Your new documentary traces the trajectory of Wedgwood. Can you tell us about the company’s founder, the first Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95)?
He was a visionary figure, a product of the Enlightenment and of a moment of confidence. There was a desire for change, an excitement about change, and [the idea] that change would be liberating and progressive. He was a terrifyingly remarkable individual: a businessman, an engineer, a designer, a kind of advertising genius, a political activist, a father, a proud man – aphenomenal figure. He dealt with a disability as well, his leg having been cut off without an anaesthetic. He was a force of energy when Britain itself was full of energy.
In the 19th century, Wedgwood as a company was less of a force. Why?