Wedgwood museum to open in weeks

The new building is based at the manufacturing headquarters of the firm

A new £10.5m museum featuring many of the ceramics produced by Josiah Wedgwood and generations that followed him will open later this month.

The Wedgwood Museum, in Barlaston, Staffordshire, will open on 24 October - eight years after fundraising first began for it.

The museum, at the UK manufacturing headquarters of the firm, is expected to attract 100,000 visitors a year.

About 6,000 artefacts and 680 pattern books will go on show.

'Magic carpet'

Items ranging from Josiah Wedgwood's experimental trials to works by contemporary artists will also be on display.

The museum will also include an interactive "magic carpet" ride for visitors, allowing them to "fly" around the company's original Etruria factory, which has since been demolished.

It will also have an education centre for schools and a reference library.

The attraction has been built with the help of grants from other organisations including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands and the Staffordshire Environmental Trust.