eighth year of his reign, did grant his Royal Letters Patent
to William Cookworthy, of Plymouth, chymist, for the sole use
and exercise of ‘A DISCOVERY OF CERTAIN MATERIALS FOR MAKING
OF PORCELAIN,’ which Letters Patent have been duly assigned to
me the said Richard Champion; and whereas by a certain Act of
Parliament (intitled an Act for enlarging the Term of Letters
Patent granted by his present Majesty to William Cookworthy, of
Plymouth, chymist, for the sole Use and Exercise of a Discovery
of certain Materials for making Porcelain, in order to enable
Richard Champion, of Bristol, Merchant--to whom the said Letters
Patent have been assigned--to carry the said Discovery into
execution for the Benefit of the Public), all and every the
powers, liberties, rights, and advantages by the said Letters
Patent granted to the said William Cookworthy are granted to me,
the said Richard Champion, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, during the remainder of the term of the said Letters
Patent, and from the expiration thereof for a further term
therein mentioned, provided I, the said Richard Champion, should
cause to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery, within
four months after passing the said Act, a specification of the
mixture of the raw materials of which my porcelain is composed,
and likewise of the mixture and proportions of the raw materials
which compose the glaze of the same, which specification was in
the hands of the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain:
“NOW KNOW YE THEREFORE, that I, the said Richard Champion, do
hereby testify and declare that the specification hereinafter
contained is the true and just specification of the mixture
and proportions of the raw materials of which my porcelain is
composed, and likewise of the mixture and proportions of the raw
materials which compose the glaze of the same, and which, at the
time of passing the before-mentioned Act, was in the hands of
the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (that is to say):--
“The raw materials of the above porcelain are plastic clay,
generally found mixed with mica and a coarse gravelly matter.
It is known in the counties of Devon and Cornwall by the name
of growan clay. The other raw material is a mixed micarious
earth or stone called in the aforesaid countries moor-stone
and growan. The gravel found in the growan clay is of the same
nature, and is used for the same purpose in making the body
of my porcelain as the moor-stone and growan. The mixture of
these materials to make the body of the porcelain is according
to the common potter’s method, and has no peculiar art in it.
The proportions are as follow:--The largest proportion of the
stone or gravel aforesaid to the clay aforesaid is four parts of
stone to one of clay. The largest proportion of clay to stone
is sixteen parts of clay to one part of stone mixed together.
I use these and every proportion intermediate, between the
foregoing proportions of the stone to the clay and the clay to
the stone, and all this variation I make without taking away
from the ware the distinguishing appearance and properties of
Dresden and Oriental porcelains, which is the appearance and are
the properties of mine. The raw materials of which the glaze
is composed are, the stone or gravel aforesaid, and the clay
aforesaid, magnesia, nitre, lime, gypsum, fusible spar, arsenic,
lead, and tin ashes.
“The proportions of our common glaze are as follows, together
with every intermediate proportion, videlicet:--
Growan gravel 128 parts }
Growan or moor-stone 112 „ } The materials
and I vary it from 96 to 144 „ } ground and mixed
Magnesia 16 „ } together with
and I vary it from 14 to 18 „ } water.
Gypsum 3 „ }
Lime 8 „ }
“But I also use the following materials for glaze:--
Growan clay 128 parts }
Growan or moor-stone 112 „ }
and I vary it from 84 to 140 „ }
Magnesia 20 „ }
and I vary it from 16 to 24 „ } The materials
Lime 8 „ } ground and mixed
and I vary it from 6 to 10 „ } together with
Nitre 1 „ } water.
and I vary it to 2 „ }
Fusible spar 20 „ }
Arsenic 20 „ }
Lead and tin ashes 20 „ }
and I vary it from 16 to 24 „ }
“I have described truly and justly the raw materials, the
mixture and proportions of them which are used in making my
porcelain, which has the appearance and properties of Dresden
or Oriental porcelain, and which porcelain may be distinguished
from the frit or false porcelain, and from the pottery, or
earthen or stone wares, as follows:--
“The frit or false porcelain will all melt into a vitreous
substance, and lose their form and original appearance in a
degree of heat which my porcelain, agreeing in all properties
with Asiatic and Dresden, will not only bear, but which is
necessary for its perfection. My porcelain may be distinguished
from all other wares which are vulgarly called earthen or
stone wares, which can sustain an equal degree of heat, by the
grain, the colour of the grain, and by its semi-transparency;
whereas the earthenwares, such as Staffordshire white and yellow
earthenwares and all other earthenwares which sustain a strong
heat without being fused, are found, when subjected to the most
intense heat, to appear cellular or otherwise, easily by the eye
to be distinguished from the true porcelain.
“In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Champion, have hereunto
set my hand and seal this twelfth day of September, in the year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and in
the fifteenth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George
the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and
Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth.
“RICH. (S. S.) CHAMPION.
“Sealed and delivered in the presence of us,
“HENRY SHERWOOD,
“Of Wood Street, London.
“ROBERT REYNOLDS,
“Of Coventry.
“AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that the twelfth day of September, in
the year above written, the said Richard Champion came before
our said Lord the King in his Chancery, and acknowledged the
writing aforesaid, and all and everything therein contained and
specified, as form above written. And also the writing aforesaid
was stampt according to the tenor of the statute made in the
sixth year of the reign of the King and Queen William and Mary
of England, and so forth.
“Enrolled the fifteenth day of September, in the year above
written.”
