Salopian Wares--Uriconium--Caughley Works--Thomas
Turner--Introduction of “Willow Pattern”--Worcester Works--Close
of Caughley Works--Marks--Transfer Printing--Hancock and
Holdship--Coalport Works--Jackfield--John Rose--Swansea and
Nantgarw--Productions of the Coalport Works--Marks--“Willow
Pattern” and “Broseley Blue Dragon,” &c.--Broseley
Pipes--Coalbrookdale Iron Works--Terra Cotta--Madeley--Martin
Randall’s China--Jackfield Pottery--Maurice Thursfield--“Black
Decanters”--China--Craven Dunnill & Co.’s Tile
Works--Broseley--Benthall--Maw’s Tile Works--Broseley
Tileries--Benthall Potteries--Coalmoor.
In the midst of one of the most historically interesting districts of
the kingdom--a district abounding in spots rendered famous in various
ages by the events which have occurred within its boundaries, and full
of associations as varied as they are interesting--within a few miles
of Boscobel, and Tong, and numberless other places possessing a sad
interest as connected with the wanderings and the painful vicissitudes
of King Charles II.,--within a short distance of those two glorious
monastic ruins, Buildwas Abbey and Wenlock Priory--not far from the
“English Nineveh,” Uriconium, and within easy distance of Shrewsbury
and Ludlow,--is a group of manufactories whose simple history is as
interesting as that of many of these places.
Broseley, whose pipe manufactories two hundred and fifty years ago
were as famed as they are now, and whose makers then got rid of
their goods without advertising the emphatic words, “When you ask
for a Broseley pipe, see that you get it!”--Jackfield, famed of old
for its earthenware, and where it is still to some little extent
made;--Caughley, formerly a successful rival of Worcester in the
excellence of its porcelains;--Coalport, a rival of all other works at
the present day;--Horsehay, with its discontinued pot works;--Benthall,
where “yellow ware” works are in constant operation, and where the
magnificent encaustic and enamelled tile and mosaic works of Messrs.
Maw are situated;--Ironbridge, with its famous one-arch bridge,
the first iron bridge erected in England, from which it takes its
name, spanning the Severn:--Madeley, with its extensive iron
furnaces;--Benthall Edge, with its limestone works;--Coalbrookdale,
whose iron works are known throughout the world, and where _terra
cotta_ is manufactured,--and a score of other busy hives of industry,
are here gathered together, and demand careful attention. To the
history of some of these I therefore devote this chapter.
Like those of Worcester and Derby, the Salopian manufactory of
porcelain dates from the middle of last century; and, like them, has
continued from its first introduction to the present time without
interruption. Indeed, it may be said of the district that an almost--if
not an entirely--unbroken historical chain may be traced from the
Romano-British period down to the present day; for, as I have already
shown, the same beds of clay which, fifteen hundred years ago, produced
some of the fictile ware of the Roman occupiers of the soil, have been
worked in the intermediate ages, and still produce, more largely than
ever, articles of daily use for every class of the people of England.
The same beds which supplied the magnificent city of Uriconium with
jugs, mortaria, bowls, and colanders of white ware, still supply the
neighbourhood with innumerable articles of daily use.
CAUGHLEY.
The Worcester porcelain works, as I have shown, were established in the
year 1751; and the commencement of those in Shropshire must have been,
if not coeval, at all events closely subsequent to that event. Indeed,
the two works may be almost said to have sprung into existence at the
same time. The site of the first Salopian china works was at Caughley,
about a mile from the present manufactory, and on the opposite or
south side of the river Severn. The works were situated on the hill
overlooking the valley of the Severn, as it flowed on to Bridgnorth,
and commanding a magnificent view of the surrounding country. On
this spot, it is said, a small pottery was begun by a Mr. Browne,
of Caughley Hall, and after his death managed by a gentleman named
Gallimore, who was a relative, to whom, in 1754, a lease of the place
was granted for the term of sixty-two years. This Mr. Gallimore does
not appear to have been long connected with the works; for the only
name, as proprietor, which I have at present been able to establish,
is that of Mr. Thomas Turner, who married Dorothy, daughter of Mr.
Gallimore and niece to Mr. Browne, and carried on the manufactory.
Mr. Thomas Turner was the son of Dr. Richard Turner, of Magdalene
Hall, Oxford, rector of Cumberton, vicar of Elmly Castle and Norton,
all in Worcestershire, in 1754, and who was also chaplain to the
Countess of Wigtoun. This Dr. Turner, who took his degree at Magdalene
Hall, Oxford, was the author of several works on astronomy, gauging,
trigonometry, education, history, &c., and, in 1765, was a “teacher of
geometry, astronomy, and philosophy” at Worcester. He died in 1791, and
was buried at Norton-juxta-Kempsey, near Worcester. Besides his son
Thomas, he had two other sons, Richard, LL.D., and Edward, the first
of whom also published some works on geography, &c., and the latter
was a general in the army in India, where he died; and two daughters,
Elizabeth, married to Abraham Wyke, of Broseley, surgeon, and Sarah,
married to Dr. William Hancock Roberts, rector of Broadwas and minor
canon of Worcester Cathedral. Mr. Thomas Turner, by his first wife,
Dorothy Gallimore, who died in 1793, had issue two children who died
in infancy; and by his second wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Milner,
of Dothill, and widow of Henry Alsop, had issue one son, George Thomas
Turner, of High Broughton, near Manchester, who died at Scarborough
March 17, 1869, without issue, and one daughter, Catherine Georgiana
Cecilia, who married John Jacob Smith, of St. James’s Priory,
Bridgnorth, for more than half a century town clerk of that borough,
by whom he had issue the present Hubert Smith, Esq., of St. Leonards,
Bridgnorth, the gifted author of “Tent Life with English Gipsies in
Norway,” who is the lineal and only representative of the main line of
the Turner family. Mr. Turner was born in 1749, and is said to have
been brought up as a silversmith at Worcester; but this is an error,
as, for the purpose of obtaining the freedom of the city, he was, as a
matter of legal form only, apprenticed to his father. It seems pretty
certain that he was, at an early period, connected with the Worcester
china works, and it is an established fact that he was an excellent
chemist, and had thoroughly studied the various processes relating to
porcelain manufacture. He was also a skilful draftsman and designer,
and occasionally engraved: he was also a clever musician. He became
a county magistrate for Shropshire, and was a freeman of the city of
Worcester and the boroughs of Wenlock and Bridgnorth. He was also
chairman of the Court of Equity for the three counties, which he had
been mainly instrumental in establishing. In 1772, he succeeded his
father-in-law, Mr. Gallimore, at the Caughley works (Mr. Gallimore
having leased them from Mr. Browne in 1754), and carried them on until
1799, when he sold out all interest in the works and retired from
business. He died at his residence at Caughley in 1809, aged sixty, and
was buried in the family vault at Barrow, where, later, his daughter,
Mrs. Smith, was also buried. After his death the commissioners of
Oldbury Court presented his widow with a memorial silver cup of large
size, bearing on one side the arms of Turner, and on the other an
appropriate inscription. This is in possession of his representative,
Mr. Hubert Smith.
Mr. Turner had a partner named Shaw. They had a warehouse in London,
and, as was usual in those days with other works, had periodical sales
by auction of their goods. In my own possession is a bill of this firm,
dated January 24th, 1794, and headed “Salopian China Warehouse. Bought
of Turner and Shaw.” The lots in this bill were bought “at public
sale,” and consisted of “jugs,” “bakings,” “china dishes,” and other
“sundry pieces;” the lots were “put up at half price” at the sale.
In 1795, Mr. Turner’s manager at Caughley was one Thomas Blase; and
I have a letter of his, dated 20th February in that year, concerning
a painter, named Withers, at that time employed there, but who had
wrongfully left his employment at the Derby china works, where he was
“Mr. Deusbury’s articled servant.”
No doubt the incentive to the establishment of the Caughley works were
the experiments long carried on at Worcester by Dr. Wall, and the
knowledge that at this spot the two principal materials wanting in a
pottery of this kind could be had at a trifling cost. With abundance of
coal within twenty feet of the surface, with clunch of the best quality
for the making of seggars overlying the coal, and with the navigable
river at hand for bringing the materials and for carrying away the
finished goods, the inducements were strong for the fixing on this
spot the manufactory which was destined ultimately to grow into such
enviable importance. To Worcester, of course, coal and clunch and other
materials had to be conveyed at great cost; but here they were ready
to hand, and indeed were cropping out in every direction, inviting
to be used. In 1756 the works had attained a considerable degree of
excellence; and an example is in existence, bearing that date, which
gives most satisfactory evidence of the excellence of the body at that
time--a body, however, which speedily became greatly improved. In the
early years of the Caughley manufactory, the ware was not many degrees
removed from earthenware; but it gradually assumed a finer and more
transparent character. Like the early Worcester examples, the patterns
were principally confined to blue flowers, &c., on a white ground; and
in this style and colour the Caughley works excelled, in many respects,
their competitors. An excellent example of the body, as made in 1776,
is exhibited in a mug, bearing that date, now in the possession of a
family at Coalport. This interesting mug, here engraved, is white, with
blue and gold flowers, and bears the words “Francis Benbow, 1776,”
surmounted by an anchor; the Francis Benbow, for whom it was made,
being a barge-owner.
[Illustration: Fig. 584.]
[Illustration: Fig. 585.--Arms of Turner.]
In 1772, as I have shown, Mr. Turner succeeded Mr. Gallimore in these
works, and set about enlarging them. In 1775 we read, “The porcelain
manufactory erected near Bridgnorth, in this county, is now quite
completed, and the proprietors have received and completed orders to
a very large amount. Lately we saw some of their productions, which
in colour and fineness are truly elegant and beautiful, and have
the bright and lively white of the so much extolled oriental.” In
1780 he visited France, for the purpose of “picking up knowledge” on
the porcelain manufactures of Paris and other places. He is said to
have been an excellent draughtsman, and this added to his chemical
knowledge--for he had a regular laboratory fitted up at the top of
his house--must have been a great advantage to him while in that
country of beautiful and chaste designs. On his return from France
he brought with him some skilled workmen, and at once entered with
increased spirit into the manufacture of porcelain in his own works
at Caughley. One of the men whom he had brought over appears to have
been a clever architect; and from his design a very tasty and elegant
château, which he called “Caughley Place,” and where he resided, was
built for Mr. Turner, near the works. This building being of a novel
design in England--more especially in the sequestered neighbourhood
of Caughley--attracted much attention; and its peculiarities of
construction and arrangement are still often talked about by the old
inhabitants of the place. This house and Caughley Hall, after Mr.
