Chapter 18

Fig. 380.

Newport Pottery.—These works were established at the close of last century by Mr. Walter Daniel, and about 1810 passed into the hands of Mr. John Davenport. The manufacture was afterwards carried on by Messrs. Cork and Edge, and is now continued by Messrs. Edge, Malkin, & Co., a firm which, with various alterations in partnership, dates back to the beginning of the present century. Messrs. Cork and Edge, in their ordinary earthenware, introduced many years ago a process of inlaying the patterns in the ground body, but of different colours. These were intended for the cheapest markets, but were produced in good taste. Three of these designs, two tea-pots and a ewer, shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851, are engravedon Figs.381 to 383. The productions of the firm at the present time are dinner ware; jet, enamelled, lustre, and other fancy goods; and all the ordinary wares for the home and foreign markets.

Figs. 381 to 383.

Newport Works.—Established in 1866 by Malkin, Edge, & Co. for the manufacture of encaustic and other tiles. The tiles are made from dust (by the process of Messrs. Boulton and Worthington), by which process the various colours are fixed in the tile, immediately and without pressure, in the following manner. “On a level block of iron, surrounded by an outer casing which is movable, is placed a sheet of brass with the pattern cut out of the same, and into the different spaces are put the various coloured clays, in dust, required. A raised counterpart of the design is then gently pressed upon these dusts, and the brass sheet, or plate, is removed. The outer casing before referred to is then raised according to the thickness required, and the space is filled up with dust to form the body of the tile. A screw, worked by a wheel, is then lowered upon the outer casingand block, which forces the out-casing back again to its former position around the level block, as far as the dust will allow. The tile is then taken out of the outer casing, and is completely finished, with the exception of being fired. This screw pressure produces in a few moments a remarkably solid substance.” Messrs. Malkin, Edge, & Co. produce an extensive variety of patterns, both in encaustic, wall, and other tiles. The designs are good and effective, and the colours rich, clear, and well defined.

Figs. 384 and 385.

Figs. 386 and 387.

Dale Hall.—The extensive works at Dale Hall (or Dale Hole, as it used to be written), founded in 1790, originally belonged to Mr Joseph Stubbs, a very successful manufacturer, who, having retired from business, died in 1836. He was succeeded by Messrs.Thomas, John, and Joshua Mayer, who afterwards traded “as Mayer Brothers and Elliot,” and from them, successively through the firms of “Liddle, Elliot, & Co.,” and “Bates, Elliot & Co.,” to the present owners and occupiers, Messrs. Bates, Walker, and Co.; Mr. Elliot having retired, and Mr. Walker, stepson to Mr. Bates, being taken into partnership. By the earlier firms, ordinary earthenware was produced, but under Messrs. Mayer, who came from Stoke to Dale Hall,[50]rapid strides were made in art manufactures, and many important improvements effected. They were exceedingly cleverpotters, especially Mr. Jos. Mayer, who died prematurely through excessive study and application to his art. They introduced many important improvements in the manufacture and decoration, especially in the beautiful polychromatic bisque printing which is continued by their successors and other firms. Besides ordinary earthenware, this firm produced stoneware of a highly vitreous quality; Parian of an improved body; a fine caneware, in which some remarkably good jugs (notably the “oak” pattern) were made; and other wares. In the stoneware, besides many well-modelled jugs and other articles, they made tea-urns, which they were the first to introduce, of excellent design and admirable finish. Two of these, made in 1851 (Figs.384 and 385) I here engrave. The peculiar body of the stoneware of which they were made was capable of withstanding the variations of temperature to which vessels of this kind, usually formed of metal, are liable. These were not made to any extent by Messrs. Mayer, but are now being reproduced by Messrs. Bates, Walker, & Co. with great success; they are highly ornate in appearance, and will doubtless come much into use. Messrs. Mayer also produced some admirable designs in vases, decorated with a profusion of exquisitely modelled raised flowers. Two of these are shown on Figs.386 and 387, and a jug in the following figure. The dinner plates, dishes, &c., of Messrs. Mayer, were characterized by an excellent “fit” in nesting, by lightness of body, and by neatness of finish in decoration. In 1851 they received a medal for their exhibits, and again in the New York Exhibition of 1853 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855 medals were awarded.

Fig. 388.

