The Dudson Centre

The Dudson Centre is the 19th Century former factory of Dudson Ltd. The two hundred year old factory’s renovated buildings encompass a bottle kiln in the courtyard and provides a multipurpose Resource Centre with subsidised managed office space for 16 organisations, full conference & meeting facilities, I.T suite, café, reference & resource libraries, and a museum.

This original Dudson factory, a Grade II listed building, in Hanley, was donated to VAST in 1996 by The Dudson Group, and is managed by an independent group of trustees. This has been now transformed this into a new Resource Centre for local voluntary and community services.

This pioneering centre has enabled many voluntary organisations to share facilities and back office functions thus releasing precious resources for front line service delivery. It is a unique example of social enterprise in that is entirely self funded without recourse to public funds.

A flagship project of Government Office West Midlands, the Dudson Centre is a prime example of private, public and voluntary sectors partnerships. The Dudson family donated the building and the site to the community forming The Dudson Centre Trust. A pioneering partnership between the Dudson Group, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and VAST developed the Centre. Her Majesty The Queen visited the Centre in October 1999 and, to mark the Dudson Groups bicentenary in 2000, was presented with a modern replica of the clock made for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The £3.5m renovation was funded by a range of private and public sector partners including The Dudson Group, ERDF, SRB, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and National Lottery and supported by Community Partnership with professional firms providing technical support.

The Dudson Centre also provides an insight into over 200 years of pottery production by the oldest surviving family business in the ceramic tableware industry. Here visitors can explore the original Dudson factory courtyard and enjoy the unique experience of stepping inside the Grade II listed bottle kiln to view the collection and to trace the fascinating history of the Dudson company’s production from 1800 to the present day.

VAST manages the Dudson Centre and is open between 08:30am – 10:00pm, and host the following organisations:

• Aiming Higher Together - forum for parents of children with disabilities
• Lifestyle Programme - Lifestyle coaches
• Children & Families Team – supporting children & young people
• Dove Service - bereavement and illness, counseling
• The Dudson Centre Café (open 8.30am – 4pm)
• The Dudson Museum (open 10am – 3pm)
• Face 2 Face - support to families who have a child with additional needs
• Hindu Cultural Society – support for the Indian community
• National Youth Advocacy Services – support for young people
• North Staffs Users Group – support for mental health service users
• Relate North Staffs - relationship counselling
• S.A.I.V.E. (Sexual Abuse & Incest Victims Emerge) - service for victims of sexual abuse.
• Savana - counselling and support for women, rape and sexual abuse victims
• Staffordshire Credit Union – affordable lending
• Staffordshire Community Foundation – service for philanthropists providing grants
• VAST - Local Infrastructure Organisation development support for third sector organisations

The Dudson Museum

The Dudson museum, housed inside a bottle kiln, where you can see some of the products made by Dudson over the years. This is the only bottle kiln where members of the public can actually go inside.

The museum houses many rare items unearthed during the development of the site. Richard Dudson founded Dudson in 1800, over the years the company produced a wide variety of domestic ware, including Staffordshire Figures and Jasper Ware, turning its' full attention to the rapidly expanding world of travel and hospitality in 1891.

The Dudson museum, in the heart of Hanley, takes the public through the timeline of Dudson, and how they grew into one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of hotel tableware, the company currently exports over 60% of its production to more than 80 countries across the globe.

For details of the Dudson Group please visit www.dudson.co.uk