Turner’s death, came into the hands of Lord Forester, and were pulled
down in 1820 or 1821; part of the materials being used for making
additions to the present works at Coalport. At the present time no
vestiges of the house or works remain at Caughley, with the exception
of traces of foundations, and here and there a spring flower or two
which still make their appearance where once the elegantly laid out
gardens existed.
In 1780 Mr. Turner introduced the making of the famous “Willow
Pattern”--the first made in England--at Caughley, and about the same
time the “Broseley Blue Dragon” pattern. The willow pattern is still
commonly known in the trade as “Broseley pattern.”
[Illustration: Fig. 586.]
An excellent example of dated Caughley ware is the puzzle-jug in
the possession of Mr. Edmund Thursfield, here engraved. It is eight
inches in length, and is formed of the usual body of these works. It
is decorated with blue sprigs, and bears on its front the name, in an
oval border, of “John Geary Cleak of the old Church Brosley 1789.” On
the bottom is written in blue, “Mathew the v & 16,” though one would
fail to see any allusion in the text here referred to either to the
vessel or to its purpose. In Mr. Smith’s possession is a fine Caughley
mug; white, with blue flowers of bold character: it bears the words,
“Wm. Haslewood, 1791,” and has the mark S on the bottom. This William
Haslewood was the representative of an old family of that name in this
neighbourhood, and his property passed to the Mr. J. J. Smith already
spoken of.
In 1788 Mr. Robert Chamberlain commenced his china works at Worcester,
and for some time bought his ware at Caughley, had it sent down by
barge to Worcester, and there painted and finished it. The same
thing was also done when Grainger’s works were first started at
Worcester. The number of hands employed at Caughley must have been
somewhat large, as the premises were extensive, and the quantity of
goods required by Mr. Turner, for his own trade and for Worcester,
was considerable. In 1798 or 1799, in consequence of the increase of
the trade of Mr. Rose, who had been apprenticed to Mr. Turner, and
afterwards commenced on his own account, by which the Caughley business
was much injured, the works were disposed of to Mr. Rose and his
partner; Mr. Turner entirely retiring from the concern. The Caughley
works were then carried on by Messrs. Rose and Co., in conjunction
with their own. The coal at Caughley beginning to work out, and the
cost of carrying the unfinished ware from thence down the hill and
across the water to Coalport was so great,--the unfinished ware being
carried on women’s heads the whole distance,--that Mr. Rose determined
to remove the works to Coalport, which he did at different times,
gradually drafting off the workmen, until about 1814 or 1815, when
they were finally removed, the kilns and rooms taken down, and the
materials used for the enlargement of the works at Coalport. The last
of the buildings, with the house, were not, however, destroyed until
1821, when the materials were brought to Coalport to build the present
burnishing-shops and some workmen’s cottages.
[Illustration: Fig. 587.--The Caughley China Works, taken down
in 1815.]
The works were built in form of a quadrangle, with an entrance gateway
surmounted by an inscribed stone. Of these historical works I am
enabled, through the courtesy of my friend Mr. Hubert Smith, to give
an engraving from an original drawing in his possession. The entrance
building, it will be seen, was three stories in height, the remainder
two stories, and the kilns were of large size.
The marks used at Caughley and Coalport have been very few, but they
are very important, and require careful attention at the hands of the
collector. In my account of the Worcester works I have given several
varieties of the _crescent_ as a mark of that establishment, and
have also stated that it was used at Caughley. I believe the first
mark used at Caughley to have been the crescent alone, and that it
was, as I have before stated, intended to have the signification of a
C for Caughley, and that its connection with the Worcester works may,
in a great measure, be traced to the fact of the goods on which it
appears being printed, not at that city, but at Caughley. I have seen
examples of this mark on undoubted Worcester body, and also on equally
undoubted Caughley make, bearing precisely the same printed patterns.
The following are some of the varieties of the crescent occurring on
Caughley specimens, and show pretty clearly its transition from a
common “half-moon” (I have often heard it called “half-moon china”) to
the finished and engraved C.
[Illustration: C C’ C C c
Figs. 588 to 592.]
Another mark said to have been used at Caughley, but of which at
present I have met with no example, is the accompanying, [Illustration:
Fig. 593.] which is very similar to the mark ascribed to the Leeds
manufactory.
Another distinctive mark of the Salopian works was the capital letter
S, of which the following are varieties:--
[Illustration: S S Sx S^x So S S
Figs. 594 to 600.]
When the S was introduced it is difficult to say; but, at all events,
it appears on the dated example alluded to above in 1776, and it was
used at the same time as the C for a considerable period. On many of
the engraved plates still in existence, indeed, both the C and the S
occur, and this leads me to suspect that the one was used to mark the
goods sent to Caughley to be printed, and the other those made and
printed for their own market. I have seen precisely similar articles in
pattern, bearing each of these letters. Occasionally the S and crossed
daggers occur.
[Illustration:
Vol.I.
PLATE III.
ORIGINAL COPPER-PLATES--CAUGHLEY AND COALPORT.
(The letters C and S are the marks alluded to on page 270; they
here occur side by side on the original copper-plate.)]
Another circumstance is also worthy of note. On two mugs printed
from the same engraved plate, which I have seen, the one bears the
S, and the other the accompanying curious mark (Fig. 598), which is
evidently of the same character as the examples of assimilated Chinese
ones, which are occasionally ascribed to Worcester, but which are in
reality, I believe, those of Caughley. Of these I give the following as
examples; many of these are disguised figures.
[Illustration: Figs. 601 to 606.]
Following the C and S, two _impressed_ marks, bearing the word
“Salopian,” were used. These are as follows:--
[Illustration: Figs. 607 and 608.]
and it is worthy of remark that, on some examples of plates bearing
this impressed mark, the blue printed S also appears; as, on others,
does also the crescent. Others, probably merely workmen’s marks, are
[Illustration: Figs. 609 and 610.]
The subject of _printing_ upon porcelain, to which I have already
alluded under “Worcester,” is one so intimately and intricately
connected with the Caughley and Coalport works, that it will be
necessary to consider the period of its introduction at some length.
I have already shown that transfer-printing was used as early as 1757
on Worcester porcelain (p. 229, _ante_); and I have little doubt that
quite as early, if not a few years before that period, it was practised
at Caughley. Indeed, in the early years of the manufactory, the two
works, Caughley and Worcester, seem to have been closely connected,
and to have worked “in and in,” if I may be allowed the use of so
unscientific an expression, and I believe, with ample reason, that a
great proportion of the printed goods bearing the Worcester mark were
printed at Caughley. Indeed, it is known that the ware was sent up
from Worcester by barge to be printed at Caughley, and returned, when
finished, by the same mode of conveyance. I have closely examined the
style of engraving and the patterns of a large number of examples, and
I am clearly of opinion that they are the work of the same hands.
I do not, by this, claim for Caughley the honour of _inventing_ the art
of transfer-printing on to porcelain; but I feel assured that that art
must have been there practised at quite as early a period as the dated
example of Worcester make; and I am led to this belief partly from the
fact that the Robert Hancock whose beautiful productions I have before
spoken of, and to whom the engraving of the dated example is ascribed,
also engraved for the Caughley works. And I have an impression of a
plate, of an identical pattern with the famous tea group, which bears
his monogram on the Worcester specimens, on which his name, _R. Hancock
fecit_, occurs in full at Caughley. Collectors, therefore, in a case of
this kind, must not be too hasty in ascribing, from appearance _alone_,
examples to either one or the other make, but must be guided, in a
great measure, by the _body_ on which the engraving occurs.
It cannot be wondered that an art, then such an important secret,
should have been followed at Caughley,--a place so perfectly retired
from the world, situated in the midst of woods and wilds, almost
unapproachable to strangers, and with every facility for keeping the
workmen away from all chance of imparting the secret to others,--in
place of in Worcester, where secrecy would be almost impossible, and
where the information would ooze out from the workmen, at the ale-house
or elsewhere, and be greedily caught up by those interested in the
process. At Caughley every possible precaution seems to have been taken
to secure secrecy; and the workmen--the engravers and printers--were
locked up and kept apart from every one else. Who the engravers were
I cannot satisfactorily say. It is, however, certain, that Hancock
engraved for the works; and it is said that Holdship, of whom I have
before spoken, was also employed. Among the other engravers was a man
named Dyas, who was apprenticed as an engraver at Caughley about the
year 1768, and who continued at the works until his death, at the ripe
age of eighty-two. It is also worthy of note that Mr. Minton, the
father of Mr. Herbert Minton, was in his early days employed as an
engraver at these works. It is not too much to say, that the style of
engraving adopted at so early a period was remarkably good, and of
really high character. Indeed, some specimens which I have seen of the
plates used at Caughley are far superior to most of the productions of
the period.
[Illustration:
Vik. I.
PLATE IV.
ORIGINAL COPPER-PLATES--CAUGHLEY AND COALPORT.]
Of the painters employed at Caughley, it will be sufficient to say that
amongst those apprenticed there were John Parker, Thomas Fennell, and
Henry Boden, famous for their skill in flowers; and that Muss, Silk,
and others, excelled in landscapes and figures--some sepia landscapes
being remarkable for their pure artistic treatment; while among the
gilders, a most important art, and one to which special attention has
always been directed at these works, were men of the names of Rutland,
Marsh, and Randall who were considered proficients. Of the latter, a
nephew, who is the author of pleasant little volumes on the “Severn
Valley” and “The Willey Country,” is still employed at the Coalport
works, principally on birds.
I have named above that Robert Hancock engraved for Caughley as well as
for Worcester, or at all events that plates of his were printed from at
the former place possibly for the latter. His name appears on one of
the plates as follows:--[in-line illustration] and other plates
are evidently the work of his hand, though without name. I engraved
a curious mark, the monogram RH, anchor, and name of Worcester, in
the account of those works. This I reproduce on Fig. 611, and give
another which occurs on a plate from Caughley, with the anchor and the
word Derby, which I introduce for the purpose of comparison, and to
suggest the probability that the place which produced the one with the
word Derby (for whatever reason that may have been done), which was
undoubtedly Caughley, also produced the one with the word Worcester.
