A new blue plaque was unveiled at Middleport Pottery on Tuesday (9 July) in dedication to a writer from Hanley.
Arnold Bennet (1867-1931) was a prolific author who is best remembered as a novelist who specialised in realism.
He wrote 34 novels, one of which was Anna of the Five Towers, which was inspired by a visit Bennet made to Middleport Pottery. In the book, Middleport Pottery is renamed ‘the Providence Works’.
This book is said to have immortalised the Potteries era of Staffordshire by capturing what life was actually like then.
Alasdair Brooks of Re-Form Heritage stated: “It’s important to recognise Bennett’s role not just in national literary culture but also here in Stoke-on-Trent,”
The Arnold Bennet Society, who unveiled the plaque on Tuesday, has already put up plaques at various locations throughout Burslem, where much of Bennet’s books take place. This new plaque is the first one to be put up in Middleport.
Experienced writer and journalist James McKean leads the daily editorial output at StaffsLive. To contact him, email news@staffslive.co.uk
