World of Wedgwood


Wedgwood – one of the homes of British industrial design, has flung open its doors showing off a brand new visitor experience, restaurant, tearooms, shops and extended museum.


In the heart of The Potteries, the World of Wedgwood, is on the site where just under half of the ceramics manufacturers’ products are now made (there’s also a factory in Indonesia). Visitors can see the production line from a raised walkway and also get their hands (really) dirty trying to throw a pot with light grey clay, that once fired, will turn into the world-famous Wedgwood blue of Jasperware.

World of Wedgwood Visitor's Entrance, with Josiah Wedgwood plate mural

World of Wedgwood entrance

Interestingly, around a third of visitors to World of Wedgwood are expected to be from Asia, a massive and growing market for the company. This site also includes the first ever tearoom, serving essentially English vitals (cucumber sandwiches etc) in a clean, modern, yet chinoiserie-inspired interior. This new venture is also due to be rolled out in Asia, in Beijing and Mumbai.

World of Wedgwood Tearoom

More tea?

The tearoom

In May, Waterford Wedgwood was bought by Finnish homeware company Fiskars, which already owns Royal Doulton and, among other brands, Iittala, for just short of £282m. It was sold by US private equity company KPS Capital Partners, which rescued the company in 2009, when it collapsed with £574m worth of liabilities.

World of Wedgwood factory tour

World of Wedgwood Factory Tour

Now with a brighter looking future, WoW also includes the world’s largest Wedgwood store with the added incentive of items available here and nowhere else as well as a factory outlet. The new visitor experience also now connects to an expanded version of the already excellent museum.

World of Wedgwood shop

The shop

Josiah Wedgwood was a true innovator and experimenter, creating industrial methods for ceramics starting at his original Bursalem Factory in 1962. Nascent Industrial design naturally became part of the material and process driven manufacturing. The museum has a fantastic collection of wares – including three first edition copies of the Portland Vase. Fascinatingly, there are also two experiments that led ton the final versions complete with blistered surfaces. WoW is worth a visit, for the museum and a refreshing cuppa in the tearoom alone, for my money.

Interesting fact to finish on, Charles Darwin was Josiah Wedgwood’s grandson…

Josiah Wedgwood

Josiah Wedgwood








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