To mark the new Saturday opening hours, a group of talented local artists – Stoke Urban Sketchers – will be taking up residence in the courtyard.

The artists will show drawings and paintings to visitors who will also have the opportunity to sketch along with them.

The site is FREE to enter, and each month visitors can roam around the former Dudson pottery factory.

The factory was established by Richard Dudson in 1809, and was redeveloped in to the Dudson Centre in the 1990’s to become a busy community hub and home to the Dudson Museum.

Local charity VAST manages the site and many local charities are tenants in the courtyard units. The historic site retains many of its original features and boasts a peaceful courtyard, and a lovingly preserved Grade II listed bottle oven which houses the Dudson museum collection, showcasing over 200 years of Dudson ceramics.

Museum staff are on hand to chat about the local heritage and beautiful pottery and visitors can relax in the café or courtyard with a drink and enjoy homemade cake and hot food.

In April the centre opened the Dudson Shop which celebrates local creativity, by selling a variety of handmade greeting cards, books, jewellery, ceramics and artwork all by local designers, artists and makers from across the area. A select range of original Dudson wares are also available.

All these areas are bound to be great inspiration for the Urban Sketchers to capture the atmosphere and sense of the place.

Laura Green, from Stoke Urban Sketchers is looking forward to their forthcoming residency and says: “We will be sketching at the Dudson Museum between 11am – 1pm on Saturday 7 October, and we’re inviting artists to come and join in- whatever your age or ability, it’s free to take part. We can provide you with sketching materials and ware are a friendly group who have been meeting regularly at different local sites to sketch for around 7 years
now.

“We love to sketch whatever we see, be that the architecture, the people, old historic buildings, modern structures, events, and of course the iconic pot banks.”

Deborah Nicklin of the Dudson Museum team, said:  “We’re really looking forward to hosting the Urban Sketchers here on our first Saturday opening and it will be lovely to welcome people on site. Visitors will find the sketchers in the main courtyard area, though if there it does rain, we have a plan. So please don’t be put off by the weather, we can locate the Urban Sketchers in dry areas around the
building, so they can carry on regardless and you can come and see them in action too.”

“Our new Saturday opening hours are a lovely opportunity for people to come and find us. Especially people who are usually working all week and families with school aged children. The Dudson Museum really is a hidden gem, hiding in the heart of the City Centre and many people don’t know about us.”

For more information follow The Dudson Museum and Cafe on Facebook, visit the Dudson Museum website https://dudsonmuseum.vast.org.uk/ or call 01782 683141 (10am – 3pm Monday to Friday)

A Winter Fair will also be taking place in November.