Steel Man makes way for new female statue

A statue is set to go back on display at the foundry where it was originally cast, to make way for a new sculpture honouring the often-overlooked women who shaped the ceramics industry.

The Steel Man was removed from outside The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on Monday and will be put on display at Goodwin PLC, where it was cast in 1974.

The Steel Man pays tribute to the workers of Shelton Bar Steelworks, which shaped the city's economy and identity from the mid-19th Century until its closure in 1978.

"It's a proud symbol of our industrial heritage and it will continue to tell that story in a new setting," said council leader Jane Ashworth.

She added that the change was "about giving recognition to a part of our history that has too often gone unrecognised."

The Steel Man was created by local sculptor Colin Melbourne and commissioned by the Shelton and Steel Action Committee.

Ashworth said: "Women were often the backbone of the ceramics industry – decorating and finishing some of the world's most iconic pottery, often without the recognition or pay that men received.

"For every Clarice Cliff or Susie Cooper, there were hundreds of women whose names we don't recognise but whose skill and labour made this city what it is."

At the start of the 20th Century, women made up nearly half of the workforce in the local pottery industry, according to the local authority.

Women's roles were often overlooked, underpaid and undervalued - with men taking on the most skilled and lucrative positions.

The relocation and the new ceramics statue, first announced in July 2025, would be funded by Goodwin at no cost to the public, the council said.

No details about the statue that is set to replace the Steel Man have yet been announced.

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