The present firm of Bates, Walker, & Co., produce perhaps a larger variety of manufactured articles than any other one house in the trade. In earthenware, dinner, tea, toilet, and other services, and every variety of article of use and of ornament, are made; and the other wares are ironstone, opaque porcelain, jet, stone, &c. In tableware, whether in dinner, breakfast, or tea-services, every variety of style, from the plain white, ordinary printed, and flown, to the most elaborately enamelled, painted, and gilt patterns madeThe jugs, too, are a speciality; of these there are an immense variety of excellent shapes, and of strikingly beautiful decoration. The same remark will apply to the toilet services, which are, as a rule, characterized by good form and artistic decoration; of these, the “Mistletoe” pattern is one of the most simply elegant yet produced. Among other articles in earthenware, the richly ornamented spirit barrels form a distinct feature. In stoneware, of which I have spoken, well designed and sharply executed pressed patterns, in jugs, tea-pots, and other articles, are made in great variety.

Figs. 389 and 390.

In terra cotta, Messrs. Bates, Walker, and Co. produce statuary groups, figures, and busts of remarkably good design and of artistic finish. The body is of a somewhat similar character to that of the Watcombe ware, but the process is different. The Watcombe “is fired in the enamel kiln or in an oven not subjected to greater heat, while this is fired in the biscuit oven; the one is so soft that it may be cut with a knife, while the other is quite vitreous and hard.” In this material—a clay found near the works—the firm produce a large variety of subjects, and a selection ofthese formed a notable feature in the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. Among the subjects are “Peace” and “War,” and “Time unveiling Truth,” by Grispie; “The Fighting Gladiator,” “The Bath,” “The Young Apollo,” and other subjects from the antique; “Flora,” “Pomona,” “Washington,” and other pieces by Beattie; Flaxman’s “Wine” and “Water” vases; the “Crowning of Esther,” “The Lorelei Syren,” “The Seasons,” “The Elements,” &c.

Figs. 391 to 397.

Another speciality of the firm is what they have named their “Turner Jasper Ware.” This consists of a terra-cotta body, with a slip of various colours—green, blue, chocolate, buff, &c.—decorated with bas-reliefs, many of which are Flaxman’s designs, as used by Turner at his famous works of last century. Of a large number of these old Turner moulds, Messrs. Bates, Walker, and Co. are the fortunate possessors, and they are reproducing them in a variety of ways and with good effect, although their body wants the fineness, hardness, and compact character of the old Turner ware.

Figs. 398 and 399.

Figs. 400 to 403.

Among other goods produced by Dale Hall are artists’ palettes, slabs, tiles, mullers, &c.; photographic articles (trays, baths, troughs, stands, funnels, and every other requisite); chemical and druggists’ goods (mortars and pestles, leech-jars, covered jars, evaporating pans, inhalers, pill tiles, and every other article); scent bottles and vases; toilet and other boxes; sign-board letters;door furniture; ironmongers’ fittings; and fancy articles of various kinds. Garden and ornamental flower-pots, garden-seats, suspenders, fern and other stands, &c., are also made. In sanitary ware, Messrs. Bates, Walker, & Co. rank very high, and produce every known article and of faultless excellence in quality. They are patentees of an improved “wedge commode pan,” the principle of which is shown in Fig.398; its advantage in the sick chamber or travelling carriage being very apparent. Another and very important patent taken out by the firm, is for self-locking and self-adjusting covers for jugs, tea-pots, &c. The principle, which is one of the most simple, but at the same time most successful yet adopted for preventing the falling off of the lid in the act of pouring, is shown in Figs.400 to 403. One of the great specialities of the firm is the process by which printing in two to five colours is successfully transferred on to the ware while in biscuit state, and is, therefore, under the glaze. By this process, the invention of Messrs. Mayer Brothers, vases, dinner and other services, and other articles,are decorated in thoroughly good taste; and, through there being no touching whatever by the pencil, as the entire pattern is transferred at one operation from the coloured print, they are produced at a comparatively moderate cost. The effect is soft and delicate, and is capable of considerable development.

Fig. 404.

Fig. 405.

The marks of Messrs. Mayer wereT. J & J MAYER;MAYER BROS, &c. Those of the present firm areBATES, WALKER & CO. PATENTEES, on an oval ribbon, with date, &c., of registration inside; and a nude figure kneeling and holding an ewer in front of him, on a tablet with the date 1790. This is introduced in a variety of ways, with the initialsB. W. & CO., and the name of the pattern, &c. The markets supplied are both home and foreign.

