Stoke-on-Trent was the main source of pottery in the local area. It was no mere accident that brought the modern pottery industry to north Staffordshire, where in Arnold Bennett's day the familiar landmarks of the district's brick 'bottle ovens' were always seen through an atmosphere of thick smoke.  The area had the essential supplies of clay at hand, as well as coal and water.  Pottery had been made here at least as far back as 2000 BC, and finds of Roman and Saxon pottery have been made in the district from time to time.  it was not until the Industrial Revolution, however, that the area around Stoke-on-Trent mushroomed into the great metropolis of British pottery manufacturing that it still is today.

 The early English factories were widely distributed-at Bow and Chelsea, Bristol and Derby, Worcester and Coalport, among other places. Although pottery making had been a continuous tradition in Staffordshire, it was not until Josiah Wedgwood set up his business at Burslem in 1759 that the area began its rise to fame and fortune. Josiah was by no means the first Wedgwood to make pottery here. His family had been potters for many years, but it was he who gave a new impetus to the industry.  Other ambitious potters established factories in the 'five towns' of Tunstall,  Burslem, Hanley, Fenton and Longton which eventually combined to become the modern city of Stoke-on-Trent.