The Caldon branch canal can be seen in the lower half of the picture running left to right.

In the foreground are piles of bricks - the Mousecroft Brick Works lay just behind the photographer.

Just across the canal the Harrison & Son's Joiners Square factory - The Stanley Mills, where much of the colours and glazes used in the Potteries was mixed.
They eventually became Harrison and Mayer, later Johnson Matthey and currently Endeka Ceramics, supplying quality ceramic materials and precious metals for the pottery decoration industry. 

Harrison & Son's Joiners Square factory - The Stanley Mills

On this 1898 map the purple arrow shows the position of the photographer and the general direction of the view over Joiners Square.
The Caldon canal is shown in blue.

This 2009 Google map shows the view over Joiners Square from position of the above photograph - as well as the three Johnson Brothers works of Hanley, Trent and Imperial potteries there were the J & G Meakin Eastwood and Eagle potteries.

all of these are now demolished and the sites to be developed for housing.

the Imperial Pottery Works

The entrance to the Hanley Pottery

The Caldon Canal with the Hanley Works to the
left and Trent Works & bottle kilns straight ahead.
 

Barges tied up on the Caldon canal alongside
the Meakin Eastwood Pottery, Hanley. 1952

The J & G Meakin Eagle pottery was bold and visionary, well in advance of its time. 
Erected on the moorlands on the outskirts of Hanley
 with good access by the Caldon canal to the Mersey ports.