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Date Ship Master To Cargo, etc. Subsidy
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Dec. 6 Happy Returne John Hartwell Maryland 450 parcels of 9d
Earthen ware
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Another source shows that the _Eagle_ of Bideford arrived at Boston from
her home port on October 11, 1688, with a cargo consisting entirely of
9,000 parcels of earthenware, while on July 28, 1689, the _Freindship_
(sic) of Bideford landed 7,200 parcels of earthenware and one hogshead of
malt. On August 24 of the same year the _Delight_ brought a cargo of
"9,000 parcels of earthenware and 2 fardells of dry goods" from
Bideford.[25]
It will be noted that there was a close relationship between vessel,
shipmaster, and factor, suggesting that there may have been an equally
close connection between all of them and the owners of the potteries. The
_Exchange_, for instance, seems to have been regularly employed in the
transport of earthenware. In 1665, according to the listings, she sailed
to New England under command of William Titherly. By 1681 Titherly had
become a Maryland factor to whom the Exchange's earthenware was consigned
then and in 1682. In the same way Bartholomew Shapton in 1681 sailed as
master on the _Sea Faire_ with earthenware to New England, becoming in the
following year the factor for earthenware sent on the same ship under
command of John Titherly.
The proportion of earthenware cargo to the carrying capacity of the usual
17th-century ocean-going ship, which ranged from about 30 to 50 tons, is
difficult to estimate. A ton and a half of milk pans nested in stacks
would be compact and would occupy only a small amount of space. A similar
weight of ovens might require a much larger space. When earthenware
shipments are recorded in terms of parcels, we are again left in doubt,
since the sizes of the parcels are not indicated. We know, however, that
the _Eagle_, which was a 50-ton ship, carried 9,000 parcels of
earthenware as her sole cargo in 1688, in contrast to the much smaller
amounts shown in the sample listings where the parcel standard is used.
Yet even a typical shipment of 1,500 parcels, with each parcel containing
an indeterminate number of pots, must have filled the needs of many
kitchens when delivered in Virginia in 1681. Certainly a shipment such as
this suggests a vigorous rate of production and an active trade.
The export of earthenware from North Devon was not solely to America. As
early as 1601 there were shipped from Barnstaple to "Dublyn--100 dozen
Earthen Pottes of all sorts." In later years, selected at random, we find
the following shipments to Ireland from Barnstaple listed in the Public
Record Office Port Books: 1617, 290 dozen; 1618, 320 dozen; 1619, 322
dozen; 1620, 508 dozen; 1632, 260 dozen; 1635, 300 dozen; 1636, 480 dozen;
1639, 660 dozen. Typical of the destinations were Kinsale, Youghal,
Limerick, Cork, Galway, Coleraine, and Waterford. As the century advanced,
this trade increased enormously. In 1694, 17 separate earthenware
shipments totaling 50,400 parcels were made from Barnstaple and Bideford
to Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford.[26] It is possible that some of these
cargoes were shipped to America, since it was necessary to list only the
first port of entry. However, the rapid turnaround of many of the ships
shows this was not usually the case.
Besides Ireland, Bristol and Exeter were destinations in a busy coastwise
trade. In 1681, for example, large quantities of earthenware, tobacco
pipes, and pipe clay were sent to these places.[27] Bristol merchants
probably re-exported some of the earthenware to America.
[Illustration: FIGURE 5.--Map of Barnstaple. Reproduced from J. B.
Gribble, _Memorials of Barnstaple_, 1830.]
The coastwise trade appears to have diminished very little as time passed.
In 1755, _The Gentlemen's Magazine_ carried an account of Bideford,
stating:[28]
Great quantities of potters ware are made, and exported to Wales,
Ireland, and Bristol.... In the parish of Fremington are great
quantities of reddish potters' clay, which are brought and
manufactured at Biddeford, whence the ware is sent to different places
by sea.