The potbank has been at the heart of Armitage-with-Handsacre village life since its origins in 1809. Volume 1 of Richard Ewing’s comprehensive history covered the rise of the pottery and development under Edward Johns, when it became an internationally recognised brand for sanitary ware. Volume 2 begins with the acquisition of the pottery by the Corn brothers, and continues through two world wars to the death of Edmund Corn in 1945. During this time the Edward Johns branding was changed to Armitage Ware, labour relations became an important issue and industrial diseases like silicosis were recognised. The pottery expanded hugely, acquiring land and housing for its workers.
The story of the potbank is also the story of Armitage-with-Handsacre. Richard Ewing has incorporated much material demonstrating the social life of the village during this period, bringing to life the workers and management, the men who went off to fight in the wars, the houses they lived in, the pubs they drank in and the close-knit families who worked at the pottery generation after generation.