Did you know that...

 •  Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) had his leg amputated on 28th May 1768, and had wooden legs specially made for him by a local cabinet maker.

 • The Wedgwood Company was founded on May Day 1759, when Josiah set up at the Ivy House Works, Burslem.

 • Our fine bone china is so strong we have balanced a Rolls Royce, a JCB and even a bus with 40 aboard on our coffee cups!

Extract from local newspaper - 1981

"Another record with 40 aboard

The hare and the tortoise - two of the runners in the first Potteries marathon - were the last to board this PMT double-deck bus standing on six Kutani Crane coffee cups.

Visitors to the local bus company's open day were invited to enter a special competition to guess the total weight of the bus and 40 marathon runners on the cups (11 tons 4 cwts 95 lbs).

The income from the competition was donated to the marathon's funds for charity. Fourteen employees in the Wedgwood Group finished the course. "

 • Charles Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was Josiah Wedgwood's grandson. He was the son of Robert, a well respected Doctor, and Susannah, a member of the Wedgwood family.

Read about the Charles Darwin

 • Josiah's son, John, (1766-1884) was one of the founders of what was to become the Royal Horticultural Society. He suggested the idea to the King's gardener William Forsyth in 1801.

Read about the Royal Horticultural Society's beginnings

 • Wedgwood fine bone china was first introduced in 1812 with the famous Chinese Dragons pattern.

 • In 2006 Wedgwood used 260 kilos of 22 carat gold and platinum at its factory in Staffordshire to decorate its products.

 • A vase with decoration designed by the Prince of Monaco and manufactured by Wedgwood's special skills department at Barlaston, Staffordshire, raised £400,000 at an auction for children's charities in 2006.