The engraved plate, with the anchor and Derby, is a curious one (for a
mug), and represents a landscape--a river, with trees on either side,
swans sailing in the foreground, behind them two fishermen in a boat
drawing a net, beyond them a boat with sails, and in the background a
bridge, and church with ruins to the left, and a tall gabled building
on the right, over which are the words “Sutton Hall,” whilst above the
whole picture is “English Hospitality.”
[Illustration: Figs. 611 and 612.]
[Illustration: Fig. 613.--Coalport China Works, from a painting
by Muss.]
COALPORT.
One of the most flourishing, most important, and most successful in
art-productions of any in the kingdom are the Coalport works, at one
time also known as “Coalbrook Dale,” to whose history I now devote
a few pages. The founder of these works was Mr. John Rose, a man of
wondrous skill and enterprise, to whom the ceramic art is indebted for
many important improvements. Mr. Rose, who was the son of a farmer
in the neighbourhood of Caughley, was apprenticed to Mr. Thomas
Turner, of the Caughley China Works, by whom he was taken into the
house, and taught the art of china making in all its branches. Here
he remained for several years; but ultimately, from causes which it
is not necessary to enter upon, a difference arose between them, and
Mr. Rose left Mr. Turner, and commenced a small business on his own
account at Jackfield, in the immediate neighbourhood. Here he did not
remain long, but removed his works to Coalport, on the opposite bank
of the Severn, where he fixed himself in some buildings which had
previously been a small pottery belonging to a Mr. Young, a mercer
of Shrewsbury, and in these buildings in part they have continued to
the present day. Mr. John Rose had not long established himself at
Coalport, it appears, before he met with opposition; for other works
were started on the opposite side of the canal, and only a few yards
distant, by his brother, Mr. Thomas Rose, and partners, who commenced
business under the style of “Anstice, Horton, and Rose.” These works,
however, did not continue long, but passed into the hands of Mr.
John Rose and his partners, who, with other additions, formed them
into one establishment. In the space of three or four years from the
establishment of the Coalport works by Mr. Rose, he had so successfully
carried on his business that the Caughley works of Mr. Turner had
become greatly reduced, and were gradually beaten out of the market. In
1799 Mr. Turner, of the Caughley works, gave up the business and sold
the concern to Messrs. Rose & Co., who thus became proprietors of both
works, as well as of those commenced by the brother of Mr. Rose. Both
manufactories were then continued by them, thus giving a great increase
to the establishment, and rendering it one of the most extensive in the
kingdom.
In 1803 Messrs. Blakeway, Rose, and Horton having become bankrupt,
a question as to the ownership of the remainder of the Caughley
manufactory arose and was submitted to arbitration. The following is
the award, for which I am indebted to my friend Mr. Hubert Smith:--
“TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME we Ralph Wedgwood
of Bransford in the county of Worcester Gentleman and William
Horton of Coalport in the county of Salop Gentleman send
greeting Whereas by articles of agreement in writing bearing
date the Thirteenth day of December last past and made between
Thomas Turner of Caughley in the county of Salop Esquire of the
one part and Timothy Yate of Madeley in the county of Salop
Charles Guest and Elias Prestwich of Broseley in the county of
Salop Gentlemen of the other part Reciting that by a Memorandum
of an Agreement bearing date the Twelfth day of October One
thousand seven hundred and ninety nine and made between the
said Thomas Turner of the one part and Edward Blakeway John
Rose and Richard Rose of Coalport in the said county of Salop
porcelain manufacturers of the other part The said Thomas Turner
did agree to assign amongst other things all his interest in
a Lease from Mr. Browne to him of the several works buildings
and erections called Caughley China Works and also the colliery
then held under lease by him from Mr. Browne to the said Edward
Blakeway John Rose and Richard Rose The said Thomas Turner
also agreed to assign to the said Edward Blakeway and Co. the
unglazed stock of goods then in and about the said manufactory
and all the materials implements fixtures moulds copper plates
and machinery belonging to the said manufactory and colliery And
it was agreed that the said Edward Blakeway and Company should
have and be entitled to the same liberties and privileges so
far as respected the said manufactory and colliery as the said
Thomas Turner was entitled to and that the said colliery should
be worked in a fair and workmanlike manner and that the clod and
middle coals so far as they were getable together or separate
to be got so that the best coals should not be got without the
clod and middle coals The said Edward Blakeway and Company to
pay Mr. Turner Five hundred pounds per annum for the residue of
the term and interest in his lease by half-yearly payments as
herein mentioned provided the said coals so to be got should not
be sufficient for the use of the said manufactory and the best
coals should be exhausted the said Edward Blakeway and Company
should be at liberty to give up the said works and premises to
the said Thomas Turner at the end of any half year during the
remainder of the term by which the same premises were held upon
giving him six months notice in writing for that purpose and
leaving the materials implements fixtures moulds copper plates
and machinery then employed thereat not diminishing the same
in the mean time But if the said Edward Blakeway and Company
should be desirous of continuing the said works and premises
till the expiration of the said term the said Thomas Turner
agreed to make an allowance of Two hundred pounds per annum
out of the said sum of Five hundred pounds per annum from the
time the said best coals should be exhausted if the quantity
of best coals used had not exceeded upon the average eighteen
tons per week, each ton containing forty eight hundred and it
was thereby further agreed that in case any dispute or question
should arise between the said parties touching any clause
article matter or thing therein contained the same was to be
referred to and settled by two indifferent persons one to be
chosen by each party and in case they should not agree as to
the same then by an umpire to be named by the said two persons
whose determination should be final And further reciting that
the said Edward Blakeway and John Rose together with Robert
Winter their partner who then lately held the said works and
premises had lately been declared Bankrupt and the said Timothy
Yate Charles Guest and Elias Prestwich chosen assignees of
their estate and effects and that they the same assignees had
lately contracted to sell all their right title and interest
to and in the said Caughley China Works Colliery and Premises
unto Cuthbert Johnson and William Clarke Esquires And further
reciting that a doubt or question had arisen whether the said
materials implements fixtures moulds copper plates and machinery
were to be the property of the said Thomas Turner at the end of
the said term or whether they were to become his property in
the event only of the said Agreement being determined before
the expiration of the said term And that the same parties had
therefore mutually agreed to refer the said doubt or question
to the decision of the said Ralph Wedgwood and William Horton
and in case they could not agree then to such person as they
should name umpire in the premises And that the said Thomas
Turner had agreed to sell and the said Timothy Yate Charles
Guest and Elias Prestwich had agreed to purchase all the right
and interest of the said Thomas Turner of and in the said
materials implements fixtures moulds copper plates and machinery
at such a price or sum of money as should be fixed thereon by
the said Ralph Wedgwood and William Horton or their umpire to
be named as aforesaid And further reciting that a dispute had
arisen between the said Thomas Turner and the said Timothy Yate
Charles Guest and Elias Prestwich respecting the manner in which
the said colliery or coalwork had been managed and carried on
which dispute or any other difference which might arise pending
that reference as a consequence of the investigation of the
claims of the respective parties the said parties had agreed
should be adjusted and settled by the said Ralph Wedgwood and
William Horton or their said umpire to be appointed by them
in manner aforesaid It is by the Articles of Agreement now
in recital witnessed that as well the said Thomas Turner as
also the said Timothy Yate Charles Guest and Elias Prestwich
did thereby for themselves severally and respectively and for
their several and respective Heirs Executors and Administrators
covenant promise and agree to and with each other and to and
with his and their Executors and Administrators that they
the said parties respectively their respective Executors and
Administrators should and would well and truly stand to abide by
perform fulfil and keep this award order or determination which
the said Ralph Wedgwood and William Horton or their said umpire
should make between them as well concerning the said doubt or
question concerning the right and interest of the said Thomas
Turner of and in the said materials implements fixtures moulds
copper plates and machinery and the price or sum of money to
be paid him for the same as also concerning the dispute which
had arisen or which pending the said reference might arise
between the said parties respecting the manner in which the said
colliery or coalwork had been managed and carried on so as the
award or umpirage be made in writing under the hands of the said
Ralph Wedgwood and William Horton or their said umpire within
twelve weeks from the date thereof But it was thereby agreed
that that Agreement or any clause therein contained or the
said award or umpirage to be made in pursuance thereof should
not alter or extend to alter the rent and royalty reserved and
made payable by the therein recited Agreement but that the same
should remain payable upon the terms and conditions therein
mentioned And for the true performance of that Agreement each
of the said parties bound himself and themselves his and their
Executors and Administrators to the other of them his Executors
and Administrators mutually and reciprocally in the penalty of
One thousand pounds As by the said recited Agreement reference
being thereunto had will appear Now know ye that we the said
Ralph Wedgwood and William Horton having duly examined and
considered the said Agreement and the proofs and allegations of
the said parties to the said reference and all such accounts
documents and evidence as have been produced to us relating to
the said materials implements fixtures moulds copper plates and
machinery and also the said colliery coal-mines and premises do
hereby award order decide and determine that the said materials
implements fixtures copper plates moulds and machinery were
by the said Agreement to be the property of the said Blakeway
Rose and Rose at the end of the term mentioned in the said
agreement and not the property of the said Thomas Turner but in
the event only of the said Agreement being determined before
the expiration thereof by six months notice being given in the
manner in the said Agreement specified And we do further award
order decide and determine that the said Timothy Yate Charles
Guest and Elias Prestwich as such assignees as aforesaid shall
pay unto the said Thomas Turner his Executors Administrators or
Assigns for all his contingent or present right and interest
of and in the said materials implements fixtures moulds copper
plates and machinery the sum of One hundred pounds on or before
the Twenty first day of May next And we do further award order
decide and determine that the said colliery or coalwork hath
been worked and carried on in a fair and workmanlike manner and
according to the spirit of the said Agreement of the Twelfth day
of October One thousand seven hundred and ninety nine and that
therefore the said Thomas Turner not having been injured is not
entitled to any compensation or damage from the said Blakeway
Rose and Co. or their said Assignees in respect thereof Given
under our hands this Sixth day of March One thousand eight
hundred and four.