Dale Hall Pottery.—The extensive works of Messrs. James Edwards and Son are the oldest existing works in Dale Hall. They belonged to Messrs. John and George Rogers (brothers) till 1815, when the latter died, and Mr. Spencer Rogers having joined his father, the business was carried on under the style of John Rogers and Son. In 1816 Mr. John Rogers died, leaving £1,000 to the North Staffordshire Infirmary, and other charitable bequests. He had erected a handsome residence, “The Watlands,” near Wolstanton. The firm continued as John Rogers and Son until 1842, when the manufactory was purchased by the late Mr. James Edwards,formerly of the firm of James and Thomas Edwards of the Kiln-Croft Works. Messrs. Rogers produced tableware of a higher and better quality than most of their contemporaries, and were especially famed for their light blue “Broseley” or “Willow” pattern services. The mark used by them appears to have been simply the nameROGERSimpressed in or printed on the ware; sometimes with the addition of the sign of Mars or Iron

♂ROGERS

Mr. James Edwards was entirely a self-made man, and was one of those bright examples of indomitable perseverance, unflinching rectitude, steadiness of purpose, and genuine benevolence, which crop up every now and then among our most successful manufacturers. Commencing simply as a thrower at Messrs. Rogers, he became a manager at Philips’s of Longport, and at John Alcock’s of Cobridge, then commenced business in partnership with John Maddock, and afterwards, in partnership with his brother Thomas Edwards, carried on business in Sylvester Square, Burslem, and next in partnership with Mr. John Maddock, in the same town. In 1842 he purchased the manufactory of Messrs. Rogers and Son, where he commenced entirely on his own account. By him the manufactory was considerably enlarged and extended; a flint-mill erected; new machinery of the most approved construction (including steam jiggers, lathes, jollies, throwing-wheels, and Needham and Kite’s patent pressing machines for preparing clay by filtration) put up, patent stoves and pug-mills erected, and the whole place so increased as to be enabled to produce fully six times the amount of ware it was capable of doing when he first entered upon it.

By these improvements much of the heavy drudgery of labour both to children and adults was saved. In these works, too, the whole of the rooms containing the machinery are heated by steam, and kept at one uniform temperature. To Mr. Edwards the white graniteware, which has now become so important a feature in the Pottery district, mainly owes its excellence; that made by him being considered to be all that could be desired by our transatlantic brethren, and to be the standard of perfection to which the aims of other houses were directed. In 1851 a medal was awarded to Mr. Edwards, and an additional certificate of merit, for beauty of form and excellence of goods exhibited. At the New York Exhibition they also received honourable mention, andin 1865 a prize medal was awarded for electrical, chemical, galvanic, and photographic apparatus in both ironstone and earthenware. Mr. Edwards, who had taken his son Mr. Richard Edwards into partnership, retired from the concern in 1861, and died, full of honours, as a magistrate and otherwise, in January, 1867,—one of his last acts of thoughtful benevolence being that of (only a few days before his death) sending to a number of his old workpeople at the manufactory cheques varying in amount from £20 to £100 each, according to each one’s length of service. The works are now carried on by Mr. Richard Edwards under the style of “James Edwards and Son.”

The productions consist of white graniteware for the American and steamship trade; ordinary earthenware for the home trade, in which all the usual services, &c., are made; Indian ironstone goods; and electrical, chemical, galvanic, and photographic appliances. These are all of the highest quality, and are much in repute. In “stone china,” which is of good firm semi-transparent quality, many excellent patterns are made. Among these are the “bishop,” “barley,” “mediæval,” “rope,” “tulip,” “scroll,” and others.

The marks used by the firm, June, 1842, are as follows. The royal arms above the name

STONE CHINAJAMES EDWARDS & SONDALE HALL

The same, with the addition, beneath, of the trade mark, a dolphin entwined round an anchor. The initialsin writing letters, surrounded by a circular garter bearing the wordsIRONSTONE CHINA.

The namesurrounded by an oval garter bearing the wordsIRONSTONE CHINA. Andsurrounded by a similar oval garter bearing the nameJAMES EDWARDS & SON. An impressed mark ofis also used.

Dale Hall Brick and Tile Company.—These works belong to the Brownhills Pottery Company (see page288,pcst.) and produce all the usual classes of plain and ornamental goods.

Dale Hall Tile Works.—These Tile Works are carried on by Mr. James P. Basford, whose grandfather, above half a century ago, worked the same field of clay. His productions are all the usual classes of plain and ornamental tiles, bricks, &c.

Albert Street Works.—These works were established by Mr. John Hawthorne in 1854, who continued them until 1869, when they were taken by Messrs. Wiltshaw, Wood, & Co., and are now carried on by William Wood & Co.; they were among the earliest in this branch of trade. The goods made are door plates, lock furniture, &c., both in white, black, gilt, and painted; drawer, shutter, and other knobs in oak, white, black, &c.; bedstead vases; caster bowls; umbrella, walking-stick, sewing-machine, closet, and other handles; inkstands, bottles, and wells; highly decorated jam-pots and biscuit-jars for the table; match-pots; teapot and urn stands of various degrees of decoration, painted, gilt, and enamelled; and every description of china used by brass-founders, tin-plate workers, japanners, &c. Most of these articles are of good quality in body, and excellent glaze and finish, and the colours—white, black, ivory, oak, brown, turquoise, green, and blue—in which they are produced are clear and effective. The only mark used isW W & CO.

