9. Bottle Kilns Look Nice But Aren't Used Any More
As part of maintaining its heritage, Stoke-on-Trent has preserved and restored roughly 50 historic bottle kilns. In its pottery-producing heyday, Stoke's skyline featured almost 4000 of these kilns, but most of them are now a distant memory. So is most of Stoke's once-great pottery industry. Because of that industrial decline, it's frustrating for Stokies when visitors go on about how pretty the kilns are. Yes, they are quite striking - but the ovens are also a persistent reminder of how many jobs have been lost. And in a city like Stoke-on-Trent where getting a decent job can be a labour of Hercules, people don't need to be reminded that jobs used to be more plentiful. To find out exactly what a bottle kiln (or oven) was, view the video. It even shows the inside of one, which is a sight not seen by many people these days.