A bottle oven or bottle kiln is a type of kiln. The word 'bottle' refers to the shape of the structure and not to the kiln's products, which are usually pottery, not glass.
Bottle kilns were typical of the industrial landscape of Stoke-on-Trent, where nearly 50 are preserved as listed buildings.[1] They were mostly built in the later 18th and the 19th centuries,[2] although the surviving ones include examples from the 20th century.[3] Their association with Stoke-on-Trent reflects the fact that the British ceramic industry was mainly based in that city. Bottle kilns are found in other locations in England—for example, for Coalport porcelain and the Fulham Pottery in London. Abroad they can be found at the Monastery of Santa Maria de las Cuevas.
Despite being very inefficient (supposedly 70% of the energy of the fuel was wasted), bottle kilns were constructed until the mid-twentieth century, after which they were replaced by other types of kiln, as the industry ceased to be coal-fired. The Clean Air Act 1956 marked the end of their use in the United Kingdom.
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- ^ "Bottle and calcining kilns still standing in the six towns". 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "The Bottle Kiln". thepotteries.org. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Historic England. "Three bottle ovens in premises occupied by Bayer (1195832)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 January 2021.