Mersey Pottery.—Established in 1850 by its present owner, Mr. Anthony Shaw. Goods specially adapted for the various American markets are made: the specialities being white graniteware and cream-coloured wares for the United States; the same with the addition of printed, lustred, and painted goods for South America, and printed for the colonies. In 1855 Mr. Shaw was awarded a medal at the Paris Exhibition. The mark used is the royal arms, with ribbon bearing the wordsSTONE CHINA, and beneath,

WARRANTEDANTHONY SHAWBURSLEM

The works were rebuilt on a very extensive scale in 1866, and are looked upon as a model manufactory, in which are brought to bear all the latest improvements in the art of pottery.

Steel.—A manufacturer named Moses Steel had a potwork in Burslem in 1715, and made the ordinary clouded ware of the period.Another potter of the same name, probably his descendant, carried on business in the latter part of the same century; he produced a fine earthenware and an imitation jasperware. The works are still standing by Queen Street, and are known as “Bournes Bank.”

John Maddock and Sonmanufacture white graniteware for the American markets to a large extent.

New Wharf Pottery—(Hollinshed and Kirkham, late J. Daniel & Co.)—Printed ware of the kinds required for the home, Russian, Italian, and French markets, and all the usual kinds of painted and Paris white wares suitable for the African, Australian, and American trades.

The Overhouse Works—Wedgwood Place.—The old works, now, alas! taken down, were possessed of no ordinary degree of interest, from the fact of the “Overhouse,” the residence which closely adjoins them, having been the property and residence of Thomas Wedgwood, the eldest brother of Josiah Wedgwood (to whom Josiah was bound apprentice), and having been in the possession of the Wedgwood family for some generations. The old works were situated at the back and side of the “Overhouse,” with entrance in Wedgwood Place, where that street joins Scotia Road. A doorway, over which was a tablet, now no longer in existence, connected the works with the house. This historically interesting but now lost relic is represented by Fig.407.

The Overhouse works were occupied, early in the present century by Messrs. Goodfellow and Bathwell, who were succeeded in turn by Mr. Edward Challinor in 1819, and later by Mr. Pointon. In 1856 they passed to Messrs. Morgan, Williams, & Co., and afterwards to Morgan, Wood, & Co., from whom, in 1861, they passed into the hands of Messrs. Allman, Broughton, & Co., and next to Messrs. Robinson, Kirkham, & Co.

In 1869 the old works were entirely taken down and a new and extensive manufactory erected with all the latest improvements of machinery and appliances; the jiggers all being driven by steam power, and the drying stoves heated by exhaust steam. The rebuilding is commemorated in ornamental scroll stonework over the entrance: “Edward Challinor commenced business hereA.D.1819, and rebuilt the premisesA.D.1869.” The new manufactory wasopened in 1870 by Mr. Ralph Hammersley, who removed here from the Church Bank Pottery at Tunstall, and who had previously been engaged for twenty years or more with Mr. Challinor.

The goods produced are the ordinary description of earthenware in services of various kinds and in the usual classes of useful articles, which, besides a good home trade, are shipped in large quantities to the United States, Canada, and Sweden. Stoneware jugs are also produced.

Fig. 407.

Swan Bank Pottery.—These works have passed successively through the hands of Thomas Edwards; Messrs. Pinder, Bourne, & Co.; Messrs. Beech and Hancock (now of Tunstall); and Messrs. Hancock, Whittingham, and Hancock (now of Stoke). In 1873 they came into the hands of the present proprietors, Messrs. Tundley, Rhodes, and Procter. The goods produced are, and have been, printed, enamelled,and gilt earthenware, of the useful classes in all the usual services, &c., for the home, Russian, and South American markets.

Figs. 408 and 409.

The Hill Top Pottery, or Hill Pottery.—These works, formerly belonging to Ralph Wood were for many years carried on by Messrs. Samuel Alcock & Co., by whom they were in 1839 rebuilt and enlarged; their rearranged manufactory comprising the works of Mr. Riley (formerly John Taylors), John Robinson and Sons, and William Taylors, which were all taken down for the purpose. The productions of Messrs. Samuel Alcock & Co. were, both in china and the finer descriptions of earthenware, of the highest quality, both in body and in decoration. One of their specialities was their semi-porcelain, which was of fine and durable quality. The marks,

ALCOCK AND CO.,HILL POTTERY,BURSLEM,

or S. ALCOCK & CO., either printed along with the name of the pattern or some device, or impressed in the ware. In 1860 the works and general estate were purchased by Sir James Duke and Nephews, and continued by them till 1865, when they sold the estate to Mr. Thomas Ford, who, in the ensuing year, 1866, sold it to the Earthenware and Porcelain Company, by whom (under the management of Mr. R. Daniel, once a noted china manufacturer at Stoke, Hanley, and Burslem) it was carried on under the style of the “Hill Pottery Company, Limited, late S. Alcock & Co.”