The works of Richard Champion were in Castle Green, Bristol, and I was
enabled, in 1863, assisted by the researches of Mr. Edkins, kindly
undertaken at my request, to fix the exact locality both of the works
and of Champion’s residence. This he determined by the singularly
fortuitous circumstance of a Directory for the city of Bristol having
been published--and for that one year only--in the year in which
Champion obtained his Act of Parliament, 1775. In this Directory, which
is of extreme rarity, occurs the following entry:--
“Champion, Richard, _China Manufactory_, 15, and his house, 17,
Castle Green.”
This occurs in the alphabetical list of “Merchants, Tradesmen,
&c.,” and in another list of the “Merchants and Bankers and their
residences,” is the following:--
“Champion, Richard, 17, Castle Green.”
It is perhaps worth just mentioning that this Directory, so opportunely
made, is an admirable illustration of the difficulties under which
compilers of those useful publications had to labour in the olden
times. It was compiled by a person of the name of Sketchley, and, most
of the houses not being in those days numbered, he carried with him a
lot of metal figures, and nailed them on to the doors as he went on,
charging a shilling at each house for doing so; and it is related of
him that, with a strict eye to business, he excluded the names of some
persons from his list who refused to pay the impost! Fortunately for
my purpose, Richard Champion had evidently paid a couple of shillings,
and so ensured not only his residence at No. 17, but his works at No.
15 being duly entered. The site of the china works is now covered with
small houses.
Armed with his new Act of Parliament, by which he was empowered to
enjoy nearly twenty-two years’ patent right, Champion spared no
pains and no expense to make the productions of his works as good as
possible; and that he continued to produce a magnificent body and a
remarkably fine glaze, and turned out some truly exquisite specimens of
fictile art, both in design, in potting, in modelling, and in painting,
is fully evident by examples still remaining in the hands of collectors.
The commoner description of goods, the blue and white ware, seems to
have been, very naturally, considered by Champion to be the branch most
likely to pay him, commercially, and this he at one time cultivated
to a greater extent than any other branch. His acknowledged and
advertised model was the Dresden, and his best efforts were turned in
this direction. The patterns which he adopted, being, naturally, in
many cases almost identical with those produced at Worcester and other
places--which, of course, arose from the fact of the different works
copying from the same models--the ware made by Champion is sometimes
apt to be appropriated by collectors to that manufactory. It may,
however, easily be distinguished by those who are conversant with the
peculiarities of its make.
In blue and white, Champion produced dinner, tea, and coffee services,
toilet pieces, jugs, mugs, and all the varieties of goods usually made
at that period. The blue is usually of good colour, and the painting
quite equal to that of other manufactories. Some of these pieces are
embossed, and of really excellent workmanship. A good deal of the blue
and white ware was marked with the usual cross, but it appears more
than probable that the greatest part of this kind of goods passed out
of the works unmarked.
Another characteristic class of goods made by Champion was the
imitation of the most common Chinese patterns, examples of which are
shown in the next engraving of a saucer and a teapot.
There is a thorough Chinese style in the decoration of these pieces,
and the colouring is also remarkably well reproduced. The saucer bears
the usual mark of the cross, but very many examples of this class which
have come under my notice are not marked at all, and pass as foreign
pieces. In the same group I have given a cup of elegant form, but of
different style, to show the beauty of its outline. Transfer printing
was not, it would appear, practised by Champion, but some examples,
Mr. Owen informs me, are known, which, although made at Bristol, were
evidently printed at Worcester.
[Illustration: Figs. 743 to 745.]
The expenses attendant on this unwarrantable opposition in Parliament
drained Champion’s exchequer, and despite the energy of himself, the
skill of his workmen, and the beauty of the ware produced at his
manufactory, Richard Champion’s hopes of permanently establishing an
art in Bristol, which should not only be an honourable and useful, but
a remunerative one, proved fallacious, and in little more than five
years from his obtaining of the Act of Parliament, the works which he
had laboured so hard to establish, and on which he had expended so much
time, money, and skill, were lost to the city of Bristol, and removed
for ever from its walls, but not, fortunately, until he had proved
incontestably his ability to produce a genuine porcelain of the finest
texture, and of the most artistic and finished style.
In 1775 Champion advertised his works as “Patent China, at the
Manufactory in Castle Green.” In 1776 he advertised it thus:--
“Established by Act of Parliament, The Bristol China Manufactory
in Castle Green. This China is greatly superior to every other
English Manufactory (_sic_). Its texture is fine, exceeding the
East India and its strength so great that water may be boiled
in it. It is a true Porcelain composed of a native clay and is
thus distinguished from every other English China which being
composed of a Number of Ingredients mix’d together the principal
part being Glass occasions it soon to get dirty in the wear
renders it continually liable to Accidents and in every respect
only an Imitation and therefore stiled by Chemists, a false
Porcelain.”
[Illustration: Fig. 746.--Joseph Fry.]
In 1778, Josiah Wedgwood, in a letter, dated August 24th in that
year, says, “Poor Champion, you may have heard is quite demolished;
it was never likely to be otherwise, as he had neither professional
knowledge, sufficient capital, nor scarcely any real acquaintance
with the materials he was working upon. I suppose we might buy some
_growan stone_ and _growan clay_ now upon easy terms, for
they have prepared a large quantity this last year.” This curious
letter, whose sympathy was certainly left-handed, did but little credit
to Wedgwood--the man who of all others had worked hard to crush him,
and had succeeded in so doing. His hope now that Champion was “quite
demolished” was that he might be able to gain his point and get the
growan stone and clay on easy terms! It is lamentable to feel that
a great name could sink so low. It does not appear, however, that
Champion ever became bankrupt, or even appealed to his creditors.
[Illustration: Fig. 747.--Book Plate, with Arms of Champion.]
