Stoke-on-Trent’s year of celebration to mark 100 years of city status has surpassed all expectations, to the point where a new “thing” has been invented.
The Centenary City, with Stoke-on-Trent preparing to pass the baton on at the end of this year to both Salford and Portsmouth, which received its city status in 1926. In the meantime, autumn itself is offering a rich harvest for visitors coming to share in the
centenary celebrations. Highlights already announced include:
• The internationally renowned British Ceramics Biennial (BCB), at Old Spode
Works, Stoke-on-Trent, from 6 September to 19 October.
https://www.britishceramicsbiennial.com
• 100 Years, 60 Designs & 1 Future: an exhibition at The Potteries Museum and
Art Gallery, which features original artwork by Robbie Williams, and 60 plates
created by well-known designers and artists. On show now, until 7 December.
https://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/temporary-exhibitions/
• The world premiere of an adaptation of the local author, Arnold Bennett’s book, The
Grand Babylon Hotel, at the New Vic Theatre, 13 September to 4 October. It also
reopens the link with The Savoy Hotel in London, where Arnold Bennett lived for
a part of his life, and which was used for the descriptions of the Grand Babylon
Hotel in the book.
https://www.newvictheatre.org.uk/productions/the-grandbabylon-hotel/
• The 40th Stoke Beer & Cider Festival at the Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent from 15-
18 October.
https://sot100.org.uk/events/event/217/40th-stoke-beer-cider-festival
Now, hot off the Stoke100 press, here’s some of the latest news for autumn:
Stoke-on-Trent launches a new Centenary Heritage Festival
Stoke-on-Trent’s past, present and future will be celebrated during a new “Heritage
Festival, which is scheduled to run from this autumn through to March 2026. Announced
at the end of June, Stoke-on-Trent 100: Heritage Festival for the Centenary has received
£186,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It brings together 17 heritage
projects that highlight Stoke-on-Trent’s World Craft City status; showcases the work
which has been delivered through the Living Heritage City initiative; and outlines the
city’s ambitions for heritage in the future. It includes the Heritage Open Days in
September, which provides an opportunity for visitors to The Potteries to gain free
access to some fascinating historic sites and special events.
100 Years, 100 Faces
A gigantic new landmark public art project is set to honour the people who have helped
shape the city over the past 100 years. The ‘100 Years, 100 Faces’ mural will be
unveiled this autumn. Residents across the city have helped shape this historic artwork
by voting for the individuals to be featured. It will highlight both well-known figures and
unsung heroes who have contributed to Stoke-on-Trent’s story over the past 100 years, both in a book and on a massive new artwork in the city centre.
The pattern is set
Commissioned as part of Stoke-on-Trent’s Centenary celebrations, Willow Pattern
Ceramics and Stories of ‘Other’ explores the enduring legacy of the Willow pattern – one
of North Staffordshire’s most iconic and globally recognised ceramic designs. Originating
around 1790 and inspired by Chinese porcelain, the Willow pattern became a worldwide
commodity through British adaptation and mass production, embedding itself firmly in
global visual and material culture. This major exhibition will open in September at Spode
Museum Heritage Trust Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, and will run from 6 September to 29
March 2026. A series of events associated with the exhibition will take place at the
Museum, and across the city.
A cocktail and a curry for the new centenary
Following hard on the heels of the Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Cocktail, the delightfully
named Almond Bennett, which was first sampled on the day which marked 100 years of
Stoke-on-Trent’s city status comes with news that a Centenary Curry will be the next culinary
concoction to be announced. All of the ingredients are now in place for its unveiling
this autumn, along with a new curry house-to-house guide for The Potteries.
Fortnum & Mason to put Potteries’ 60th centenary plates on show
‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’: the 1882 Ltd plate charity auction in support
ceramic craft will venture into the capital this autumn, when a complete set of the 60
plates designed by artists, designers, musicians and architects – from John Pawson to
Robbie Williams – appear at Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly, London. While bidding has
already begun online for the signed works, a limited run of unsigned editions will go on
show – and on sale – at Fortnum & Mason, London. The online auction concludes on 21
September.
https://1882ltd.com/collections/100-years-60-designers-1-future/
The Great Pottery Throw Down
Say it very quietly, for now. It’s not been announced officially. But it’s worth keeping
fingers crossed for pottery’s answer to The Great British Bake Off to return once again in
2026. Items made in this year’s Great Pottery Throw Down are still on show at The
Gladstone Pottery Museum, giving the show’s vast army of fans a chance to come and
see where the magic happened. The exhibition closes on 25 October.
A statue that recognises the women of The Potteries
Plans are under way to create a new statue in Stoke-on-Trent, which will give longoverdue
recognition to the women who helped shaped “The Potteries”. At the start of the
In the 20th century, women made up nearly half of the workforce in the local pottery industry.
Yet their roles were often overlooked, underpaid and undervalued. The new statue forms
part of the city’s wider centenary celebrations, marking 100 years since the city was
officially granted its status in 1925. Another legacy of the centenary year, the statue will
stand outside The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
