Etruria
Our passage onto the Caldon Canal took us through Stoke on Trent via the intriguingly named Etruria Junction. If you have ever struggled to get your tongue round this name you may have wondered about its origins.
James Brindley - father of the waterways
The short answer would be that the junction sits alongside the Etruscan Flint and Bone Mill but the name goes back far beyond that. Etruria was one of the regions of ancient Rome so one has to assume that the grandoise name is linked to the aspirations of the canals founders.
Etruscan Bone and Flint Mill
The stretch through Stoke and Etruria is fascinating in its own way and it seemed a shame to gloss over it in the last post. I am therefore backtracking to reflect on this site, which is unlike any other on the inland waterways and one I am particularly fond of.
Dolphin Marine
Stoke pound
Etruria locks
1 comment:
Etruria was so called by the potter Josiah Wedgwood who founded his new factory there in 1769. He wanted to recreate the ceramic arts of the ancient Greeks who he thought came from Etruria in Italy, where gentlemen such as William Hamilton, the British Plenipotentiary to the Court of Naples (and the husband of Emma Hamilton), was busy robbing the graves of beautiful Greek black and red figure vases.
Then, Etruria was a rural site, away from the smoke of industry. As time went on, Etruria became the home to coal and steel works, gas distillers and foundries. Since the 1950s, the area has lost its industries and is now returning to a green and pleasant landscape.
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