Figs. 410 to 414.

The productions of Sir James Duke and Nephews (Messrs. J. and C. Hill) were of a high order of excellence, in ordinary earthenware services, ranging from plain white and cream-coloured to the most superb styles of decoration; in china, which was of remarkably good quality; and in Etruscan wares. In the latter, some of the best forms of ancient Etruscan vases were cleverly reproduced, and the decoration, both in spirit and in style, artistically rendered. Some of the productions of this firm, who received well-merited distinctions at the Exhibition of 1862, are shown by Figs.408 to 428.

Figs. 415 to 417.

The operations of the “Hill Pottery Company” were of short duration, for in the next year, 1867, it was put in liquidation and sold up, when the property again came into the hands of Mr. Ford. In the same year the works were divided, the china department being taken by Messrs. Alcock and Diggory, and the earthenware part by “Messrs. Burgess & Leigh (late S. Alcock & Co.),” by whom it is still carried on under the style of “Burgess, Leigh, & Co.”

Figs. 418 to 423.

Figs. 424 to 428.

Messrs. Burgess, Leigh, & Co. manufacture largely the commoner and ordinary, as well as the higher and more artistic classes of earthenware goods, both for the home and foreign markets, and their productions rank high in point of excellence of body, manipulative skill, and good taste displayed in decoration. The firm produce all the usual services, and useful as well as many highlyornamental articles. The mark used by the firm is a beehive on a stand, with bees, with a rose-bush on either side, and a ribbon bearing the name of the pattern (“Kensington,” for instance,) beneath, and under this the initials of the firm, “B. L. & Co.” Many of these patterns are registered.

The Hill Pottery China Works, on the division of the manufactory as already stated, in 1867, were carried on by Messrs. Alcock, Diggory, & Co. In 1870, the firm was altered into that of Bodley and Diggory, but in the following year, Mr. Diggory having retired, the manufactory was continued by Mr. Edward F. Bodley. In 1874, the style was again changed to Bodley and Son, and in 1875 to that by which it is at present carried on, viz., Edwin J. D. Bodley. The productions formerly embraced china, earthenware, and Parian, but are now entirely confined to china. A speciality of Mr. Bodley’s productions is that of pans and vases for chandeliers and lamps. These are made of various forms, and more or less highly decorated; they form an important branch of manufacture. Services of all the usual kinds, more or less elaborately decorated, are also made. The markets supplied are the home and the South Australian, New Zealand, and Colonial.

The mark used by Messrs. S. Alcock and Co. at these works was a beehive; and that of Sir James Duke and Nephews the dexter hand denoting a baronet.

Crown Works.—Established about 1867 by Messrs. Lea, Smith, and Boulton, these works were next occupied by Mr. W. E. Withinshawe (see “Churchyard Works,” page244, vol. ii.), and then by the present proprietors, Messrs. Gaskell, Son, and Co. The productions have always been china door furniture and similar goods (and these are now made of remarkably good quality, and in many cases of artistic design, by the present firm), finger-plates, knobs, scutcheons for doors, roses, caster bowls, and other fittings; scale plates and weights; stands and bases for lamps; an infinite variety of articles for fittings of many kinds—white, coloured, black, enamelled, gilt, &c., &c.; while the imitations of marbles, malachites, and other stones are remarkably clever and good. Another speciality of these works is umbrella, parasol, and walking-stick knobs, many of which, whether in imitation ivory or in dead black, evince great taste in design and skill in execution. Messrs.Gaskell and Son have taken out patents for the manufacture of caster bowls on an improved method, and another for improvement in turning.

Scotia Works.—This manufactory was originally the parish workhouse of Burslem, and was calculated to accommodate three hundred inmates. On the establishment of unions, under the Poor-Law Act, when the new union workhouse was erected, this building was occupied as barracks, and so continued for some years. It was then converted into a manufactory by Mr. James Vernon in 1857, and he, in 1862, was succeeded by the present firm of “Edward F. Bodley & Co.” At these works the usual descriptions of earthenware, printed, enamelled, and gilt, and “ironstone china,” for steamship and hotel use, are made. The bodies and glazes, which have been considerably improved by the manager, Mr. Edward Beardmore, of Rode Heath, are, through his attention and skill, of a very high quality. The mark is the Staffordshire knot, with the wordsSCOTIA WORKS.