“Witness } “RA WEDGWOOD
JN. PRITCHARD } WILLM HORTON”
On the 23rd October, 1799, an event occurred in connection with the
works at Coalport which was most sad in its results. At that time a
considerable number of the work-people and painters employed at the
works resided at Broseley, and were in the habit of passing backwards
and forwards across a ferry near the works. On this night, thirty-two
persons, including the best artists, went on board the ferry-boat,
which, about midwater, owing to the intoxicated state of the ferryman,
was capsized, and twenty-nine were drowned. The principal painter at
this time was an artist named Walker, and an unfinished piece of work
of his--the piece he left in progress only a few minutes before he
lost his life--is still preserved, with almost religious care, in the
factory.
Soon after this time considerable additions were made at Coalport,
and since then the manufactory has been constantly and considerably
enlarged, and now occupies, I am told, considerably more ground than
any other porcelain works in the kingdom.
[Illustration: Figs. 614 to 617.--Coalport Vases.]
[Illustration: Painted by Hartshorne. Painted by Cook. Painted
by Randall. Painted by Cook.
Figs. 618 to 621.--Coalport Vases.]
The view of the Coalport China Works given on page 274 will show its
extensive character in the early part of the present century, and its
pleasant situation on the banks of the Severn. The view is copied from
an interesting painting by Muss, who, before his successful artistic
career in London, was employed as one of the painters at this
establishment. Since the period when Muss made this painting, the works
have been constantly increased, and at the present time are about
doubled in extent.
[Illustration: Fig. 622.]
[Illustration: Fig. 623.]
The commercial style of the firm has been, ever since its establishment
at Coalport, and still is, “Messrs. John Rose and Company,” although
many changes in the proprietary have taken place. These changes have
been as follows:--“Rose and Blakeway;” “Rose, Blakeway, and Rose;”
“Rose, Johnson, and Winter;” “Rose, Johnson, Clarke, and Winter;”
“Rose, Winter, and Clarke;” “Rose, Clarke, and Maddison;” “Maddison,
Pugh, Rose, and Rose;” “W. Pugh and W. F. Rose;” and the present sole
proprietor is “William Pugh;” but the firm is still known by its old
style of “John Rose and Co.” Mr. John Rose died in 1841, and was buried
at Barrow. He was succeeded by his nephew, Mr. W. F. Rose, of Rock
House, Coalport, who retired from the firm in the autumn of 1862, and
died in London in 1864, having in the meantime started some small works
at Hanley, where he shortly afterwards failed, and unsuccessfully
attempted to commence others in Derbyshire. He was a man of the most
generous disposition and kindly nature, and his losses were a subject
of deep sorrow to myself and his other many friends.
[Illustration: Fig. 624.]
[Illustration: Fig. 625.]
It will be seen from what I have said, that the Coalport works had
already, before the commencement of the present century, absorbed
those of Caughley, of Jackfield, and of the opposition establishment
of Messrs. Anstice, Horton, and Rose. Some years later, the Swansea
Porcelain Works, which had risen somewhat into repute, were
discontinued, and the moulds, &c, bought by Mr. Rose, who removed them,
along with the workmen, to Coalport, about the year 1820. Another
famed manufactory, though small, that of Nantgarw, established by
Billingsley, the famous flower painter, of Derby, and his son-in-law,
Walker, also of Derby, in 1816 (under the assumed name of _Beeley_
and Walker), and which produced, perhaps, the finest examples of
porcelain with granulated fracture ever made, also soon afterwards
was merged into the Coalport establishment. Billingsley and Walker,
on discontinuing the works at Nantgarw, removed to Coalport, with
all their moulds and processes, and continued employed there until
Billingsley’s death, which took place in 1828. Walker was a remarkably
clever workman, and did much during the time of his continuance at
Coalport to improve the art of china-making. He removed thence to
America, where he established a pottery, which, I believe, he still
continues to work. The Nantgarw porcelain was very expensive to make,
but was remarkably fine in its body and texture. The original recipes
for this peculiar body are in the possession of Messrs. Rose & Co.;
and it can be made at Coalport of as fine a quality as ever. I have
carefully examined specimens made _at_ Nantgarw with others made
by Billingsley and Walker when they first came to Coalport, and these
again with examples made by Messrs. Rose in 1860, and they appear all
to be of equal excellence of body. It is, however, too expensive a
process to be followed to any extent, and is never manufactured there
now.
In 1820 Mr. John Rose received the gold medal of the Society of Arts
for his improvements in the manufacture of china. The prize, which
was offered for the best porcelain glaze produced without lead,
was competed for by Copelands, Davenports, and all the principal
manufacturers, as well as by Mr. Rose, but was honourably gained by
him. It bears the inscription--“To Mr. John Rose, MDCCCXX., for his
improved glaze for porcelain.”
The history of the works has been one of complete success from
their first establishment to the present day; and this success has
been attained by untiring and unflagging energy on the part of the
proprietary, and by a determination to make their manufactory second
to none in existence in extent and in beauty and purity of work. The
porcelain trade owes much to the ability and energy of Mr. John Rose;
and this skill, ability, and energy is equally the characteristic of
the present proprietor, Mr. Pugh.
Both at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and that of 1862, as well as at
the French Exhibition in 1855, Messrs. Rose & Co. carried off medals
for their productions; and these recognitions of excellence have
been continued at the later International Exhibitions. At the first
a magnificent dessert service in the difficult but truly beautiful
_Rose du Barry_ colour, which the firm had succeeded in restoring
in all its beauty to the ceramic art, was exhibited, and excited
considerable interest. This service, considered by competent judges
to equal the original Sèvres in evenness of colour, was purchased by
Lord Ashburton. At the second, Messrs. Rose exhibited a large number of
exquisite examples of their make; and services were purchased by the
Emperor of the French, by M. Fould, and by the principal _savans_
of Paris. At the third, the selection of vases and other decorative
pieces was of the finest possible character.
[Illustration: Figs. 626 to 628.]
At the present hour the productions of the Coalport works take a
foremost rank among the best porcelain of the kingdom; many of the
specialities of this firm being marvels of beauty; the colours pure
and full, and of extreme richness. Sardinian green--a colour for the
extreme depth and richness of which these works are celebrated--is
introduced with remarkable effect both in services and otherwise. One
of the finest pieces of this colour is a tripod wine goblet, with
flowers in tablets, and raised and jewelled gold borders. A lighter
shade of this fine green is introduced, with tablets of flowers and
Westbourne birds, with great effect on two-handled goblets, &c. _Rose
du Barry_ has always been a speciality of the Coalport works, and a
colour on the excellence of which its proprietors, especially the late
clever and enlightened Mr. W. F. Rose, have always prided themselves.
This is used as a ground in every conceivable variety of decoration,
and when enriched with raised dead and burnished gold, and with the
exquisite painting by which it is usually accompanied, has a remarkably
rich and chaste effect. A new jardinière, with pierced key top and
Sèvres fruit and flowers, is one of the prettiest examples of this
colour, combined with raised gold and flowers, which has been produced.
One of the finest and most massive pieces in this colour is a claret
jug, with raised gold vine-leaves and grapes and other decorations,
and splendidly painted on one side with the head of a bacchante and on
the other a bunch of grapes. A pink, or light _Rose du Barry_,
is also much used as a ground for pilgrims’ bottles, vases, services,
&c., where, for some kinds of decoration, it harmonizes better than
the full colour would. A blue with a slightly purplish cast, which
gives it an additional richness and fulness, has been introduced, and
forms a splendid ground for Japanese decoration in vases, pilgrims’
bottles, &c., in which style of now very fashionable decoration
the Coalport artists excel. In these Japanese patterns some of the
designs are unusually elaborate and intricate, and the workmanship is
characterized by extreme precision and regularity, while the gilding
and colour, especially the deep reds and blues, are rich and full in
the extreme. Some of the vases in this style vie with those of the
native art of the Japanese, and are not excelled by any other house.
The principal artists employed at the present time at the works are
Mr. Charles Palmere, Mr. Cooke, Mr. John Randall, Mr. Birbeck, Mr.
A. Bowdler, Mr. J. Hartshorne, and Mr. Jabez Aston; and among those
formerly engaged here was Mr. R. F. Abraham, a student of Antwerp
and Paris and a successful follower of the school of Etty. Modellers
of a very high class in their respective branches are also employed,
and the excellence of their work is apparent in all the higher class
productions of this establishment.
[Illustration: C C’ C C C S S Sx S^x So S S
Figs. 629 to 640.]
The marks used by the Caughley works have already been fully
described.[84] After the removal of these works to Coalport, the same
letters, both C and S, for many years were used. At Coalport, however,
marks have been adopted, perhaps, more sparingly than at any other
works; and the great bulk of the goods have been manufactured, from
the first down to the present time, without any mark at all. On some
examples of the early part of the present century, the written name of
“Coalport,” thus--_Coalport_[handwriting]--appears; but these are of
very rare occurrence. Another mark, adopted somewhat later, though only
used very sparingly, was simply the letters [Illustration: _CD_] for
Coalbrookdale, or the same two letters conjoined thus--[Illustration:
_CD_]; sometimes also Coalbrookdale appears in full, and at others the
contraction “C Dale,” in similar writing letters.
Another mark, adopted in 1820, was of large size, and will, perhaps,
be as well understood by description as engraving. It is a circle of
nearly two inches diameter, in which is a wreath of laurel encircling
the words, “Coalport Improved Felt Spar Porcelain,” in four lines
across. Surrounding the wreath are the words, “Patronised by the
Society of Arts. The Gold Medal awarded May 30, 1820;” while beneath,
and outside the circle, is the name “I. Rose and Co.” This mark was
adopted consequent on Mr. John Rose obtaining the Society of Arts’ gold
medal for “his improved glaze for porcelain” to which I have before
alluded, and the articles on which it appears are of extremely good
material and very perfect glaze.
Other marks adopted by this firm, although but seldom used (the great
bulk of the goods, as I have said before, being sent out without any
mark at all), are the following:--[Illustration: 3 mark images] The
first of these is a monogram of the letters C B D, for Coalbrookdale,
so joined together as to produce a very characteristic and distinctive
mark. The second, the same monogram, surrounded by a garter bearing the
name of “Daniell, London”--a firm for many years, like Mortlocks and
other leading houses, connected with Coalport or Coalbrookdale, who
have had that mark used for some especial orders. The third and last
is the most recent mark, and is almost the only one now used by the
Coalport works: it embraces the initials of the various manufactories
which have from time to time been incorporated with, or merged into,
the Coalport establishment. Thus the scroll--which at first sight may,
to the uninitiated, look like a short “and” (&)--will, on examination,
be seen to be a combination of the writing letters, C and S, for
_Coalport_ and _Salopian_, enclosing within its bows the three
letters, C, S, and N, denoting respectively _Caughley_, _Swansea_, and
_Nantgarw_.
