HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. 397 



three powerful steam-engines, the property of Messrs. Wood and 

 Galdwell : the temperature of the water is generally from 85 to 

 90 Fahrenheit, but it can quickly be either diminished or in- 

 creased at the option of the bather. It is circular, and sufficiently 

 large for the exercise of swimming. The interior of the circular 

 part is beautifully painted in landscapes, and sea views, by an ar- 

 tist of some eminence. 



Burslem is remarkable as being the place where the first clod of 

 that great national undertaking, the Trent and Mersey Canal, was 

 cut by the late Josiah Wedgwood, Esq. ; and on July 26, 1816, 

 the 50th anniversary of this memorable event was celebrated by 

 a public dinner, at which all the principal manufacturers of Burs- 

 lem were present. Enoch Wood, Esq. presided upon the occasion, 

 and after a well-merited eulogium upon the late venerable Father 

 of the Potteries (a native of Burslem), and the inventive genius of 

 Brindley, he exhibited various ancient specimens of Earthenware, 

 descriptive of the progressive state of the manufacture during the 

 last 150 years, which he divided into epochs of fifty years, from 

 the Butter Pot mentioned by Plott down to the time at which the 

 excellent specimens of Queen's or Cream-coloured ware, Jasper, 

 &c. left by the late Mr. Wedgwood, were produced. 



It has been often asked, Why the potters fixed themselves here, 

 or the Potteries of this county continued to flourish more than 

 those of any other part of the kingdom, or perhaps of the whole 

 world ? The answer to this question appears tolerably obvious- 

 The abundant and almost inexhaustless supply of clay and coal 

 upon the spot, the inland situation of this district, which contributed 

 to render labour cheap, and some other circumstances that will be 

 noticed hereafter, combined to fix and establish this important 

 branch of commerce where it had been so successfully commenced. 

 " The measures or strata, by which the beds of coal are divided, 

 consist most commonly of clays of different kinds, some of which 

 make excellent fire-bricks, for building the potter's kilns, and sag* 

 gars, (a corruption of the German Schragers, which signifies casea 

 or supporters), in which the ware is burnt. Finer clays, of various 

 colours and textures, are likewise plentiful in many places, most of 

 them near the surface of the earth ; and of these the bodies of the 

 wares themselves were formerly manufactured. The coals being 

 then also got near the surface, were plentiful and cheap. In the 

 time of Plott they were as low as two-pence the horse-load, which, 

 at eight horse-loads to a ton (the usual estimation), amounts to only 



