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as its name suggests, the area of england known as the midlands is in the middle of the country.
this area used to be the heart of britain's manufacturing industry.
the most important city in the region is birmingham,england's second city.
at its peak in the 19th century,birmingham was the world's greatest industrial city,producing goods that were sold in britain's colonies and in other countries all around the world.
the midlands,and birmingham in particular,1980s.
the area lost around one third of its manufacturing jobs.
the midlands played a very important role in the industrial revolution.
one of the most famous towns there is shrewsbury.
this was where british industrialists built the word's first iron bridge.
another large town in the area is stoke-on-trent,the centre of britain's pottery industry.
in fact,the district including stoke-on-trent and the five towns that surround it became known simply as "the potteries."the high-quality clay used to make the pots came from devon and cornwall in the southwest of england.
the fuel used to fire the pottery kilns was coal,whch was easily available in the extensive local coalfields.
in fact,the area became the largest pottery-making centre in the world in the 19th century.
but it was a dirty and dangerous place to live.
the smoke from the pottery factories covered everything with a layer of thick black soot.
local workers suffered both from the soot and the dust that came from making the pots.
living conditions were bad,and life expectancy was short.
arnold bennett,the famous 19th-century novelist,memorably described life and work in the potteries in his novels such as clayhanger and anna of the five towns.
the area is,of course,no longer the world's largest pottery centre.
most british people now buy cheaper pottery imported from many different parts of the world.
but there are still some very famous and old-established companies in the region that produce expensive,high-quality goods.
these include such famous names as royal doulton,royal worcester,spode and wedgwood.
wedgwood pottery is perhaps the best-known style of british pottery in japan.
it has many designs,but the company's delicate and elaborately ornamented blue and white designs are especially famous.
the company was founded by josiah wedgwood in 1759.
wedgwood was not only a great designer,but also a man of science.
he designed a device to measure the temperature of pottery kilns,and he was also responsible for developing revolutionary new glazes for his pots,which are still used today.
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