the potteries museum and art gallery

I have put a complaint in to the museum concerning the cafe, last Sunday was understaffed, dirty and a shambles and to use the reason it was busier than general would be unacceptable. Ifd you are taking money provide a good service.The exhibits are great, Staffs hoard very interesting and quiet beautiful, interesting young gentlemen volunteer who was extremely informative. Shame the city might lose it...lack of fundsSpitfire ...love that shame it is not being looked after as much as it ought to be..lack of funds.Chinese New Year events ....nice to see, could have been better organised to flow better.Cafe appalling , slow, huge queue, not enough staff, order wrong when came, tables not cleared, chairs in short supply, toilets not great very dated and not so clean but hey thats the public for you. take a flask and sandwich,

The title of this review pretty much sums up the experience.I wanted to cloak my carrier bag and coats; found a "Cloaks" sign to the left of the toilets, but came across what looked like a storage area and some lockers (some of which, despite the sign indicating they were for the use of visitors only, were filled with museum brochures etc. There were no keys in any of the lockers and no instructions on how to secure your personal items.The staff at the Tourist Information Office (which doubles as the museum's Reception Desk) seemed to see straight through me (I must have been wearing Harry Potter's "Invisibility Cloak") so I asked a Museum Attendant who most unhelpful - he directed me back to the "storage area" and keyless lockers!After having finally got the attention of the Tourist Information/Museum Reception staff I again requested access to their "cloakroom" facilities. Well, you thought I had asked they sell their firstborn!Locker key apparently cost £1.30 and are obtainable from the staff at the desk. After much rummaging in a drawer and muttering on their part (I had suggested it might be useful to put up some signage in the "cloakroom" area to inform clients how the system operated) I finally told them not to bother and that I'd carry my bags and coats through the museum.At the conclusion of this debacle I then needed to find the Staffordshire Hoard exhibit - the purpose of my visit. Once again, signage is required!!The hoard items are not well displayed and the magnifying glasses provided are of such poor quality to make them useless. The are, however, Hoard Hosts (museum people who will talk about the Hoard in particular and the Anglo-Saxons in general). My host was "Mark" and he was fantastic!I visited a few other galleries and found them only OK (other than the Spitfire, which was interesting and atmospheric).My lasting impressions of this Museum will be unhelpful,rude and disinterested staff and poor signage!!

An interesting place to visit. Lots of variety and interest. It is great to have access to such a resource in the area. I recommend a visit if you are close by.

We really enjoyed the museum and the gallery . The children love looking at all the old toys and the animals . We all enjoyed the hunt looking for the clues all around . We've beed a few times and the children loved looking at the art work that other children from schools had done . Close to the town centre so you can enjoy some retail therapy after of before.

this is a wonderful place to bring the children to visit and learn about things like Vikings ww1 ww2 etc. I highly recommended a well deserving visit to this place I give this a 100% satisfaction for the little ones

This is a perfect small museum, with the advantage of having an historic find as one of its exhibits. In addition to having part of the important Staffordshire Hoard, this museum also has examples of Staffordshire pottery (with interesting contemporary examples), art works, and a Spitfire room. The members of the staff are helpful and obviously proud of the museum.

Located in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent at Hanley we located the museum quite easily as it is well signposted. However, car parking was a little more difficult but we did find an nearby multi storey within a short walking distance Don't judge a book by its cover and from the outside the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is not a great "looker". Inside exhibits are displayed over 3 levels. Lower Ground for one off exhibitions - currently with a World War I theme. Ground floor, human, physical and natural history of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire area including some artefacts from the Staffordshire Hoard. Also a very impressive full size Spitfire aeroplane. First floor a relatively small art collection but including some works by Lowry. The peace de resistance is of course the ceramics gallery with an outstanding collection of the best Staffordshire pottery and porcelain ever manufactured.Throughout the building there are activity areas to keep youngsters occupied. Pleasant reasonably priced café. Admission is free but a donation of £3 is requested.All in all a very interesting and worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours in the city

Typically public sector in its design and management, this is a really interesting museum with lots of displays, but nothing outstanding and little interaction. Miserable front desk staff and security officers don't make for a welcoming experience, and the lower ground floor exhibition when we visited was clearly delivered on a very small budget. Pottery displays were good, the Spitfire is worth seeing, and some of the local history displays were interesting. The Staffordshire Hoard would benefit from better interpretation (the artefacts from the Hoard at the British Museum, and the replicas at Tamworth Castle and Lichfield Cathedral are all delivered in a more interesting format) and the natural history section needs serious modernisation. Public sector museums today should be managed as a visitor experience, not as another council 'service'. Satisfactory shop, parking nearby.

Took my niece the museum expecting to be bored quite quickly . Totally not. Lovely helpful informative staff. The Staffordshire Hoard was beautiful . The detail on the gold amazing for objects over a thousand year old. Some interesting art including Lowrey and Constable but also people like John Curry. Needless to say the ceramic example were outstanding. . A very pleasant way to spend a cold grey afternoon.

We primarily made a visit to this museum to see the Staffordshire Hoard and were rather disappointed.There is one modestly-sized room dedicated to displaying the Hoard and quite a low proportion of the display material consists of actual Hoard artefacts. The information on those items actually on display is very sparse, or non-existant, and the lighting is not ideal to really appreciate the quality of the workmanship. So disappointing.We did have a quick look at the rest of the museum ( they were about to close) and this looked extensive and interesting.

Great venue and they are currently commemorating the outbreak of war, including a replica WW1 trench. Also, there is a Spitfire being rebuilt. All this amongst amazing pottery, paintings and other artefacts. Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold also on display.

I visited the museum and spent four hours +/-. It was truly informative , relaxing place to visit. The staff was helpful and cheerful. I liked the fact that I was able to take a break in the cafeteria downstairs, thereby enabling me to split the tour in two sessions. I wish I had another day to spend looking and learning about the potteries history. For me it is worth another visit. Recommended donations worthwhile. Comfort facilities very good.Sorry, I do not have the website address to hand.

I'm a local so I confess to sneeking in here every few months to see what's new. But the most impressive section still has to be the ceramics. It starts with an excellent "mugs guide" (forgive the pun) on the many ways that have been used over the years to make and decorate a pot. All the famous names are on display. And then the display of modern stuff is just overwhelming - there is so much and of so many different varieties. And then there are some paintings, a spitfire, the Anglo-saxon Gold hoard and downstairs in the restaurant you can even have an oatcake. Have a good day "up 'Anley, duck!"

Pleasantly surprised by how interesting we found the museum, lots of different information that was interactive and engaging. Would definitely recommend, a party of any ages will enjoy this museum.

That is how my 15 French visitors described the place. This the second year running that 10 of them have visited and I have no doubt that if they come to S-o-T again next year, TPM and AG will be on the 'must visit' list.