大象传媒

Once peace was restored it became possible to take a broader view of the outcome of the great experiment. The most noticeable casualty of the vision, which had been held out to the workers assembled in the canteen at Etruria back in 1936, was the factory village. Where Josiah had once dreamed of an estate of 1,700 houses and had actually planned a contract for 140, he was, in the end, permitted to build only twenty. These were occupied by essential workers such as kiln men, who needed to be on call round the clock. By 1957 the company had managed to increase its estate to a total of eighty-four houses and flats, and Stone Council built a further group of houses on the site using the original Wedgwood designs, but the outcome was a pale reflection of the original ambition. Even without the war, it is doubtful whether a comparatively small firm such as Wedgwood could have made a contribution to town planning on the scale that had been envisaged when the move was conceived. Henceforth the major experiments in urban living would be conducted, not by philanthropic manufacturers, but by New Town Corporations.
Wedgwood workers who knew both factories always retained a fond memory of Etruria. Wilk Elks preferred Barlaston for its cleanliness, 鈥榖ut for working, I loved Etruria. The companionship at Etruria was better. There seemed to be more freedom. Every department was separate. It was a family. You had that feeling of ease.鈥� At the same time, they recognised that change was overdue. When Bert Lowe came back to Barlaston after the war, he sensed the transformation in attitude which would lay the foundation of the firm鈥檚 post war expansion; 鈥業 think that it was a more modern outlook. People were thinking differently. The move had made people think that little bit more and that little bit more deeply about 鈥渨hat鈥檚 the future?鈥� Barlaston was that much different to Etruria. At Etruria it was, every day鈥檚 the same. But once you鈥檝e moved and once you鈥檝e got a new factory, its all go, let鈥檚 get bigger, let鈥檚 do better.鈥�

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