Aerial view of the Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell

Move your pointing device over the image to zoom to detail. If using a mouse click on the image to toggle zoom.
When in zoom mode use + or - keys to adjust level of image zoom.

Date:1965

Description:The Blythe Colour Works pictured at its height. At the time of this photograph it employed over 400 people. The works produced colourations for the pottery and glass industries.

The manufacture of underglaze colours in Cresswell began in 1870, when a small works was set up by Pigott and Scarratt, pharmaceutical chemists. But it was not until it was taken over by Fred Wildblood in 1908 that the works expanded. He put his son Cecil in charge, invested in new technology and took full advantage of the adjacent railway. By 1914 Blythe Colour Works was one of the most advanced and successful of its kind in Europe. The company became public in 1936 and shortly afterwards, in 1938, a new office block was built. A new laboratory block followed in 1955 and a new pigment works block in 1957. The Works was acquired by Johnson Matthey in 1963 who owned it until its closure in 2015.


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1910s
Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell
Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell

An illustration of the Blythe Colour Works dating from the early 20th century. The ...

1920s
The Wildblood family, Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell
The Wildblood family, Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell

Frederick Wildblood (seated) was the founder and owner of the Blythe Colour Works ...

1960s
Sales Convention, Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell
Sales Convention, Blythe Colour Works, Cresswell

Sales representatives pictured outside the Laboratory Building at Blythe Colour ...

1980s
Visitors at Blythe Colour Works, Creswell
Visitors at Blythe Colour Works, Creswell

The visit of Stoke-on-Trent's Lord Mayor Cllr Doug Brown JP and Lady Mayoress, pictured ...

Share:


Donor ref:(212/35564)

Source: Mr Ian Procter

Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.