Queen Street Works.—Messrs. Tinsley and Bourne entered on these works in 1874. They were formerly occupied by Mr. J. Edge and others.

The Hill Works, on the opposite side of the road to the “Hill Pottery” already described, are of old foundation, and were, I am informed, worked by Enoch Wood (see page273); Mr. Wood here growing, it is said, considerable quantities of “Siberian crabs,” which trees he planted in successive terraces. The works were also, I believe, at one time carried on by Ralph Wood, a member of the same family. He was a master potter in Burslem in 1787, and a very interesting relic connected with him is now in the hands of Mr. Thos. F. Wood, of this present firm of Wood & Baggaley. It is an iron tobacco box, bearing, engraved on its lid, the words, “Ralph Wood, Potter, Burslem, Staffordshire, 1787.” This box was given by this Ralph Wood, whose name appears upon it, to the grandfather of its present owner. About 1768, John Robinson, who before that time was with Sadler and Green, of Liverpool, left their employ to commence here the making of enamelled ware. In the Mayer Museum is a teapot made by him, and painted by Letitia Marsh (afterwards Mrs. Brood), who worked for him. It is of“squeezed ware,” and was given to Mr. Mayer by Dr. Simeon Shaw. After Wood’s time the works were carried on by Mr. Taylor, and next by Messrs. John & Richard Riley (who removed to them from the Nile Street works), by whom they were rebuilt, in 1814, and who produced china and earthenware and Egyptian black ware. They next passed to Messrs. Alcock & Keeling; and, on the retirement of the latter, to Messrs. Samuel Alcock & Co., who, having rebuilt and enlarged the “Hill Pottery,” removed there as already detailed. About 1851, Messrs. Barker & Son took the “Hill Works” for goods for the home and foreign markets. On their failure they were, in 1860, succeeded by Messrs. Morgan, Wood, & Co., which firm was afterwards altered to Messrs. Wood & Baggaley, the present occupiers. The goods made by Messrs. Wood & Baggaley are generally confined to the home market; they produce printed and decorated goods in dinner, toilet, tea, and breakfast services, and green glazed dessert ware, which, to some extent, they export. The mark used by the firm is a bee, with wings expanded; beneath which is a ribbon, with the initials,M W & CO, orW & B.

Sylvester Pottery, Nile Street, belonging to Charles G. Barker, produces the ordinary white granite ware for the United States, Canadian, and other foreign markets.

High Street Pottery.—This manufactory, usually known as “Union Bank,” through its having been for some time worked by the Potters’ Trades’ Union, belonged at one time to a family named Marsh; and was also carried on by Messrs. Whittingham, Ford, & Co., from whom it passed into the hands of the present proprietors, Messrs. Buckley, Wood, & Co. The goods produced are ordinary earthenware for the common home trade, and the mark used is simply the initialsB W & CO.

Sneyd Pottery, Albert Street.—These works were formerly carried on for the production of ordinary earthenware, by Messrs. Bennett. About 1867 they came into the hands of Williams, Oakes, & Co., and in 1876 the firm was altered to Oakes, Clare, & Chadwick, who produce in Rockingham, jet, majolica, and common earthenware, the ordinary classes of articles. They also make chest of drawers feet in large numbers, of various designs.

Hadderidge Pottery.—These works, carried on by Mr. Thomas Heath, and afterwards, successively, by Mr. John Wedgwood, Mr. Phillips, and Messrs. W. & G. Harding, came into the hands of the firm of Heath & Blackhurst in November, 1859, by whom they are still continued. The productions are a middle-class quality of earthenware, both plain and decorated, for the home trade. In this class all the usual table, toilet, tea, and other services, and a variety of other articles, are made. The mark is a garter, encircling the initialsH & B.

Navigation Road.—The works of Mr. Edward Corn, erected some time back on what was a timber yard, and now carried on by Messrs. W. & E. Corn, are exclusively devoted to the production of white graniteware for the United States and other foreign markets.

Bleak Hill Works.—Messrs. Beech & Podmore, of theBell Works(which see), entered upon this manufactory in 1876. The works formerly belonged to Messrs. Moore Brothers, who produced the white graniteware for the American Markets, then successively to M. Isaacs and Son, Beech and Podmore, and Podmore alone. The goods now produced, besides tea and other services, are the ordinary marketable china and Parian chimney ornaments and toys, which are produced in large quantities both for home sale and for exportation to the United States, the East Indies, the Netherlands, and Australia. In Parian and “ivory body,” besides flower-vases and other small ornaments, some tolerably large groups have been produced; the “ivory body” possesses great softness in appearance, and is capable of being made largely available for ornamental purposes.

