Students from University of Staffordshire have created the first-ever ceremonial mace for Fenton – the only one of the six towns without one.
As part of the Centenary celebrations, students from the BA (Hons) Product Furniture and Ceramics and MA Ceramics courses were given the opportunity to design a mace that honours Fenton’s historic ties to the early development of the ceramic industry.
With an impressive range of ideas, the judging panel found it too difficult to pick a single winner. Instead, two standout teams were asked to collaborate, combining conceptual excellence with engineering expertise to create the ultimate Fenton Mace.
Neil Brownsword, Professor of Ceramics at University of Staffordshire, said: “The Fenton Mace project has been great for students to reconnect to local histories that shaped the characteristics of Fenton. They have done a fantastic job of combining traditional references and symbolism through a contemporary lens, using a range of materials sponsored by local businesses.
“The technical expertise of these companies, alongside the challenges of working as a team have been hugely beneficial in expanding their professionalism and problem solving through the design process.”
BA (Hons) Product, Furniture, Ceramics student Maddie Sturmey said: “It’s been an honour to be a part of this prestigious occasion and to have had the opportunity to design and create the Fenton mace. We are really excited to showcase what we have been working so hard to achieve. We hope the people of Fenton love it as much as we do.”
The mace was unveiled to the public in Fenton Town Hall last Friday before a special parade transported it to Stoke Town Hall on Saturday, where it officially joined the city’s civic regalia.
Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Councillor Lyn Sharpe: “I’m so proud to be Lord Mayor of this amazing city and it’s a huge honour to be celebrating my home town of Fenton finally getting its own civic honour.
“The students have really thought through the meaning of all the aspects of the mace. From the coat of arms to the forget-me-nots symbolising Fenton being the ‘forgotten town’ of Arnold Bennett’s books.
“But we know it’s definitely not the forgotten town now and this mace will represent the town in the civic regalia for the next 100 years and beyond.”
The project has been made possible through support from sponsors including Valentine Clays, KMF Metal, AJ Philpott, and CJ Skelhorne Jewellers, with additional contributions from Duchess China 1888 and Lee Price.