-conformist. Inside, a marble memorial tablet by his friend and former employee John Flaxman. Around him in the register: the ordinary dead of a pottery town.

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Trent and Mersey CanalThe towpath at the point where the Trent and Mersey Canal crosses the top of Glebe Street, north of the Town Hall. The canal opened in 1777 — the direct result of Josiah Wedgwood's lobbying — and ran from the River Trent at Derwent Mouth to the River Mersey at Runcorn, passing through Stoke and along the side of Wedgwood's Etruria factory village. The summit of the canal is nearby, at Etruria, where it meets the Caldon Canal.

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Stoke Town HallThe Grade II*-listed classical Town Hall begun in 1834 to designs by Henry Ward, with the north wing completed around 1842. The largest and most imposing municipal building in the six towns. In 1847 a School of Design was opened in the south wing, sharing space with the Athenaeum. In 1843, the ground-floor north wing was given to the county police.

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Spode MuseumThe surviving warehouse complex and bottle-kiln stub on the north-west courtyard of the original Spode factory, established by Josiah Spode I in 1776 on a site that had operated as a pottery since at least 1751. The only major internationally-known pottery in the area to remain on its founding site throughout its operational history. At its Victorian peak, around a thousand workers and twenty-two bottle ovens.

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North Stafford HotelThe Grade II*-listed Jacobean-revival hotel built in 1849 for the North Staffordshire Railway Company to designs by H.A. Hunt, at a cost of £8,843. First tenant: John Cuff, who opened it in August 1849. By 1851 Henry Robert Shirreff, Cuff's nephew, had assumed management aged twenty-three; by 1861 the live-in staff had grown from 7 to 27.

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Penkhull TerraceTwenty workers' cottages built by Josiah Spode II around a shared courtyard, entered through an archway, on land he purchased in 1802. Still standing on the west side of Trent Valley Road. Each dwelling originally contained a living room, a small scullery, and two bedrooms — one of them too small for a full-sized bed. Built to minimum standard, even for the period.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start the tour?

After purchase, download the AudaTours app and enter your redemption code. The tour will be ready to start immediately - just tap play and follow the GPS-guided route.

Do I need internet during the tour?

No! Download the tour before you start and enjoy it fully offline. Only the chat feature requires internet. We recommend downloading on WiFi to save mobile data.

Is this a guided group tour?

No - this is a self-guided audio tour. You explore independently at your own pace, with audio narration playing through your phone. No tour guide, no group, no schedule.

How long does the tour take?

Most tours take 60–90 minutes to complete, but you control the pace entirely. Pause, skip stops, or take breaks whenever you want.

What if I can't finish the tour today?

No problem! Tours have lifetime access. Pause and resume whenever you like - tomorrow, next week, or next year. Your progress is saved.

What languages are available?

All tours are available in 50+ languages. Select your preferred language when redeeming your code. Note: language cannot be changed after tour generation.

Where do I access the tour after purchase?

Download the free AudaTours app from the App Store or Google Play. Enter your redemption code (sent via email) and the tour will appear in your library, ready to download and start.

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Satisfaction guaranteed

If you don't enjoy the tour, we'll refund your purchase. Contact us at [email protected]

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This tour was such a great way to see the city. The stories were interesting without feeling too scripted, and I loved being able to explore at my own pace.

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Started this tour with a croissant in one hand and zero expectations. The app just vibes with you, no pressure, just you, your headphones, and some cool stories.