“We should be championing Staffordshire’s history and celebrating its heritage!”

Customer Wendy shares memories of working across Staffordshire’s pottery firms to celebrate the launch of our new neighbourhood patches, Moorcroft, Wedgwood, and Gladstone.

Staffs Housing resident Wendy has lived at one of our over 55s independent living villages, Bradeley Village for the last two years.

Since moving in she’s become a real pillar for the community by becoming a volunteer in the shop, getting involved to raise money for charity, and also helping to organise events and activities for her fellow residents.

This month, we spoke to Wendy about the launch of our new local and proud neighbourhood patches, that celebrate our Staffordshire heritage by being named after renowned pottery makers in the area.

She says she’s so pleased to see us celebrating our local area in this way and shares her memories of working in the industry.

“I’ve worked in the pottery industry since I was about 16”, said Wendy.

“The industry was booming then. I walked out of school on the Friday and on the Monday had a job in a factory! There was no such thing as CVs.

“I started my career working for Royal Dalton, then over the years, worked at Moorcroft, Wades, Johnson’s Tiles and Churchill. Back then you moved around so often depending on what different companies were offering and whether it fit around the other commitments in your life, like childcare.

“I tried my hand at anything, and it was great because you could work your way around until you found a job you liked or were good at.

“I started out doing fettling and sponging which was where you’d take pottery out of the moulds and clean up any of the seams. I tried doing painting and gilding, but I didn’t have a steady enough hand for that! I went on to do transferring, and dipping where you’d dip the pottery glaze to make it shiny and more durable.

“It was such a vibrant time. The factory floors were bustling, filled with people stood at their stations chatting and singing. Everybody knew everybody and we were even able to finish early on a Friday and the whole factory floor would go out and celebrate the week we’d had. I even ended up meeting my husband there too!

“Back then you’d get paid for what you produced, so if you worked hard, you could earn a good living. It wasn’t an easy job, there was lots of manual handling and lifting, but the community made it, it was a great atmosphere, and a job we thought we’d have for life.”

(Pictured: Wendy with fellow volunteers Val, Denise, and David)

Wendy’s a local girl who’s lived in Stoke-on-Trent for most of her life, and said she smiled when she saw the names of the new neighbourhood patches.

“I’ve lived in Stoke all my life”, continued Wendy.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s my home. It’s the people who make it and I think they’re honestly like no other.

“No matter where you go in Stoke, whether that’s to the football, your community, or corner shop, you’re greeted with a real community spirit where people just want to help and support each other.

“It’s especially like that here in Bradeley Village. It’s an amazing community of people who always go above and beyond to support one another. I’m part of a fabulous team of volunteers who support the running of the on-site facilities and activities, who all just want to do their bit to help.

“It’s why when I first heard the news that Staffs Housing had named the neighbourhoods after Moorcroft, Wedgwood, and Gladstone, it made me smile because we should absolutely be championing our history and heritage.

“I love that they’ve made the local link and it shows they know and care about their communities.

“I’ve even heard other residents talking about it and then sharing their own memories and experiences, which is helping to bring people together too.”

Wendy says the new neighbourhood patches and customer hubs have been a welcomed introduction to her community at Bradeley Village.

“The new changes have been great!”, exclaimed Wendy.

“We’ve now got a team of customer advisors and neighbourhood officers who regularly work out of the office here at Bradeley Village.

“After the pandemic everywhere has long call waiting times, even my GP! I like that Staffs Housing understood resident’s frustrations about not being able to get through on the phone, and did something to make our experience better by putting staff in schemes we can talk to if we need to.

“It gives me peace of mind knowing that I have someone I can talk to who will listen to my concerns and take action to resolve them, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the benefits of having staff in my community.”

Find out more about our new neighbourhood team and customer hub here: www.staffshousing.org.uk/contact-us/meet-your-neighbourhood-team