In his Bristol works, although only his own name appears in the various
documents to which I have alluded, Champion had friends who assisted
pecuniarily in his undertaking. One of these friends was Joseph Fry,
the grandfather of the present Mr. Francis Fry, F.S.A., of Bristol,
whose name is as well known among biblists and connoisseurs in china
for his fine collection of old bibles and choice porcelain as the firm
to which he belongs is to the general public for the “Fry’s Chocolate”
which they manufacture to so large an extent. Mr. Joseph Fry, the
friend of Champion, died in 1786, about nine years after the works had
been closed on their removal into Staffordshire; and it appears that
the only return he got for the capital he had sunk in the concern, was
the beautiful set of vases now in the possession of his grandson.
The patent right was sold by Champion, in 1781--not 1777, as stated
by Shaw--to a company of Staffordshire potters, who continued the
manufacture at New Hall (which see for a continuation of this
narrative) for some time, when the ordinary soft-paste china was
allowed to supersede it. Thus the works at Bristol were brought to
a close, and the manufacture of porcelain was lost to the locality.
Champion himself with his family removed for a time into Staffordshire,
fixing themselves at Newcastle-under-Lyne, in November, 1781, and
there remained until April, 1782, when, having been appointed a Deputy
Paymaster-General of the Forces, by Edmund Burke, he left Staffordshire
“at a day’s notice,” and removed to London, having apartments at
Chelsea Hospital. This appointment he only held till 1784. In October
of that year he sailed for Charleston, in South Carolina, and there he
died, in 1791.
[Illustration: Fig. 748.--Venus and Adonis, belonging to Lady
Charlotte Schreiber.]
Bristol china (marked), every description of which, owing to the
short time the works were in operation, and other causes, is scarce,
is particularly rare in the finer and more highly finished varieties.
Fortunately, however, examples of these different varieties, of the
very finest kind, are still preserved, and attest most strongly to
the extreme perfection to which Champion succeeded in bringing his
works. Much discrimination is, nevertheless, required in appropriating
examples, and it is well to caution collectors against placing too much
reliance on the sweeping way in which, by some writers, all examples
are hauled into the Bristol net; and by others into those of Lowestoft
and other places.
[Illustration: Fig. 749.]
One of the choicest examples of the highest class of art in Bristol
porcelain existing at the present day, is the tea-service of which
the cup and saucer engraved on Fig. 749 forms a part. This splendid
service, of which, through the courtesy of Miss Smith, this cup and
saucer passed into my hands, possesses a double interest, first from
its being made “the best that the manufactory could produce;” and,
second, from the historical associations which are connected with
it. This example is also highly important as showing the perfection
to which the manufacture of porcelain had been brought by Champion
in 1774–5. It seems that in 1774 Edmund Burke, while the contested
election for Bristol was going on, remained in that city, and for a
month was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who were his warm friends
and zealous supporters, and he presented this splendid set of china,
made expressly, by his own order, by Mr. Champion, to Mrs. Smith, and
the remains of the set are now the property of that lady’s daughter,
Miss Smith, of Berkeley Crescent. This set, it is fair to presume,
was ordered by Burke while remaining in Bristol, or at all events
about that time, which would be the very year in which the transfer of
the Plymouth works to Champion of Bristol was completed. As a service
of such exquisite beauty and such minute detail in painting would
necessarily be a work of time, the absolute date of its completion
may be set down to the beginning of the year 1775. The decorations
of Burke’s service are of chaste and elaborate design and delicate
workmanship. It is profusely and massively gilt in both dead and
burnished gold, the wreaths of laurel, &c., being in green, which was
Burke’s electioneering colour. Each piece bears the monogram of Mrs.
Smith, S S conjoined, formed of wreaths of roses in pink and gold, and
also the arms of Smith, _sable_, a fesse between three saltiers _or_;
on an escutcheon of pretence the arms of Pope, _or_, two chevronels
and a canton _gules_, the latter charged with a mullet of the first;
and the crest of Smith, a saltier _or_. The pieces of this service
are marked with the usual cross. In the Museum of Practical Geology
is a cup and saucer of the same form, presented by the Duchess of
Northumberland, in which the festoons and borders are of similar
character, but of very inferior workmanship to those just described.
Another remarkably fine and, of course, unique service was brought
under the hammer in 1871, and deserves more than a passing notice. This
service had been made by Champion and presented by him and his wife
to Mrs. Burke. On the larger pieces were the arms of Burke impaling
Nugent on a pedestal, supported, dexter, by a figure of Liberty; and,
sinister, by a figure of Plenty. On the top of the pedestal is Cupid
with a flaming torch, and at the base the inscription, “I. BVRKE, OPT.
B. M. R. ET. I. CHAMPION. D. D.D. PIGNVS. AMICITÆ. III. NON. NOV.
MDCCLXXIV.” Other decorations also are introduced. Portions of this
service (which it is a pity was ever dispersed) are in possession of
Mr. Callender, of Mr. Edkins, of Mr. Fry, and others. I am indebted
to Mr. Owen for permission to reproduce from his admirable volume the
engraving of a portion of this service (Fig. 750), and for the use of
several other woodcuts.
[Illustration: Fig. 750.--Part of the Service presented to
Edmund Burke by Mr. and Mrs. Champion.]
[Illustration: Figs. 751 to 753.--Bristol Vases, belonging to
Mr. Fry, Mr. Nightingale, and Mr. Callender.]
[Illustration: Fig. 754.--Bristol Vase, belonging to Mr.
Francis Fry.]