Sytch Pottery.—Of very old foundation, this was, many years ago worked by Messrs. Keeling. The “Sytch Pottery” passed successively into the hands of Mr. R. Hall and Messrs. J. Hall & Sons. About 1832, Messrs. Barker, Sutton, & Till took to the works; but at subsequent periods, Mr. Barker and Mr. Sutton withdrew from the partnership; and from 1850 it remained in the hands of Mr. Thomas Till, who has been joined in partnership with his sons, and the firm is now “Thomas Till & Sons.” The wares usually produced have been good middle-class earthenware; but the present proprietors have greatly improved the ware, and added other branches to their manufacture. Besides earthenware of the usualaverage quality—in which services and innumerable useful articles are made by them—Messrs. Till produce coloured bodies of various kinds (cane, sage, drab, and lilac); stoneware of a hard and durable kind for jugs, &c.; jet glazed ware; terra cotta; enamelled ware; and various coloured lustres. These are principally intended for the home trade. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 the firm received a certificate of merit. The mark used is the name of the firm.

Kiln Croft Works.—These works are of old establishment. In or about 1800 they were carried on by a Mr. Handley, and in 1825, by Messrs. James and Thomas Edwards, who were succeeded by Messrs. Willett & Marsh. They were then continued by Mr. Marsh alone, and next by Messrs. T. & R. Boote, who were succeeded by the present owner, Mr. Henry Burgess. The goods produced are the usual quality of white graniteware, in services and various articles, for the United States and Canadian markets. The mark is the Royal Arms, with the name or initials of the firm.

The Albert Potterywas built in 1860, by Mr. William Smith, of Tunstall; on whose failure in 1862 it was taken by Messrs. Dix & Tundley, of Silverdale, for the production of foreign-trade goods. In 1864 the works were purchased by the late Mr. Charles Hobson (who had originally been apprenticed to Mr. Williamson, the predecessor of the Davenports, at Longport), and successfully carried on by him until his death, in 1875. Mr. Hobson was then succeeded by his two sons, George and John Hobson, by whom they are continued. By Mr. Hobson the works were considerably enlarged. New biscuit ovens were added, and flint and colour mills, steam slip-house, pug mills, and sagger makers’ mill, built. The productions of the firm are now confined to the home trade, and consist of the usual services and other articles, in ordinary earthenware, both white, printed, lined, enamelled, and gilt.

Waterloo Works.—These works were established about 1846 by Mr. James Vernon; then continued under the style of James Vernon & Son; and are now carried on by the son, Mr. James Vernon, jun., for the manufacture of ordinary earthenware for the South American and Italian markets. On this same site a manufactory was at one time carried on by Mr. Jonathan Leak, a clever potter, who after some strange vicissitudes went to Sydney, where, after a time,discovering a valuable bed of clay, he established the first pottery in Australia. He married a niece of Enoch Wood.

Central Pottery.—These old-established works, the property of Mr. Alcock, of Bradwell Lodge, and carried on by his son, Mr. Richard Alcock, were formerly worked by Messrs. Hopkin & Vernon, next by Messrs. Hulme & Booth, next by Thomas Hulme, and then by Messrs. Burgess & Leigh, who were succeeded by Mr. Richard Alcock, by whom they have been considerably enlarged, rebuilt, and remodelled. Earthenware for the home markets was formerly made, but the operations are now confined to white graniteware for the United States.

Other manufacturers in Burslem have been, Joseph Machin & Co.; Thomas Heath (probably of the same family as the Heaths formerly of the Cock-pit Hill Pottery, Derby); John Hall & Sons; J. R. Marsh; T. & B. Godwin; J. Cormie; Messrs. Phillips, Dale Hall.

Longport.—(Davenport & Co.) The famous works of Messrs. Davenport & Son date back more than a hundred years, the centenary of their establishment having taken place in 1873. In 1773 a manufactory was erected at Longport by John Brindley (brother of the celebrated James Brindley, the engineer, both of whom were natives of Tunstead, in Derbyshire), who also built for himself a handsome residence near at hand. This house was purchased in 1843 for a parsonage for St. Paul’s, Burslem, and was again, in 1858, sold to Mr. W. Davenport. Shortly after 1773 Mr. Edward Bourne built another manufactory, and this was followed by a third, erected by Mr. Robert Williamson, who in 1775 married Anne (néeHenshall), widow of James Brindley, the engineer.