Having now passed through the history of these famed works, and shown
their connection with others, both in manufacture and in printing, it
only remains to say a few words on the varieties of goods for which
the Salopian works have been famed, both in times past and at present.
First and foremost, then, of course, come the blue painted and printed
wares copied from Chinese patterns, for which both it and the early
Worcester works were remarkable. The first painted, as well as printed,
wares were close imitations of the foreign; but groups of flowers of
original design, &c., were also introduced, and designs _based_,
perhaps, on foreign models were adopted. Groups of figures, in the
characteristic costume of the period, were also executed with great
taste and ability. Of the Chinese patterns, the two most famous--the
well-known “willow pattern” (known generally among the trade as the
“Broseley pattern”) and the “blue dragon” (also known as the “Broseley
blue dragon”)--owe their first introduction to the Caughley works; and
this fact alone is sufficient to entitle them to more than ordinary
notice. The willow pattern has undoubtedly been the most popular,
and had the most extensive sale of any pattern ever introduced. It
has, of course, been made by most houses, but the credit of its first
introduction belongs to Caughley; and early examples, bearing the
Caughley mark--the cups without handles, and ribbed and finished
precisely like the foreign--are rare. The dragon, known still as “the
Broseley blue dragon” or “Broseley blue Canton,” was also a most
successful imitation of the Chinese, and almost rivalled the “willow”
in popularity. A special form of jug, considered in those days to be
very far advanced in art, known technically as the “cabbage-leaf jug,”
was also first made at the Caughley works.
Later on, the “worm sprig” pattern, the “tournay sprig,” and other
equally successful patterns were here introduced from the Dresden, as
were also the celebrated Dresden raised flowers and the “Berlin chain
edge” pattern. About 1821 a peculiar marone-coloured ground, which is
much sought after, was introduced at Coalport, by Walker, of Nantgarw,
of whom I have before spoken; and at this time many marked improvements
were made in the different processes of manufacture.
[Illustration: Fig. 641.--Willow Pattern.]
[Illustration: Fig. 642.]
[Illustration: Fig. 643.--Broseley Blue Dragon.]
The copies, both in embossing, in body, in colour, and oiliness of
the glaze, and in style of painting of birds and flowers, of the
Dresden at this period were perfect, and, as the Dresden mark was
(perhaps injudiciously) introduced as well, were capable of deceiving
even the most knowing connoisseur. It may be well to note that at this
period an _impressed_ anchor was sometimes used. This must not
be taken to be anything more than a workman’s mark. Very successful
copies of the Sèvres and Chelsea have also been at one time or other
produced, and on these the marks of those makers have been also copied.
Collectors of “old Chelsea,” especially of the famous green examples,
must be careful, therefore, not to take everything for granted as
belonging to that place on which the gold anchor is found.
[Illustration: Fig. 644.]
The _egg-shell china_ produced at Coalport is much finer than any
other which has come under my notice, from the fact that the body is
_pure porcelain_, being composed of one stone and one clay alone,
unmixed with bone or any other material whatever.
BROSELEY.
_Broseley Pipe Works._--Broseley is perhaps more universally known
as a seat of the manufacture of tobacco-pipes than in any other way;
for in this particular it has “held its own” against other localities
for about three centuries, and seems still likely to do so for three
centuries more, should the habit of smoking continue so long. As a
few words must in the course of this work be said upon this branch
of ceramic art, it may be well here to introduce it; and I cannot do
better than give, in an abridged and altered form, what, some years
ago, I drew up for the pages of the _Reliquary_.[85]
The period at which the introduction of tobacco into England took place
is a vexed question, which it is not necessary here to attempt to
solve. To Sir Walter Raleigh, Mr. Ralph Lane (his governor of Virginia,
who returned to England in 1586), Sir John Hawkins (1565), Captain
Price, Captain Keat, and others, have respectively been assigned the
honour of its introduction and of its first use in this country. But,
at whatever period tobacco was introduced, it must not, I think, be
taken for granted that to that period the commencement of the habit of
smoking must be ascribed. It may reasonably be inferred, from various
circumstances, that herbs and leaves of one kind or other were smoked
medicinally, in this country, long before the period at which tobacco
is generally believed to have been first brought to England. Coltsfoot,
yarrow, mouse-ear, and other plants are still smoked by the people,
for various ailments, in rural districts, and are considered highly
efficacious, as well as pleasant; and I have known them smoked through
a stick from which the pith had been removed, the bowl being formed of
a lump of clay rudely fashioned at the time, and baked at the fireside.
I have no doubt that pipes were in use before “the weed” was known in
our country, and that it took the place of other plants, but did not
give rise to the custom of smoking.
It is difficult to assign dates to these early pipes, but the one
represented in Fig. 645 is probably Elizabethan. It bears on its spur
a rose. Mr. Crofton Croker considered that the smaller the pipe,
the more distant its date, and therefore he assigned the diminutive
example shown on Fig. 648, of its full size, to an early period. This
idea, which originated in the knowledge that tobacco was an extremely
expensive luxury when first imported, and as it gradually decreased in
value allowed a larger indulgence to the smoker, will not, I think,
hold good, for dated examples show that some of the later specimens
are far less capacious than others which are of an undoubtedly earlier
period. The _form_ of the pipe is generally a better criterion
of age than its size, though even this cannot always be depended
upon. Adopting Mr. Croker’s arrangement as to periods, the following
series of examples, partly selected from pipes in my own possession,
will be useful to the collector, and enable him pretty accurately
to appropriate any specimens which may come under his notice. The
engravings are, of course, of a reduced size. Fig. 649 is of similar
form to the one above; it is probably Elizabethan.
[Illustration: Figs. 645 to 665.--Old English Clay Pipes.]
The next example Mr. Croker assigned to the period of James I.
or Charles I. It does not differ very materially in shape from the
preceding specimens. Of pipes of this period, a large variety of shapes
might be adduced. These forms may be understood from the figures in the
accompanying group, copied from engravings of the period. The dates
are, No. 1, 1630; 2, 1632; 3, 1640; 4, 1641. The latter example is
of the same shape as those known to have been in use in the reign of
Elizabeth, and is pretty nearly similar to Mr. Croker’s example. The
same form is found in use through several reigns. The usual shape of
the period, however, will be seen on Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
The barrel-shaped pipe, engraved as an example of the period comprising
the Commonwealth and the reign of Charles II., is from Devonshire,
and may be taken as the usual type of that era. Of this period, the
examples given are chosen principally from Traders’ tokens. One (2)
will be seen to be of the form usually ascribed to William III.’s
reign. The dates of these specimens are 1, 1650; 2, 1666 (Dunstable);
3, 1688 (Chipping Norton); 4, probably same year (Southwark); 5, 1669
(Leeds). Pipes were made at Leeds from a peculiar vein of clay found
there.
Mr. Croker considered the pipes of the reign of William III. to have
had bowls of the elongated form (Figs. 662 and 663), and it would
appear probable that this is correct, for at the places where his
Dutch troops were stationed, the pipes of this and the accompanying
form are most abundant. Barrel-shaped bowls were, however, still in
use, and I have copied one from Mr. Fairholt’s book, on which the
date 1689 is incised. That these long pipes were not imported in very
large quantities, may be gleaned from the following highly interesting
notice, which I quote from Houghton:--
“The next are _tobacco-pipes_, of which came from _Holland_,
gross one hundred and ten, chests four. I have seen some very
long ones and also small from thence, that truly are very fine.
If there comes no more, they’ll do us no great hurt. I think
they must be permitted to be patterns to set our people on work,
and if our smoakers would use none but fine ones, I question not
but we should make as fine as anybody.”[86]
From this it appears that, in 1694, only 110 gross, or four chests,
of Dutch pipes were imported, and this included both sorts--the “very
long ones and also small.” It is worthy of note, for comparison’s sake,
that in the same year from Holland 12,000, and from Germany 23 tons, of
“marbles for boys to play with,” were imported.
[Illustration: Figs. 666 to 676.--Old Broseley Clay Pipes.]
The long-bowled pipes continued in use to the middle of last century,
and representations of them may be found on engravings of the period,
thus showing that they gradually merged from the bulbous into the
elongated form of the time of William III., and so passed on to the
wide-mouthed shape of the present day. The heel or spur also changed
from the flat form--made to rest the pipe upon during or after use--to
the long pointed one now so common, and which took its rise probably
from the Dutch. It must be remembered, however, that the Dutch were
originally indebted to England for the introduction of pipe-making into
that country.
Usually the old pipes were perfectly plain, with the general exception
of a milled border, impressed by hand, not in the mould, running round
the mouth. It is also worthy of remark, that the bowls of many of the
older pipes are _scraped_ into form after having been moulded.
Sometimes ornamented examples are met with, but they are of extremely
rare occurrence. Mr. Croker had one which he considered to have been
of foreign make, but which I think there is little doubt is of English
manufacture: and the one in my own possession (Fig. 646) presents some
very interesting features; in form it closely resembles one of the
examples of James I. and Charles I., and I have no doubt, from the form
of the letters, that I am right in appropriating it to that period.
It is not very easy to localise pipes, for but little is known of
places where they were made, and the manufacture was of course of so
small an extent that it is difficult to trace it. In November, 1601,
_Mr. Secretary Cecil_ alludes, in a speech, to a then existing patent
of monopoly enjoyed by tobacco-pipe makers; and in 1619 the craft of
pipemakers were incorporated, their privileges, according to Stowe,
extending through the cities of London and Westminster, the kingdom
of England, and dominion of Wales. They were governed by a master,
four wardens, and about twenty-four assistants. These privileges were
confirmed by subsequent monarchs. At Derby several generations of
pipemakers have uninterruptedly carried on business, and it was in one
of these ovens that the first pieces of Derby china were fired. The
pipes made at Winchester were, in Ben Jonson’s time, great favourites;
they were said to be the best then made, and far superior to those
of Vauxhall and other places. In the neighbourhood of Bath, pipes
were apparently made in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the
makers’ names being Thomas Hunt, Henry Putley, Rich. Greenland, Rich.