Amongst the finest known productions of the Bristol works are the
series of splendid vases in the possession of Mr. Francis Fry, F.S.A.,
to which I alluded in my account of Plymouth china. One of these is
engraved on Fig. 754; it is 12¼ inches in height, and of hexangular
form. The landscapes are exquisitely painted, and it has well modelled
female busts on two of its sides, from which hang festoons of
raised coloured flowers. The other vases in Mr. Fry’s possession, one
of which has a perforated neck, though differing in form, style, and
ornamentation, exhibit the same excellence and skill in workmanship
and in decoration which are so remarkable on this specimen. That these
vases were painted by the same artists as the highest class of Plymouth
china is very apparent to those who are conversant with their works.
The birds are clearly “of the same family,” and the general style of
decoration bears evident mark of coming from the same hands. They
are _not marked_, and therefore a doubt very naturally arises as to
whether they were made before the works were removed from Plymouth,
and so brought as part of the “stock” to Bristol, or whether they were
really made after their establishment in that city. They are, however,
of a finer and higher quality than the marked Plymouth example, and
therefore there can be no reasonable doubt that they are Champion’s
production. Vases are distinctly spoken of in the evidence of John
Britain before the House of Commons in 1774. He said “that he has great
experience in several China manufactories, and has made several Trials
upon all those which had been manufactured in _England_, and finds
that all of them, except that of _Bristol_, were destroyed in the same
Fire that brings the Bristol to Perfection. And he produced to your
Committee several Samples of the said kinds of China, which shewed the
effects upon china severally; and said, that they have not been able to
bring the _Bristol_ China to a marketable commodity, so as to furnish
an Order, until within the last Six Months, but that sometimes they
succeeded, and at other Times not, but that now they can execute any
order. That they have lately made considerable improvements in the said
Manufacture, and particularly are endeavouring to perfect the Blue,
in which they have not as yet entirely succeeded, though they have now
a Gentleman who has succeeded in a small Way, in which they have been
at a considerable Expense; that the witness thinks the Manufacture is
capable of further improvements; that they can afford it at a price
equal to Foreign China of equal Goodness, and that they have made some
Specimens equal to good _Dresden_; that he has not seen any _Dresden_
ornamental China equal to the Vases produced to your Committee, nor
any Thing in Biscuit equal to the Biscuit in those Vases, and other
Ornaments; that the Gilding stands well; that the Seve China differs
from this; the Ornamental is more of a Cream colour, but the Glaze
is so soft that it will not bear using; that he believed the enamel
of the _Bristol_ China is as hard as the _Dresden_, and harder than
the Chinese,” &c. Mr. Champion also spoke very markedly upon this
improvement when he wrote these words; “Mr. Champion can assert, with
truth, that his hazard and expense were many times greater than those
of the original inventor. Mr. Champion mentions this without the least
disparagement to the worthy gentleman, Mr. Cookworthy, who is his
particular friend; he gives him all the merit which is due to so great
a discovery; he deserves it for finding out the means of a manufacture,
which will, in all probability, be a very great advantage to this
country; but yet Mr. Champion claims the merit of supporting the work,
and, when the inventor declined the undertaking himself, with his
time, his labour, and his fortune, improved it from a very imperfect
to an almost perfect manufacture; and he hopes, soon, with proper
encouragement, to one altogether perfect.”
The vases under notice fell to the lot of Mr. Fry’s grandfather at
the time of the close of the works, and have never been out of the
possession of the family. They are therefore attested as coming from
Champion’s establishment. In Mr. Fry’s possession is also a remarkably
interesting “waster” vase of the same general form and character, which
has apparently been spoiled by smoke in the kiln. This vase, I believe,
was purchased by its present possessor from a family in Bristol, in
whose possession it was stated to have been for seventy years. Other
vases of equal merit, all said to be Bristol, are in the possession of
Mr. Edkins, Mr. Nightingale, and Mr. Walker. Of services, and portions
of services, many fine examples exist in various private as well as in
the national collections. Many of these are of extreme beauty in design
and of remarkably good workmanship.
Of these marvels of ceramic beauty Mr. Owen thus speaks:--
“Some of these are painted with exotic birds of brilliant colour
and landscape backgrounds, delicately panelled. The design
of others exhibits considerable ingenuity. One painted with
Chinese figures in medallions has a pencilled ground selected
with good taste from a natural object--shagreen, or dressed
shark-skin--often chosen by the Chinese for a similar purpose;
the hexagonal pattern of which has been felicitously used as a
ground with singular success. There is such a similarity in the
colour and handling when compared with similar pieces of ware
bearing the Plymouth mark, that some of them must have been from
the same pencil. One of these vases is of special character,
with perforated neck. It is hexagonal, with landscapes
exquisitely painted in monochrome,--two in lake, two in blue,
and two in green on several sides with good effect. Besides
these, Mr. Fry has another series that cannot be doubted are
CHAMPION’S, although they want the same undeniable evidence of
having passed directly from the factory into the possession of
his family. We engrave one of them that has a cover, Fig. 751;
it is so artistically identical in paste and glaze, touch and
colour, with those preserved by _Mr. Joseph Fry_ as to need no
other voucher for its paternity. The same opinion may be given
of a fine vase, Fig. 752, the property of Mr. J. E. Nightingale,
The Mount, Wilton, with a strong additional argument in support
of it--one side bears the same design enamelled in blue--the
draw-well--that is painted on Mr. Fry’s vase, Fig. 754. Mr.
