Wedgwood: A Very British Tragedy

This is the story of an extraordinary man – Josiah Wedgwood – the visionary potter, designer, chemist, marketing genius, and radical, dissenting, anti-slavery campaigner.

Tristram Hunt examines this legendary 18 th century life and the legacy of the company Wedgwood founded over 260 years ago. How did this family-owned business – the jewel in the crown of Stoke – with generations of skilled workers in the city, lose its independence, become Wedgwood plc and go into a near-terminal decline in the twenty-first century? And is there hope for the future with its current
owners?

Produced by Anna Horsbrugh-Porter

Broadcast: 5th June 2023 on BBC Radio 4