Tyler, and Jeffry Hunt; and some of the examples bear a shield with
a branch of the tobacco-plant. At Lichfield they were made to a large
extent, as also at Newcastle-under-Lyme, and indeed they were produced
in most parts of the country.
From the smallness of size of these early pipes has, I presume, arisen
their common name of “Fairy Pipes,” varied sometimes into “Elfin
Pipes,” “Mab Pipes,” “Danes Pipes,” etc. They are also sometimes called
“Celtic” and “Old Man’s Pipes,” and I have heard them designated by the
characteristic name of “Carls Pipes,” a name indicative of a belief
in their ancient origin.[87] In Ireland, they are believed to have
belonged to the _Cluricanes_, a kind of wild, mischievous fairy-demon,
and when found are at once broken up by the superstitious “pisantry.”
In England, they are said to have belonged to the fairies or “old
men,” but, unlike their Irish brethren, our peasantry usually preserve
them, and in some districts believe that a certain amount of good luck
attends their possession. I have known one of these pipes carried about
the person for years, and have heard its owner--a Peak-man--declare in
his native dialect, on being asked to part with it, “Nay, a’d part wi’
a towth sowner!” A quantity of these “fairy pipes” were found in the
parish of Old Swinford, Worcestershire, some few years ago, “and the
country folks there had a tradition that it was a favourite spot for
the resort of Queen Mab and her court, and that among other appendages
of royalty was a fairy-pipe manufactory, of which these were the
remains.”
Broseley has been so long famous for its tobacco-pipes, that a
“Broseley” is a term familiar to smokers all over the world. That this
locality should have been chosen as the place _par excellence_ for
their manufacture, is to be accounted for by the excellent clay of the
district.
The white pottery found at Wroxeter is made of clay from the Severn
Valley, and this shows that the Broseley or other clays were worked at
a very early period of our history. The Shirlot clay, of which a few
pipes were made at Shirlot and Much-Wenlock, is of a coarse texture,
and very inferior to the Devon pipeclay, of which most are now made.
This might lead us to suppose that the earliest manufacturers of pipes
_at first used the clay found in the neighbourhood_, but discarded
it for the purer clays which they obtained from Devonshire; but I
feel assured the Shirlot and Wenlock pipes are not of very ancient
date. In the late Mr. Thursfield’s collection were many with marks on
the spur. Some of these marks exhibit the maker’s name in full, some
abbreviated, others initials only, and one has a gauntlet on the bowl,
with S. D. (probably the initials of Samuel Decon, who was alive in
1729) on the spur; three bowls alone only bear dates, viz., Richard
Legg, 1687; John Legg, 1687; and John Legg, 1696. These three are
engraved on page 293. “I have carefully examined the Broseley parish
register,” Mr. Thursfield informed me, “which dates back as early as
1572, and find in 1575, 17th Elizabeth (ten years before Sir Walter
Raleigh introduced tobacco), that Richard Legg had a daughter baptized.
I therefore consider him to be the father of Broseley pipemakers, for
even at the present day some of his descendants follow the trade in
this place--from various causes no longer as masters--and still bear
the family names of Richard and John Legg. A stone slab let into the
front of a substantial cottage, with the words ‘Richard Legg built
this, 1716,’ testifies to the well-to-do position held by the family in
the early part of the eighteenth century.” The name of Ben Legg also
occurs on a pipe found in Worcestershire. The names of the pipemakers
at Broseley, judging from the examples I have seen, appear to commence
first as follows:--Clarke in 1647, Roden in 1681, Legg 1575, Darbey
1700, Decon 1608, Evans 1615, Hughes 1641, Hartshorne 1620, James 1600,
Jones 1590, Price 1608, Partridge 1718, Overton 1700, Smith 1709, Shaw
1630, Wilksone 1733, and Ward 1700. Other names (Brown, Bradley, Dry,
Hart, Harper, Overley, and Roberts, for instance) occur as pipemakers
here in the olden time.
More than a hundred years ago, the pipemakers began to stamp their
names and residences on the _stems_ of the pipes instead of the
spurs, the stems being, in many instances, 16 or 18 inches or more in
length. They likewise made a small twist or bead mid stem, at such a
length from the bowl, that when held between the fingers at that spot,
the pipe was balanced.
A pipe-maker, named Noah Roden, brought the long pipes to great
perfection, and supplied most of the London clubs and coffee-houses
of that day; he died about 1829, and his business was carried on by
the late William Southorn, who made great strides in improving the
manufacture, and whose eldest son is now carrying on the famed business
of maker of the patent and genuine “Real Broseleys.”
About the middle of last century, and since, the Rodens were famous
makers of pipes at Broseley, and to them is due the introduction of
“churchwardens” and “London straws,” and they were succeeded in the
early part of this century by Mr. Southorn, father of the present
well-known maker, Mr. Edwin Southorn. The works at present carried on
by Mr. Edwin Southorn were established about 1830 by Noah Roden. In
1856 they passed into the hands of Mr. Southorn, and from that time
forward their progress has been of marked improvement in every branch
of the manufacture. In 1860 Mr. Southorn introduced the process of
transfer printing upon pipes, the same as practised in other branches
of ceramics. By this means the crests or armorial bearings, names,
mottoes, or monograms of his patrons, trade marks or initials of firms,
and signs and names of hotels and inns are produced, as are also other
devices in colours. In 1868 Mr. Southorn introduced steam-power into
his manufactory, and has rendered it available to all parts of his
works; he is thus enabled to produce an enormous quantity, counting
at the present time about 10,500 gross or 1,500,000 pipes in the
course of a year. The “Broseleys” thus, not only in quantity but in
quality--for they are the finest produced both in form, in quality of
clay, in beauty of surface, and in manipulation of any made--surpass
all others. In 1851, Mr. Southorn received honourable mention as
“superior tobacco-pipes” at the Exhibition in that year. Mr. Southorn
has also introduced the plan of dipping, or “tipping,” his pipes at the
mouth-piece with green or any other coloured glaze, which is one of the
most marked improvements of modern days.
The variety of pipes produced at these works is somewhat remarkable.
Among these are “large bowls,” 21 inches long; “long plain,” 22
inches long; “long Broseley straws,” or “aldermen,” 27 inches long,
“fit for an alderman or a king;” “long straws,” or “churchwardens,”
25 inches long, which Dr. Richardson, at the Bath meeting of the
British Association, says are unquestionably the best of pipes;
“London straws,” 16 inches; “Raleigh straws,” “Lord Crewes,” 27 inches
long; “long Dutch straws,” 28 inches long; “short Broseley straws,”
“short tips,” “plain tips,” “S. D. straws,” “dhudeens,” “peg-top
straws,” “ovarium straws,” “billiard,” “cutty,” “yachting,” “Broseley
meerschaums,” and a score of other kinds. One of the specialities,
however, of Mr. Southorn’s productions is his “patent Broseley
Narghilé.” In this “the pipe, which is formed of clay noted for its
fineness and remarkably porous qualities, is enclosed for a portion
of its length in a glass tube, which is filled with water; and the
action of the water is to draw away the colouring matter and narcotic
poison from the smoke before reaching the smoker’s mouth. The proof of
this is in the gradual colouring of the water; which may be readily
discharged and the tube refilled. A further effect is coolness of the
extremity. The glass tubes are supplied from the Broseley pipe works
in every variety of style, and we have never seen so much fine art
taste combined with utility as in these, some of them vieing with the
ancient Venetian glass in the combination of opaque and clear, &c. It
is to be understood that by the ‘Narghilé’ is meant the attachment,
or tube containing water, which is removable at the pleasure of
the holder; a title that serves to recall the luxurious and costly
water-pipes of Turkey, to which, in all their best qualities, this
patent completely answers. The ‘patent’ Broseley pipe is manufactured
specially for the Narghilé, and is the only clay pipe for which it is
adapted. It is evident that a clay, either more or less porous than
are these tobacco-pipes, would be equally unsuitable; and what is very
remarkable, and shows the perfection to which the manufacture has been
carried, these pipes are uniform in porousness, in part due to their
being manufactured of the very finest and purest clay.”
Many of the forms adopted by Mr. Southorn are adaptations of mediæval
examples, and others are of the most artistic and elegant outline. The
mark used by him is usually the name “E. SOUTHORN, BROSELEY,”
impressed on the stem. Sometimes his name with the royal arms appears
printed on the bowl.
The other pipemakers at Broseley at the present day are Mr. William
Southorn, of the late firm of William Southorn and Co.; and Richard
Tomkis; but of these it is not necessary to speak.
COALBROOKDALE.
The terra cotta works belonging to the world-famed “Coalbrookdale Iron
Company” were established in 1861. The beds of clay belonging to this
company being peculiarly adapted for the finest and best kinds of
terra cotta, they, in conjunction with others in the neighbourhood,
undertook to prepare and send, for the Exhibition of 1862, examples
of goods made from the various clays of the Shropshire coal fields.
The result of this determination was the establishment of this branch
of the company’s manufacture, and, so far as it has been carried out,
it has proved eminently successful. The colour of the terra cotta is
a peculiarly light buff of a pleasing and soft tint; and the quality
is of the highest order both for firmness, fineness, hardness, and
durability. In it the company produce vases, tazzas, pedestals,
brackets, pendants, flower-pots and boxes, chimney-pots, and every
variety of architectural decoration. With their well-known skill in
design, and with the talented artists they employ for their metal work,
it may well be supposed that this company would produce striking and
beautiful patterns in their vases and other ornamental goods; and such
is the case. There is a peculiar sharpness and beauty in the details of
many that is far superior to that produced by some other firms. Some of
the designs will be seen in the accompanying engravings.
[Illustration: Figs. 677 to 680.--Coalbrookdale Terra Cotta.]
[Illustration: Fig. 681.--Coalbrookdale Terra Cotta.]
At Lightmoor, in the same neighbourhood, the Coalbrookdale Company have
extensive works for the manufacture of moulded and other bricks in
white, blue, and red clays; ornamental and plain roofing tiles, many
of which are of very effective shapes; garden edgings and ridge tiles
of every style of design, from a simple bead to an elaborate Tudor
ornament; paving tiles, &c. Nothing could better show the variety, the
importance, and the high quality of the clays of this locality than do
these varieties. The colour of the red quarries is rich, and improves
with washing and wear, while their hardness is beyond any others. The
roof tiles of this company are very extensively used (for instance, the
Charterhouse Schools, near Godalming, are covered with them), and they
have the reputation of being among the hardest and best produced.