Edkins also has a Bristol vase, similar to some in Mr. Fry’s
collection, though somewhat different in decoration. It is
identical in form with Fig. 752, but without the modelled sprays
and leaves. Four of the sides are painted with landscapes
in colour, two others in blue monochrome, all exquisitely
pencilled. The gilded border round the upper portion beneath the
neck is a rich arabesque of elegant design. This is a charming
example, in perfect condition. The vase engraved (Fig. 753),
is one of a pair, exquisitely decorated with birds and insects
in panels on a blue salmon-scale ground. They are similar in
character to Mr. Fry’s example, with a shagreen ground, already
described. Some former proprietor has had them mounted in
ormolu. The design of the metal work is rich and graceful, and
in perfect harmony with the gilded arabesque borders, framing
with panels. The height of all these vases is about twelve
inches, and, with cover, sixteen inches.”
[Illustration: Figs. 755 and 756.--Bristol Bisque Plaques.]
[Illustration: Figs. 757 and 758.--Bristol Bisque Plaques.]
Another notable and beautiful feature of the Bristol works was the
production of plaques, bouquets of flowers, wreaths, and armorial
bearings, in biscuit. Of these examples are given in Figs. 755 to
758. One of these (Fig. 757), lately in the possession of Mr. Baller,
but now of Mr. Nightingale, bears the arms and crest of the Eltons
(who were connected with Bristol for the last two centuries as
bankers, members of parliament, and mayors, and of which the present
representative is Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, Bart.) impaling Tierney.
The arms are paly of six, _or_ and _gules_, on a bend _sable_, three
mullets of the first, for Elton; impaling _azure_, between two lions
combatant a sword _argent_, for Tierney. The shield is surrounded by a
wreath of exquisitely and delicately modelled leaves and flowers. The
plaque is oval, 5¼ inches in height by 4¼ inches in breadth. Another
heraldic plaque is in the possession of Miss Smith, of Bristol. It is
of about the same size as the one just described, and bears the arms
of Smith, with escutcheon of Pope, as described as appearing on the
tea-service engraved (Fig. 749). It is surrounded with a wreath of
raised flowers of surpassing beauty.
This interesting and valuable piece was some years ago stolen from
the late Mr. Smith, but, after about thirty years, was purchased by
its former owner at a sale along with some other examples of Bristol
make. In the possession of the late Mr. Edwin James, of Bristol, and
in other hands, are circular and oval plaques with wreaths or bouquets
of raised flowers, modelled in the same delicate and masterly manner,
and undoubtedly by the same artist. Another (Fig. 755), in Mr. Fry’s
collection, has the arms of France beautifully surrounded by a crowned
wreath of elaborately modelled flowers--the crown, wreath, and border
of which are of dead and burnished gold. Fig. 756, also in Mr. Fry’s
possession, is an exquisite heraldic plaque, having the arms of
Harford impaling Lloyd, surrounded by a finely modelled wreath of
flowers. In the Edkins collection was also a plaque with a delicate
border of flowers enclosing a medallion profile of Franklin; and
another, a simple group of flowers, and other examples, belong to Mr.
Owen, Mr. Rawlins, Mr. Gwyn, and others. In her Majesty’s possession
are two remarkably fine examples with medallion profiles of George
III. and Queen Charlotte, presented to that queen by Champion himself
in 1775, together with a pair of smaller flower plaques of exquisite
finish and delicacy.
Figures were, to some extent, as is shown by the advertisements already
quoted, made at Bristol, and in Mr. James’s possession were a pair--a
man with a bird, and a woman with a barrel and a pig--bearing an
incised cross on the bottom. Other figures are in the possession of Mr.
Fry, Mr. Edkins, Lady Charlotte Schreiber, Mr. Castle, and others. (See
Figs. 759 to 770).
Mr. Owen gives in his admirable work a fac-simile of a letter, in
Champion’s own handwriting, addressed to the same modeller (whose name
unfortunately does not appear) who produced the “Four Elements” for the
Derby works, ordering from him a set of the same subjects, and also
the “Four Seasons,” treated in a way which he fully describes. The
letter is so interesting, and bears so strongly on the point of figure
producing at Bristol, that I here reprint it.
“To 27 Feb. 1772.
“M^r. Brillait shew’d me your Letter of y_{e} 18 Ins, which I
chose to answer myself as a few thoughts had struck me which
pleas’d me, & which will with your Execution have a very good
Effect.
“As I have an Inclination to fancys of this kind, I chose to
write you as wish to have some elegant Designs. I have seen the
four Elements which are made at Derby they are very Beautifull
the dress easy, the forms fine, two in particular Air and Water
are the charming figures. I apprehend that you made y^e models
& therefore hope that from your Execution the following fancies
will not look amiss.
“The Elements
“Fire. A Vulcan forging a Thunderbolt in the attitude of
striking with his anvil & Hammer, some pieces of Iron or coals
or anything peculiar to a Blackmith’s Shop to be scatter’d about.
“Water. A Naiad crown’d with rushes, leaning with her arm on an
urn from whence gushes out Water. In the other hand she holds a
fishing Net, with Fishes enclos’d in it, the ground ornamented
with rushes, shells, Fish or the Fancies peculiar to Water.
“Earth. An Husbandman digging with a spade a Baskett fill’d with
Implements of Husbandry on y^e Ground. The ground ornamented,
with corn, acorns or Fruits.
“Air. A Winged Zephyr crown’d with Flowr’s treding on clouds,
which rise naturally about him, his robes flowing & flying
behind him he holds in one Hand a Branch of a Tree, if any
ornaments behind are wanting, some Cherubim’s heads blowing
would not be amiss.
“The Seasons
“Spring. A Nymph with a Coronet of Flow’rs on her head in
Flowing Robes rather flying behind her, approaching with a
smiling countenance as she advances the flow’rs appear to start
up before her those at her feet higher those at a distance,
which seems to be just Budding out, on the side after a Plough
or Harrow, which she points to with one Hand, and with the other
holds a small open Baskett fill’d with Seeds which she offers,
from the Baskett falls a kind of Zone or Belt, on which are
represented, the sign of the Zodiac Aries Taurus Germinæ.
