Stoke-on-Trent will mark Staffordshire Day with new planting at a statue of one of Stoke-on-Trent’s most famous figures.

Pupils from Etruscan Primary School will plant heather, Staffordshire’s county flower, at the base of the Capo sculpture of pioneering entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood at Etruria Hall.

The planting will be carried out with Lord Mayor Councillor Steve Watkins and will reflect the city and county’s shared industrial heritage. 

Staffordshire Day takes place each year on 1 May. The date marks the anniversary of the day in 1759 when Josiah Wedgwood established his pottery company, helping to shape an industry that defined the region’s identity.

It is also the anniversary of the opening of the Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival in 1986, when reclaimed land at the former Shelton Bar steelworks was transformed into a national showcase for regeneration.

That legacy continues today, with former industrial sites like the Olympus Engineering factory in Shelton reshaped for housing, business and public space.

The Capo sculpture brings those threads together. Created for the garden festival by artist Vincent Woropay, it was installed in 2025 near his former home at Etruria Hall, close to the site of Wedgwood’s Etruria Works.

The Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Councillor Steve Watkins, said: “Staffordshire Day is a chance to celebrate our county, its history and everything there is to shout about.

“Our ceramics legacy still shapes our identity today and helped put Staffordshire on the world stage.

“As this is also the 40th anniversary of the opening of Stoke-on-Trent’s National Garden Festival, it’s fitting that we’re celebrating at a statue that brings those multiple strands of our city and county’s shared culture and heritage together.

“It’s also a moment to look to the future and our city and county’s ability to adapt and renew.

“Inspired by figures like Josiah Wedgwood and moments such as the National Garden Festival, the same spirit of ambition and change is still shared across Stoke‑on‑Trent and Staffordshire today.”

Staffordshire Day has been celebrated annually since 2016 and is marked across the county by councils, businesses and other organisations to promote the historic county of Staffordshire. 

For more information go to visitstaffordshire.com.