Description:J. H. Y. Briggs suggests that mining was important in Longton from the late seventeenth century onwards. By the 1720s the Leveson-Gower family were exploiting the mineral resources on their lands in Priorsfield.
By the middle of the eighteenth century pot banks were appearing in Longton and pottery soon became a central industry in the area. What Briggs describes as the ‘mineral wealth’ of the area ensured the development and success of the pottery industry in Longton.
The Sutherland Papers contain a wide variety of documents relating to the pottery industry in Longton during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Correspondence and plans tell us about pottery and flint mills in the area and the pot works themselves.
Land and Industry: Flint Mills in Longton
An extensive landowner in North Staffordshire, Granville Leveson-Gower (1721-1803), Marquis of Stafford, leased out much of his land for the development of Pot Works and Flint Mills. On 5th December 1795 a man named Mr. Hyatt made an agreement with Lord Stafford for renting ‘the upper fall of Meir Heath Furnace Water and erecting a Flint Mill’.
The Agreement featured above, made at Trentham, states that Hyatt took a lease from Lord Stafford ‘of the Water running from the Furnace’ to the intended place of his ‘Flint Mill’. The rent amounted to thirty one pounds and ten shillings per annum ‘for the Water’ and a further twenty five shillings per acre ‘for the Watercourse & land used for the Buildings to be erected thereupon’.
The Agreement also states that Mr. Hyatt was to spend ‘not less that £400 in the erection of one or more other Mill or Mills upon such stream of water in the course of twelve months’. The Marquis of Stafford would continue to pay the ‘Land Tax’ for the land, but all other taxes were to be met by Mr. Hyatt.
The Agreement, involving a considerable amount of money, highlights the expansion of industry in Longton at the end of the eighteenth century. Much money could be made by industrialists and landowners who leased out their land and resources to these entrepreneurs. Lord Stafford and Mr. Hyatt were practically involved in developing the economic and industrial potential of Longton through the erection of flint mills, securing Longton’s reputation as a centre of industry at this time.
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Contextual information from: J. H. Y. Briggs, A History of Longton. 1. The Birth of a Community
(Keele University Department of Adult Education: 1982)