“Summer. A man in the Prime of Life, loosely dress’d with a Bakt
round his Body, on which are represented the Signs of the Zodiac
Cancer Leo Virgo APs a shear (made use of in shearing Sheep) in
one hand, and with the other Supports a Baskett of wool on his
shoulders--on the Ground a scythe with Trusses of Hay schatter’d
about.
“Autumn. A Matron with a kind of Coronet on her head, from
whence spring Ears of Corn. Her robes not so flow as spring
being of a graver Cast, in one Hand a Sickle, she leans on a
Thyrsis round which are twin’d Baskett of grapes,[96] & a Zone
or Belt falling from it, on which are represented the three
signs of y^e Zodiac, Libra, Scorpia, Sagittarius, the grounds
she treads on full of Corn, & on a side of her a Baskett of
fruit overturn’d.
“Winter. A Descriped old man his head bald and a Long Beard
leaning a Staff under one arm a Bundle of Sticks, his robe
schatter’d and clasp’d with a Belt, on which are represented
The three signs of the Zodiac, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces,
the ground cover’d with bare branches of Trees, Frost & Snow &
icicles hanging down in different Places.
“All these figures to be about 10 Inches high. After having
seen the Derby Figures I did not recommend Ease & Elegance in
the Shape & dress, but the latter I shall just mention as the
antique Robes, are very easy and have a Propriety which is not
to be met with in foreign Dresses, & as these figures are of a
serious cast I think such dresses will carry woth them a greater
Elegance, I shall be oblig’d to you to carry the designs into
Execution as soon as possible, &c.”
[Illustration: Fig. 759.--Champion’s Memorial to his daughter
Eliza, belonging to Mr. Desaussure, of South Carolina.]
[Illustration: Figs. 760 to 763.--The Four Seasons, from the
Edkins Collection.]
[Illustration: Figs. 764 to 767.--The Four Elements, belonging
to Mr. Boddam Castle.]
These series were accordingly executed, and all bear, in the examples
now remaining, the mark T o[sideways ‘o’ symbol];. It would thus
appear to be the modeller’s own mark, or contraction of his name.
The most authentic and interesting figure is a memorial to Richard
Champion’s daughter Eliza, who died Oct. 13, 1779, aged fourteen.
The figure is a monumental statuette of a mourning female figure,
leaning on an urn, holding in her right hand a votive wreath and her
left closed on the drapery. The urn and pedestal bear a long and very
touching inscription. This interesting relic stands thirteen inches in
height; it is in the possession of Mr. J. M. Desaussure, of Camden,
South Carolina, who married a granddaughter of Champion. It is engraved
on Fig. 759, through the courtesy of Mr. Owen. Two admirable figures
(Figs. 768 and 769) of a shepherd and milkmaid, marked with the T^o
marks, are in the possession of Mr. Francis Fry, and a set of the
four seasons in rustic juvenile figures, bearing the same mark, were
in the Edkins collection (Figs. 760 to 763). Another fine group is
“Love subdued by Time,” in the Edkins collection (Fig. 770). Busts
were also made; but as these and the examples made at Plymouth are not
marked, and are made of the same body, and by the same workmen, it is
manifestly impossible to correctly appropriate them.
[Illustration: Figs. 768 and 769.--Belonging to Mr. Francis
Fry, F.S.A.]
A cup, part of the Harford service, bears in the bottom in the inside
the +, the initials J H (of Joseph Harford), and the date 1774, and is
the earliest known dated example of Bristol china. Another excellent
dated example, bearing the repeated monogram W C on the inside, has on
the bottom the +, 1776, and figure 1. The pounce-box (Fig. 772) bears
the × and figure 3.
[Illustration: Fig. 770.]
The mark which usually denotes Bristol porcelain is a plain saltire,
or cross, in blue, neutral tint, or red, sometimes with the addition
of figures or other marks, but more commonly by itself. The figures
probably denoted the workman, not the pattern, as on the same sets
different numbers appear, which would not be the case if the design
was denoted. The following are varieties of the mark, the cross being
sometimes in one colour, and the figure or character in another. One,
it will be seen, bears, besides the saltire, the sign for a drachm (or
perhaps figure 3), and another the Greek character epsilon (ε). These
marks occur the one on a teapot, the other on a saucer lately in the
possession of Mr. Norman. The letter B also sometimes occurs painted
in the same manner as the cross, and also in combination with figures,
&c. (Figs. 783 to 786.) Other marks have been ascribed to Bristol,
but many of them, I believe, wrongly. In Mr. James’s collection was a
small fluted cream-boat, blue and white, with an unusual mark, the blue
cross, above which is an embossed letter T, as shown on Fig. 789. The
same mark occurs on a specimen in the Nightingale collection. Another
mark variously ascribed to Bristol and Bow is To (Fig. 790), and one
very early trial piece in the Edkins collection bears the unique mark
of the word B r i s t o l l in relief. The Dresden mark of crossed
daggers occasionally occurs in connection with the cross or the letter
B; the latter marks being in some instance painted _over_ the former,
and in others close by (Figs. 791 to 796). Other marks said to be
Bristol are shown on Figs. 799 and 800.
[Illustration: Fig. 771.]
[Illustration: Fig. 772.]
The ꝝ mark of Plymouth and the + of Bristol are on one or two known
pieces, found in combination thus (Fig. 798), from the Schreiber
collection.
[Illustration: Figs. 773 to 800.]