In 1793 the first-named manufactories passed into the hands of Mr. John Davenport, who greatly extended their operations. In 1797 Mr. John Davenport added to his other operations “the chemical preparation of litharge and white lead for the use of potters,” which, however, was afterwards discontinued. In 1801 the business of glass-making was added and is still carried on. In 1803 Mr. Davenport, supported by his neighbours at Longport, offered to raise, clothe, and equip, free of expense to Government, except arms, a volunteer corps of 500 men, and his offer was accepted, the number being limited by Government to four companies of 80 rank and file each. Mr. Davenport became Major of this force, and raised it to a high state of discipline. In connectionwith this it may be well to note that one of Mr. Davenport’s workmen at that time, and a member of his volunteer corps, was William Clowes, a nephew of Aaron Wedgwood, to whom he had been apprenticed. This William Clowes was a co-founder with Hugh Bourne of the now wide-spread sect of Primitive Methodists. About 1830 Mr. Davenport retired from active business, and chiefly resided at Westwood Hall, near Leek, where he died in 1848. The business was then carried on by the second son, Mr. Henry Davenport (who died in 1835), and the youngest son, Mr. William Davenport. Mr. Henry Davenport purchased the manufactory of Mr. Robert Williamson, and also his residence; these he enlarged and improved and added to his other works. In 1832 Mr. John Davenport was elected M.P. for the borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, being one of the first two members for that newly enfranchised borough. After the death of Mr. Henry Davenport the manufactories were carried on by his youngest brother, Mr. William Davenport, under the style of “W. Davenport & Co.” This gentleman died in 1869, and the entire business is now carried on by his only son, Mr. Henry Davenport, who fully sustains the high character of the works and of their varied productions.

King George IV., while Prince of Wales, in 1806 visited Messrs. Davenport’s works in company with his brother, King William IV., at that time Duke of Clarence. On the accession of William IV. to the throne his Majesty gave the order to this firm to manufacture for him a superb service, to be used at his coronation banquet. This Royal Service was completed in a very satisfactory manner, and was the subject of high commendation from the king and his noble guests on that occasion. On this service the crown was first used by the firm.

In the earlier years of the Longport manufactory, earthenware alone was produced, but no pieces of Brindley’s make are known. Mr. Davenport at first confined his operations to the manufacture of white, cream-coloured, and blue-printed wares, and these were of good substantial quality; his blue-printed plates with open-work rim of the same general character as those of the Herculaneum Works at Liverpool, are to be seen in most collections. Later on china was commenced, and at the present time this forms an equally extensive branch of the business with the earthenware. In both these, all the usual services and miscellaneous articles are produced, from the plain to the most elaborately decorated, both for the home, thecontinental, and the Brazilian markets; warehouses having been many years ago established by Mr. Davenport, M.P., at Hamburg and at Lubeck.

The china produced by Messrs. Davenport at the present time is of remarkably fine and good quality, both in body, in glaze, and in make, and in all these particulars ranks among the best produced in the district. Their tea and dessert ware is of extreme excellence, and many of the patterns are unsurpassed for richness of colouring and gilding by any other house. Among these specialities, their adaptations of the fine old Indian patterns, and such designs as gave so important a character to the productions of the old Derby works in their palmiest days, are especially good. The deep blues, the rich gradations of red, and the other colours employed, are in some of the patterns laid on with a lavish richness, and being combined with the most elaborate and delicate as well as massive gilding, produce intricate patterns of great beauty and of sumptuous appearance when “set out.” Some of the cups (notably those with sunk panels, and others which are bowl-shaped and supported upon gilt feet) are of elegant form, and are as faultless in manipulation as they are in decoration. In blue and white, whether in pencilled, ordinary transfer printing, or “flown” patterns, Messrs. Davenport are highly successful; and the blues they introduce have all the delicacy and purity of the best Oriental. The same remark as to purity and cleanness of tone will apply to their ground colours—the celadon and the rose du Barry—in both of which they produce charming but simple services, as they do also in white; in the latter the “potting” of some—approaching closely to egg-shell—is remarkably delicate and clever.

Another striking speciality of design in Messrs. Davenport’s china is the clever and artistic way in which they have adapted the old Willow pattern to the modern requirements of déjeuner services and menu holders. The forms of the various pieces composing the service are of quaint and striking elegance, and, being heightened by massively gilt handles, and by strictly appropriate gilding of borders, rims, feet and raised ornaments, an effect is produced which is surpassingly “taking.” The déjeuner of which I have thus briefly spoken is one of the most successful adaptations of the Willow pattern yet achieved.

In “stone china,” Messrs. Davenport’s dinner and dessert services, as well as jugs and other articles, are of faultless quality,and the styles of decoration, especially those which are adaptations—not servile imitations—of old Indian patterns, are remarkably good and effective. In some of these the spirit of the foreign artist has been so thoroughly caught, that, to the casual observer, they might well pass for genuine foreign pieces. The services in ordinary earthenware are extremely varied in pattern, in amount of decoration, and in variety of shapes; they are of good quality.

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