This pub was built on land that was part of Dandillions Farm, it opened on March 17th 1968.

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The pub was built by J. A. Bailey’s and Son a Cheadle firm based in Tape Street. David Wright an apprentice with company at the time;  got in touch with that information and the following:

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“We had a large oak tree delivered to the joiner’s shop which had already been through cut and seasoned. I remember that the morticing machine chisel used to smoke when I was cutting the mortices and the shop was full of smoke by the time that I had completed a few. I worked under an excellent shop joiner, John Burnett. The site joiner was Harry Alcock, another fine joiner. These men were of the ‘old school’ and the older I have become the more appreciative I feel about their work.”

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The pub gets its name from the estate it’s built close to, which has streets named after famous potters; Meakin, Spode, Paragon etc. Cheadle while not historically linked with the pottery industry, did have a small firm called S&F Pottery who made a series of character jugs in the 1980s.

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In 1976 Master Potter regulars formed a Tug-of-War team called ‘The Masters’, coached by Derek Fower. By March 1980 the team were proving to be quite successful on the local circuit and the Whitbread Brewery provided them with uniforms.

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At Cheadle’s 1980 festival the Master Potter won the float competition in the pub category.

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In early 2008 the pub closed for a £300, 000 refurbishment, it reopened on the pub’s 40th anniversary March 17th. This facelift eliminated the “vault” side of the pub and a doorway by the bar was created making the pub more open plan rather than simulating the public/private bar layout.

 

At the same time, controversial changes to the pub's licence were approved by SMDC. Allowing them to serve alcohol with breakfasts from 9am and an extension to serving hours.

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The service in the Potter for many years was notoriously slow. This was to change in September 2008 when managers Darren and Christine Forrester took on the pub. With them they brought a fantastic set of bar staff, for the first time in many years there was a truly efficient team behind the bar.

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Another memorable addition Darren and Christine brought to the pub, was was their family cat Mitsey. While staff and customers tried to keep her out at first, Mitsey, or “pub cat” as she was affectionately called by some,  just kept on finding a way in! At the height of her fame there was a Facebook group called ‘The cat from the Master Potter is Awesome!’ dedicated to her.

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Darren and Christine decided to leave the Master Potter when it was announced by Greene King that it was to become a Hungry Horse restaurant/pub.

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In November 2010 the pub was targeted by callous thieves stealing money collected for charity, there was a series of similar robberies in the area at the time.

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On October 2nd 2011 the pub shut for another major refurbishment, transforming it into the Hungry Horse restaurant/pub, it re-opened on November 11th. With the emphasis on food the refurbishment resulted in an extension to the kitchen area and more tables/seating for diners, along with some boothed areas with small televisions.

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Regulars in the pub helped collect money for a local family on Christmas Eve 2011; when their daughter’s Christmas presents had been destroyed in a fire that morning.

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A more recent refurbishment in 2017 restored the "vault" feature of the pub, by reinstating a door entrance. As well as introducing a larger range of drinks, new televisions and a bar extension.

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Website:

Hungry Horse – Master Potter

 

Past Proprietors:

 

R. Goodhall [1968-1969] (Cheadle Post and Times 1969)
R. Dawson [from 1969] (Cheadle Post and Times 1969)
Mr and Mrs Fred Edwards (Cheadle Post and Times 1974 and 1980, Staffordshire Sentinel 1986)

Angela Artus (Staffordshire Sentinel 1992)

Kevin Brick (Cheadle Post and Times 1995)

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Mike and Mandy Phillips (Cheadle Post and Times 2008)

Sue Hodson [from Aug 2008] (Cheadle Post and Times 2008) [Holding Manager]

Darren and Christine Forrester [from Sept 2008] (Cheadle Post and Times 2008)

Mat Cartwright (The Sentinel 2014)

Andy Corrigan (Cheadle Post and Times 2015)

Dave Seckington (The Sentinel 2016, 2017)

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