Mr. Owen, to whom I have had occasion many times to refer in the
course of this chapter on Bristol china, and to whom I must offer my
congratulations on the successful issue of his labours and on the boon
he has conferred on the literature of ceramics by his researches and by
the elegant volume in which those researches are recorded, gives many
interesting particulars regarding Champion’s workmen and apprentices.
The following notes upon workmen may be useful for reference:--
Anthony Amatt; a thrower and meritorious painter, who died
in 1851, aged 92. He is said to have been born at Derby in
1759, and to have been apprenticed to a thrower who worked at
Champions, and to have worked there till their close.
Moses Hill; a china maker, 1775–6 (probably from Derby).
John Britain; foreman, whose initials =I·B= appear on some
pieces.
Thomas Briand (probably Bryan); a flower modeller in 1777, who
came from Derby.
B. Proeffell; a German, supposed to be engaged on the “blue and
white ware.”
M. Saqui (not Le Quoi, as Mr. Owen supposes); a clever painter
and modeller.
William Fifield; a painter. He worked as an enameller at the
Water Lane Pottery, and died in 1857, aged 80. Mr. Owen,
carefully correcting Marryatt, says: “He is said to have worked
for Champion, but this is simply impossible, as he was not born
till 1777, and Champion’s labours concluded in 1781,” when he
was only four years old.
Philip James; a china painter in 1775.
Mrs. James; modeller, mother of the late well-known and
respected collector, Mr. Edwin James, of Bristol.
Henry Bone (the celebrated enameller). He is shown, by Mr.
Owen, to have been apprenticed on the 20th of January, 1772,
to “Richard Champion, China Manufacturer, & Judith his wife,
for seven years.” He was born at Truro, in February, 1755, so
that at the date of his apprenticeship to Champion he would
be seventeen years old. The presumption is that young Bone,
whose father was a cabinet-maker at _Plymouth_, was originally
apprenticed to Cookworthy at Plymouth, and became a “turn-over,”
with re-apprenticeship, to Champion. He became an R.A. in 1811,
and died full of honours in 1834.
William Stephens; son of William Stephens, of Plymouth, and, in
1771, of Bristol. Apprenticed to Champion on the same day as
Bone, and probably also a “turn-over” from Cookworthy. He was a
china painter.
John Hayden; china painter, of the same family as Benjamin
Hayden, R.A. He was the son of John Hayden, of Plymouth,
shoemaker, and was apprenticed to Champion on the same day
as Bone and Stephens, and the probability certainly is that
these three Plymouth youths, all apprenticed on the same day
to Richard Champion, who succeeded to the Plymouth works, were
transferred to him by Cookworthy and re-apprenticed.
Samuel Daw, apprenticed January 23rd, 1772.
Samuel Andrews Lloyd, apprenticed December 31st, 1772. He was
son of Edward Lloyd, merchant, of Bristol, and nephew of Mrs.
Champion.
Jacob Alsop, apprenticed as a china painter June 18th, 1773. Son
of Uriah Alsop, coalminer, of Stapleton.
Samuel Banford, apprenticed as a china painter same day. Son of
Thomas Banford, of Berkeley.
John Garland, apprenticed as a china painter same day. Son of
Richard Garland, of Bristol, labourer.
William Wright, apprenticed as a china painter April 8th, 1775.
Son of Wm. Wright, of Wotton-under-Edge.
John Parrot, apprenticed as a “burner of china” November 22nd,
1775. Son of John Parrot, of Bristol, house painter.
Benjamin Lewis, apprenticed as a china painter December 5th,
1775. Son of John Lewis, of Llandoger.
Samuel Begnon, apprenticed January 29th, 1776. Son of John
Begnon, late of Bristol, joiner.
Thomas Williams, apprenticed September 19th, 1776. Son of Thos.
Williams, of Bristol, labourer.
John Jones, apprenticed same day. Son of Samuel Jones, of
Bristol, carpenter.
Samuel Fiander Pagler, apprenticed as a china painter October
24th, 1776. Son of Thos. Paglar, of Bristol, mason.
John Webb, apprenticed as a china painter July 26th, 1777. Son
of John Webb, of Bristol, shoemaker.
William Webb, apprenticed as a china painter same day. Son of
Isaac Webb, of Bristol, stocking-maker.
James Saunders, apprenticed as a china painter same day. Son of
James Saunders, of Bristol, potter.
Edward Stephens, apprenticed July 17, 1776, to John Britain,
foreman to Champion. Son of William Stephens, and brother to
William Stephens already apprenticed to Champion.
William Lyne, apprenticed July, 1778. The last apprentice to the
works.
BRISTOL EARTHENWARE.
_Temple Backs._--In 1786 the pottery for fine earthenware was
established at No. 9, Water Lane, Temple Street, called “Temple Back,”
by Joseph Ring, as I have shown in my notice of that potter and his
delft-ware productions on page 354. In January, 1787, the following
highly interesting advertisement appeared in the _Bristol Gazette and
Public Advertiser_:--
“Bristol Pottery, Temple Back.--Joseph Ring[97] takes this
opportunity to inform merchants and others that he has
established a manufactory of the Queen’s and other earthenware,
which he will sell on as low terms, wholesale and retail, as any
of the best manufacturers in Staffordshire can render the same
to Bristol.”
[Illustration: Fig. 801.--Bristol Pottery in 1869.]
