Concerns about demolition of historic pottery oven

The muffle kiln thought to have been destroyed is understood to be one of only three of its kind

A local authority is looking into claims that a historic pottery oven, said to be one of only three of its kind, has been damaged in a recent demolition.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said its building control team were investigating work carried out by the owner of the Grade II listed Falcon Pottery in Hanley.

Some parts of the buildings on the site were unstable following a fire at the beginning of September, and posed a risk to public safety, the authority said.

All work at the former pottery factory has now been ordered to stop by the council.

"We are aware of concerns regarding the muffle kiln and this forms part of our ongoing investigation," councillor Chris Robinson said.

"It would not be appropriate to comment further until that process is complete."

The BBC has attempted to contact the site's owners.

Work at the Falcon Pottery site on New Town Road in Hanley is being stopped while an investigation is carried out, the council says

Andy Perkin of the Potteries Heritage Society told the BBC the structure that is thought to have been been demolished at the site on Old Town Road was one of only three of its kind in existence.

These were treasure chest shaped, with the oven at Falcon Pottery having measured about 1.5m (5ft) wide and 3.5m (12ft) long, he added.

They were decorators' kilns – used for pottery that had already been fired to add decoration such as paint and gold leaf.

There were two ovens on the site, Mr Perkin said, and the other had not been demolished.

Until this month, there had been 50 remaining bottle oven structures in the city, he said.

However, three no longer had their chimneys, including the one most recently believed to have been damaged.