[Illustration: Fig. 682.--Coalbrookdale Terra Cotta.]
MADELEY.
A small manufactory of china was established and carried on for
about a quarter of a century at Madeley, by Mr. Martin Randall, who
served his apprenticeship at the Coalport works; his elder brothers,
Edward and William Randall, having been apprenticed at Caughley.
From Coalport Martin Randall went to the Derby China Works, where he
remained for some time, and became the friend of two of their famed
painters, Phillip Cleve and William Pegg. From Derby he removed to
London, and entered into business with a Mr. Robins, at Islington.
Upon a dissolution of partnership he came down to Madeley, and fixed
himself in Park Place, where for a few years he confined himself to
re-decorating Sèvres china, which was procured by agents; chiefly of
Baldock and Garman, in Paris. White china was obtained where feasible;
but when that could not be had, dessert, tea, and breakfast services,
vases, wine coolers, jardinières, and other articles, ornamented simply
with blue and gold lines, dots, or sprigs of flowers, were purchased;
the latter of which were removed by fluoric acid, the glaze being so
blended with the body that it gave back a new surface on being passed
through the enamelling kiln. The gold was so thick on the pieces that
it was usually peeled off with a knife, and was then sent to London
to be again reduced by acid. At first Randall used a box kiln, with
charcoal; but afterwards erected an enamelling kiln, which he heated
with billets of wood.
Mr. Randall soon afterwards removed from Park Lane to a larger house
at the bottom of Madeley, where he erected enamelling kilns, and also
a kiln which served for biscuit and glaze. His potters were Thomas
Wheeler, who was thrower and turner; Francis Brewer, modeller; William
Roberts, presser; and David Morris, fire-man. Mr. John Randall,
nephew of Mr. T. M. Randall, was an apprentice to the painting, and
Mr. Francis Brewer, now of the Tamworth Potteries, was an apprentice
to the modelling. Mr. Randall took the decorating department, but he
also employed as figure painter Mr. Philip Ballard, a son of Mr. S.
Ballard, solicitor, Worcester, and brother to Mr. T. Ballard, R.A. Mr.
R. B. Gray, artist, now of Dorking, and father of Mr. George Gray,
A.R.A., and his son Robert were flower painters; and the late Mr.
Enos Raby was ground-layer, colour-maker, and gilder. Mr. Randall’s
want of experience in the processes of making led to frequent errors
and losses, the latter being the greater from his constant desire to
produce a body which should equal Nantgarrw and Sèvres. “Too much
beer” on the part of a fire-man sometimes brought down the entire
kiln of ware, so that the saggers disappeared below the trial-hole,
and the pieces bulged like wax, till they became fast to each other,
and assumed the most fantastic forms. Too much flint in the clay,
at another time, produced a chalky absorbent body, that drank up so
much glaze that when fired it would fly off in the form of small
daggers whilst cooling, and continue to do so for weeks. Mr. Randall,
however, kept his temper like a philosopher; and at length succeeded
in producing the nearest approach to the old Sèvres of any at that
time made in this kingdom. It had all the mellow transparency and
richness, and the same capability of receiving the colours into the
glaze, of that famous ware, and had this to such an extent that the
most experienced connoisseurs found it impossible to distinguish
between them, excepting by the mark, which no bribe would induce him
to imitate; being a strict quaker, he had a conscientious objection to
doing so. From Madeley, Mr. Randall removed his business to Shelton;
and here it was that the late Mr. Herbert Minton was so struck with the
beauty of his productions that he made overtures to him to join his
firm, which, however, he did not do; and he soon afterwards retired
from business, and went to live at Barlaston, near Trentham, where he
died, and was buried in a spot he had chosen for himself. Mr. Randall,
who was uncle to Mr. John Randall, F.G.S., one of the celebrated
painters of the Coalport works, used no mark.
JACKFIELD.
The Jackfield Pottery was one of the oldest in Shropshire, and is
believed to have been worked for centuries. The potters had, at
different times, probably from being expert hands, migrated into
Staffordshire; and I am informed that, as early as 1560, several
entries occur in the parish registers of Stoke-upon-Trent of people
(potters, of course) as “_from Jackfield_.” A few years ago a
coal-pit at Jackfield, which was known not to have been entered for
nearly two centuries, was opened, and in it was found a small mug of
brown earthenware, bearing the date 1634. The works were, probably not
long after this period, carried on by a person of the name of Glover,
who used the old salt glaze for his ware. He was succeeded by Mr. John
Thursfield, son of Mr. John Thursfield of Stoke-upon-Trent, about the
year 1713. This John Thursfield had married a daughter of Captain Webb,
who had been in the wars under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, and
had, while in the Low Countries, married a Dutch lady. In 1729 John
Thursfield married a lady named Eleanor Morris, of Ferney Bank, who is
curiously described in the Broseley register as a “sojoinner.” He died
in 1751, leaving two sons--John, who built the works at Benthall; and
Morris, who succeeded his father at Jackfield. The kind of ware made
at Jackfield was a white stoneware, very similar to the Staffordshire
make, and on some examples flowers and other ornaments were incised and
coloured, that is, the outlines were cut in while the clay was soft,
and the flowers and other ornaments touched afterwards with colour.
Tiles of the kind usually known as “Dutch tiles” were also made. In
1763 Mr. Simpson carried on the pottery at Jackfield, and made yellow
ware, and a ware the body of which was pipeclay and glazed with salt.
This he sent down the Severn to the Bristol Channel for export to
America--a trade which the American war of independence put an end to.
Maurice Thursfield made at Jackfield a very superior black ware, highly
vitrified and glazed; indeed, so highly glazed was it that it had all
the outward appearance of glass. The forms, and the potting of these
articles, locally known as “black decanters,” were remarkably good, and
on some specimens which I have seen ornaments have been judiciously
introduced. On one, in the possession of the late Richard Thursfield,
Esq., of Broseley, a head and wreath are executed in gold and colour;
and on others, paintings in oils, both portraits and views, and raised
ornaments, are introduced. Some good examples are preserved in the
Museum of Practical Geology. Maurice Thursfield died in America, where
he had, it appears, considerable business connections.
In these works Mr. Rose, in conjunction with a Mr. Blakeway, soon after
the death of Maurice Thursfield, began making china. The works were
not, however, carried on long, but were removed to Coalport, on the
opposite side of the Severn, where they were begun in some buildings
which had formerly been a pottery (I believe belonging to a Mr. Young,
a mercer of Shrewsbury), and where they have continued uninterruptedly
to the present day.
In the early part of this century a pottery--spoken of in 1836 as the
“new pottery”--was established here by Mr. John Myatt, for brown and
yellow stone-wares. Here, too, at the same time, near the Calcuts,
extensive brick and tile-works were then and still are carried on.
* * * * *
JACKFIELD ENCAUSTIC TILES.--Many years ago Mr. Peter Stephan
(still at this date a modeller at Coalport), son of Stephan the potter,
who was a Frenchman, and at one time at Derby and afterwards of
Jackfield, where he had a small pottery, produced some strikingly good
arabesque patterns in blue printing. His mark was an anchor with cable,
impressed in the body of the ware; and also the crest of an anchor on
an heraldic roll, with his name above (see Figs. 683 and 684), and
printed in blue on the bottom of the ware. His pieces are of rare
occurrence. He also made encaustic tiles. These were the first made in
this district.
[Illustration: Figs. 683 and 684.]
* * * * *
[Illustration: Fig. 685.--The Jackfield Works.]
_The Jackfield Works._--The site of the present works carried
on by Craven, Dunnill, & Co., for the manufacture of Encaustic and
Geometrical tiles, is that of the above old pottery in Jackfield, in
which Hargreaves and Craven for several years made geometrical tiles
by the clay-dust process, and encaustic tiles from plastic clay; but
the buildings being old and dilapidated, Mr. H. P. Dunnill formed a
limited liability company, consisting of seven shareholders, for
rebuilding and carrying on the concern. The old buildings were taken
down, a considerable extent of land added to the premises, and on this
land the present handsome new works were erected. They now cover an
extent of nearly two acres of ground, and are fitted with machinery
and arrangements specially adapted to the requirements of the trade,
each department succeeding the other in perfect rotation; so that the
clay goes into the blunging-house at one point, from thence into the
slip-kilns, mill-room, damping-houses, press-shops, encaustic rooms,
drying-stove, seggar-house, firing and glaze-kilns, sorting-house,
warehouses, packing-room, and finally, having in the various processes
gone the circuit of the manufactory, passes into the railway lurries to
be conveyed to various parts of the kingdom and abroad. The fine clays
of Jackfield and Broseley are largely used in the manufacture, and
within the grounds of the works there is a pit in which, from a depth
of thirty-five yards, is brought up by steam-power a beautiful red
clay, of very fine tone of colour. The firm justly pride themselves on
the colour and quality of their plain tiles; and the hardness of their
buff tiles--a point much desired by the trade--is very noticeable. The
colour and hardness of body of their dove tiles are also very apparent.
In encaustic tiles many beautiful designs by Waterhouse, Goldie,
Gibbs, Bentley, and other architects are produced. At the instance
of one of the firm, Mr. A. H. Brown, M.P. for Wenlock, a noticeable
arrangement has been made in the interest of the work-people. Any
profit made after ten per cent. paid to the proprietors is equally
divided between them and the work-people, and the latter have thus
a direct interest to do their work in the best manner, so as to add
to the reputation of the firm. Glazed tiles for hearths, of great
variety and beauty of pattern, are made here, and also glazed wall
tiles in white, cream, celadon, and other tones. The company also
produce majolica tiles of the richest class, with an endless variety of
printed, painted, and art tiles for decorative purposes. The quality
of the tiles is remarkably good; the colours are pure and clear, the
body hard and durable, and the glaze firm. Many of the patterns are of
extreme beauty and excellence. The marks adopted, impressed on the back
of the tiles, are--
HARGREAVES
&
CRAVEN
HARGREAVES CRAVEN
DUNNILL & CO
JACKFIELD
N^R IRONBRIDGE SALOP
CRAVEN DUNNILL & CO
LIMITED
JACKFIELD
N^R IRONBRIDGE SALOP
HARGREAVES
CRAVEN DUNNILL & CO
JACKFIELD
CRAVEN
DUNNILL & CO
JACKFIELD
SALOP
CRAVEN
& CO
* * * * *
BENTHALL WORKS.--The manufactory of encaustic tiles, mosaics, and
majolica, which has for the last twenty-two years been carried on by
Messrs. Maw, at the Benthall works, near Broseley, was initiated at
Worcester (as named in my account of the works of Mr. St. John in that
city) in the year 1850, where Messrs. Maw commenced experimenting on
the processes of manufacture on the premises formerly occupied by
the Worcester Porcelain Manufactory, when under the hands of Messrs.
