The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
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Mau'ing the Saggar
One of Britain's dying crafts. As the bottle kilns of the Potteries fall into history Ralph Wheeldon keeps alive the historic craft of making saggars for the firing process.
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Overview
A saggar is a container used to protect pots when they are fired in a bottle kiln. Ralph Wheeldon who has spent all his working life making saggars is our guide to the skilled process demonstrated at the Gladstone Pottery Museum at Longton. This film, produced by Gerald Mee for the Stoke on Trent Cine Society, is a valuable record of a dying craft. Ralph is a master in the process of beating the heavy marl into shape (the mau'ing process) and all with his own unique handmade tools.
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