Flight and Barr, and afterwards used for the production of encaustic
tiles by my late friend Mr. Fleming St. John and his partners, by whom
the moulds, &c., which had been used by them in the manufacture of
encaustic tiles were sold to Messrs. Maw. These gentlemen at once saw
that a much wider field was open to them in the production of tiles
than had previously been attempted at Worcester. In 1852, Messrs.
Maw, feeling the necessity for carrying on the manufacture in a
neighbourhood which would produce both the coal and the clay, abandoned
the works at Worcester, and removed their moulds, plant, &c., to the
Benthall works, near Broseley, where another seven years was spent
by them in a series of costly experiments with no immediate profit
except the experience gained by which they have subsequently built up
the business. Their first effort was to thoroughly investigate and
experiment upon the clays of the Shropshire coal-field, as well as the
plastic materials found throughout the kingdom, many of which no one
had before attempted to turn to economic account.
[Illustration: Figs. 686 to 693.--Examples of Messrs. Maw’s
Tiles.]
The results of these experiments have been illustrated in an extensive
series of specimens of the clays or plastic slates of Great Britain
presented by Mr. Geo. Maw, F.S.A., to the Government Museum of
Practical Geology, in Jermyn Street, and printed in the supplement
to the catalogue by Sir H. De La Beche and Mr. Trenham Reeks. In
1857, after all these years of patient labours, the manufacture was
commenced on a commercial scale, which for several years barely paid
its expenses; but from that time to the present continual additions
have been made to the works to meet the increasing demand for their
productions. In 1871 supplementary works were commenced at the Tuckies,
about two miles from the Benthall works, celebrated as the spot where
the late Lord Dundonald carried on his experiments in the manufacture
of coal-gas.
[Illustration: Fig. 694.]
Messrs. Maw have from the first laid themselves out for applying the
very highest art and architectural talents to their manufactures, and,
in 1856, commissioned Mr. M. D. Wyatt to design a series of patterns of
geometrical mosaic, which were issued as a small lithographed volume
of fourteen pages. This little book, which first established their
reputation as art manufacturers, was subsequently superseded by a much
larger volume, published in 1867, including the designs of Digby Wyatt,
George Goldie, J. P. Seddon, George E. Street, J. Burgess, and others,
as well as the reproduction of all the best obtainable examples of
ancient tiles, geometrical, and Roman mosaic, majolica, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 695.]
In 1851 Messrs. Maw began the manufacture of plain tiles, geometrical
mosaic, and the ordinary encaustic tiles of two colours, to which
their productions were for several years limited: but since 1857 their
progress has been marked by the continual grafting on of specialities,
the yearly production of new colours, and new phases of ceramic art
applied to tiles. In 1861 they commenced the manufacture of very small
tesseræ for the formation of pictorial mosaics, and produced for the
Exhibition of 1862 their well-known mosaic of “_The Seasons_,” here
engraved (Fig. 695), and which is now in the South Kensington Museum,
from a design expressly made for them by Digby Wyatt. The result was so
successful that Mr. Wyatt commissioned Messrs. Maw to execute a mosaic
frieze for the inner quadrangle of the New India Office.
The production of coloured enamels for the surface decoration of
majolica tiles next occupied their attention, and after years of
experimenting, all the colours employed in the ancient tiles of Spain
or Italy were successfully reproduced, as well as others which were
unknown to the mediæval and Moorish manufacturers.
A stone chimney-piece, enriched with tiles executed for the
International Exhibition of 1862, was their first attempt in the
application of enamels and majolica in architectural work. Shortly
afterwards the successful decoration of ceilings was carried out in
the corridors of the India Office. And now the production of majolica
tiles and enamelled terra cotta for all kinds of internal and external
decoration forms an important branch of Messrs. Maw’s manufacture.
Among the more important of their works in enamelled terra cotta may be
mentioned the beautiful staircase executed for Sir D. Majoribanks, a
portion of which was exhibited in the International Exhibition of 1871,
and the chimney-pieces manufactured for the board-room of the South
Kensington Museum, and the Museum of Science and Art, at Edinburgh.
Messrs. Maw were the first in this country to produce the transparent
celeste, or turquoise blue, employed in ancient Chinese enamels,
specimens of which were exhibited in the Paris Exhibition of 1867.
Among their more recent productions may be mentioned tesseræ for mosaic
work, decorated with rich enamels; embossed tiles; “_sgrafito_,” a ware
the decoration of which is produced by the cutting away of superimposed
layers of different coloured clays, after the fashion of cameo carving;
“_slip painting_,” the production of a pattern by the painting of
liquid clay on a ground of another colour, and the whole glazed over,
after the first burning, with transparent coloured enamels; “_pâte
sur pâte_,” tiles in which the design in high relief is superimposed
on a ground of a different colour; mixed coloured glasses and enamels
for the decoration of pottery, by which the most subtle and brilliant
effects are produced; _terra cotta and Parian plant-markers_, forming
an economical and indestructible substitute for the old wooden and iron
name tallies. On these the names of trees and shrubs are written in a
permanent black enamel and burnt in.
The special processes employed by Messrs. Maw have been made the
subject of a number of patents, among which may be mentioned their mill
machinery, used in the preparation of clay for the manufacture of tiles
by Prosser’s process; the _steam blunger_, by which the rough clay is
levigated, sifted, and refined ready for drying on the slip-kilns,
without the intervention of manual labour; the manufacture of encaustic
tiles out of pulverised nearly dry clay, and their patent press worked
by steam power for the pressing of tiles, which is the only successful
application of steam power to screw presses which has yet been attained.
The geometric and tesselated pavements produced by Messrs. Maw are
of the most elegant, elaborate, and beautiful character, and the
tesseræ and tiles of which they are composed are made with the utmost
mechanical accuracy, and of the finest quality both in body, in
colours, and in glaze. The patterns they have prepared are of exquisite
beauty and of endless variety, and suitable for every possible purpose
both for public and private buildings.
[Illustration: Fig. 696 to 699.]
[Illustration: Figs. 700 to 701.]
The encaustic, or figured tiles, for pavements, are also a great
speciality of Messrs. Maw’s works, and are, like those of other makers,
produced in immense variety and in large quantities. They are made in
two, three, four, or more colours combined, the colours used being
buff or yellow, red, black, blue, chocolate, white, cream, fawn,
green, &c., and of various sizes, the usual dimensions being 6 and 4¼
inches square. The patterns are, in many instances, taken from the
best remaining ancient examples, and in others have been specially
designed for Messrs. Maw by Sir Digby Wyatt, Owen Jones, and the
best authorities of the day; and many of the pavements thus produced
are matchless both in design, in general effect, and in beauty and
brilliancy of colour. Messrs. Maw are not content with producing simple
quarries, to be arranged in the usual varieties of ways, but they have
introduced entire pavements, over which is spread one grand design
covering its entire surface; many entire patterns occupying not the
usual old numbers of 4, 9, 12, 16, or 24 tiles, but 144 and other
numbers. These are peculiarly rich and effective, and particularly well
adapted for halls, vestibules, corridors, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 702.]
[Illustration: Fig. 703.]
The marks used by Messrs. Maw are--
MAW & CO MAW & CO MAW & CO MAW & CO
BENTHALL BROSELEY BENTHALL BROSELEY
WORKS BROSELEY SALOP
BROSELEY
SALOP MAW & CO
The enamelled hearth-pavements and wall-tiles are another great
speciality of these works, and are of unsurpassable richness and
beauty, as are also their majolica tiles and fire-place linings.
These are produced in every possible variety, and are remarkable not
only for the richness and delicacy of the colours which are used,
and for their purely artistic and masterly combination, but for the
excellence of both body and glaze, and the scrupulous accuracy of forms
for fitting together. The same remark applies to the embossed and
indented tiles, and also to those which are partially pierced for open
work. They are all equally good, and bear evidence of that thorough
appreciation of art which pervades all the productions of the Benthall
works. The engravings (Figs. 702 and 703) show two of their majolica
chimney-pieces. The first is of the finest majolica, with a fire-place
lining of encaustic, or enamel, tiles, which would also be used for the
hearth. The decorations are in high and bold relief, and being coloured
with pure artistic taste, have a charming and very striking effect. It
is 4 feet 8 inches in height, and 7 feet in width, and is, of course,
furnished with a marble shelf at the top--which, however, is not shown
in the illustration.
[Illustration: Fig. 704.]
The next shows another of these chimney-pieces entirely complete; it
is, like the other, of majolica. The ornaments are in bold relief, set
off with an excellent arrangement of groundwork and colour; the hearth
is formed of encaustic, or enamelled, or mosaic tiles; and the fender
is of majolica.
Another branch of ceramics--that of “Art Pottery”--has recently been
added to Messrs. Maw’s manufactory. This is the production of vases,
&c., in majolica, a branch which they are eminently qualified to bring
to perfection. In this branch vases, tazzas, and other articles, more
or less decorated with raised or surface ornamentation, are produced.
They are of excellent design, the body light but compact, and the
decorations of remarkably good and artistic character.
BROSELEY.
The _Broseley Tileries_, at Broseley, are said to be the oldest
brick and tile works in the district, and they have for more than a
century been in the hands of the family of the present proprietor, Mrs.
Penelope Jane Thorn. They are now under the management of Mr. H. M.
Bathurst. The goods produced are encaustic and geometrical glazed and
unglazed tiles, ornamental ridge tiles, roofing and pavement tiles of
various kinds, sanitary pipes, &c.
_Benthall Potteries._--These works, carried on by the “Benthall
Pottery Company,” under the management of Mr. Allen, produce the
ordinary yellow and other common wares.
COALMOOR.
At Coalmoor, near Horsehay, a pottery of common coarse ware formerly
existed. The hovels are still standing, but converted to other
purposes.