In December of the same year, as is shown by an invoice of goods, the
following goodly variety of articles was made: “oval dishes,” 10, 11,
12, 13, and 14 inches respectively; “table plates;” “soups;” “suppers;”
“twifflers;” “tureens;” “quart jugs;” “pint jugs;” “sallad dishes;”
“coffee-pots;” “sugar dishes with covers;” “coffee cups;” “bowles;”
“coffee cups and saucers, paynted;” “table plates, paynted;” “twifflers
paynted;” “quart mugs variagated;” and “pint mugs variagated.”
Mr. Ring’s friend and assistant, John Bettington, commemorated the
establishment of this new manufacture by writing some songs for the
Martinmas hiring festivities of the workmen. Two of these are printed
by Mr. Owen. The first is entitled “The Bristol Pottery, by J.
Bettington,” and is as follows:--
“Ye Gentleman all, I beg your attention,
Unto a few lines which now I shall mention,
A comical ditty of Bristol you’l hear,
And I hope that each man in chorus will bear.
Derry Down, &c.
Its of the new Pottery I mean now to sing,
And I hope to this city great wealth it will bring.
For we are deserving, of many things clever,
Our names are immortal, and shall be for ever.
Derry Down, &c.
Then let me explain a little of our merit,
Which now I will do with a generous spirit,
Great troble we have had to bring it to bear,
But now, my dear Boys, we make cream colour ware.
Derry Down, &c.
It’s true our noble Queen has patron’d this trade,
And many by it great fortunes has made;
Then let us all hope that it may flourish here
As well as it has in famed Staffordshire.
Derry Down, &c.
I now can inform you a trial is made
Which gives us great hope of a flurishing trade;
This being the Case then, let us jovially sing
Success to the pottery and health to Joseph Ring.
Derry Down, &c.”
The second song, called “Bristol Pottery Martinmas Ditty” concludes
thus:--
“Then fill up your glasses, let mirth now abound,
And Joy in each Countenance appear all around,
Here’s a Health to His Majesty George our King,
And riches in store to our friend Joseph Ring.
Huzza for this Pottery!
Huzza! my boys, I call,
Each striving to merrit
Will animate your spirit.
So long life to its Founder
And family all.”
On the 5th of April, 1788, “Mr. Joseph Ring, potter, in Temple Street
was unfortunately killed by the falling in of a warehouse. He has
left a widow and nine children to lament his loss.”[98] He was
superintending some alterations at the time, when the roof fell in, and
he was killed in the presence of his wife. The business was carried
on as usual “by the widow of the late Joseph Ring, and late partners,
under the firm of Ring, Taylor, and Carter.” The commemorative song of
this year is curious. It is as follows:--
“Come cheer up my lads & let us all be gay,
For now we are meet & it’s Martlemas Day,
Of this Bristol Pottery I mean for to sing,
For wealth to our masters I hope it will bring.
Huza for this Pottery!--Huza! my Boys, I call,
Each striving to merit--Will animate your spirit,
So long live our masters--Their family’s all.
I need not inform you good ware we have made,
And that we have now got a flurishing Trade,
Great Wealth to the City I am sure it will Bring,
So join My Brave Boys & let all of us Sing
Huza, &c.
Then Let us all Strive My Brave Lads to Excell,
that when we are Gone our Children may Tell
What Labour We had for to Bring it to Bare
before that we Could make good Cream Colour ware.
Huza, &c.
Now fill up your Glasses, and let Mirth abound,
and Joy in our faces appear to all Round,
hears a health to hise Majesty Grate George our King,
To our Worthy Masters, & Mistress Ring.
Huza, &c.”
In 1797 these works are described as “a large pottery,” so they
must at that time have been very extensive. In that year a curious
reference to “two gentlemen of the name of Ring,” sons, no doubt, to
Joseph Ring, occurs in the account of the death of James Doe, a potter
who worked there under them, which I have given under the head of
Lambeth (see page 137, _ante_). A mug bearing his name, “J. Doe, Sept.
1797,” is engraved in Mr. Owen’s book. In 1813 a deed of partnership
between Joseph Ring (son of the late owner), Henry Carter, and John D.
Pountney was drawn up, but through the death of the first-named was not
executed. The business was therefore carried on by Pountney and Carter,
under the style of Elizabeth Ring & Co., until 1816, when Carter
retired and was succeeded by Edward Allies, the style being Pountney
and Allies. In 1825–6 it was, according to Chilcott’s and Matthews’
Guides, worked by the firm of Pountney and Allies, and at that time
gave employment to about two hundred persons. Mr. Allies retired in
1835, and in the following year Mr. Pountney took into partnership
Mr. Gabriel Goldney, who retired in 1850. Mr. Pountney died in 1852,
and the works were then carried on by his widow under the style of
“Pountney & Co.,” under the management of Mr. Clowes. In 1872, in
which year Mrs. Pountney died, the works were purchased by Mr. Halsted
Sayer Cobden, who also owns the Victoria Pottery, in Bristol, and by
whom they have been much extended, and give employment to about four
hundred hands. The goods produced are the ordinary classes of white and
printed earthenware, principally for exportation. During Mr. Pountney’s
lifetime, some parian figures, &c., were made at these works; and
some exquisite examples, made by one of the workmen named Raby, who
removed into Staffordshire, were in the possession of the late Mrs.
Pountney, as were also some excellent imitations of the Etruscan and
other styles. Examples of the early productions of these works are
scarce, and it is interesting to state that the good old Bristol mark
of the cross was used on some of the pieces of earthenware here made.
The mark is sometimes in blue, and sometimes impressed. A name well
known in connection with these works is that of William Fifield (and
his son John), who was a painter of some merit. One of his plaques--a
sportsman with dog, gun, and glass--is, with other examples, in my own
possession. It bears on the back his initials, “W. F.,” and the words,
“Here’s to my Dog and my Gun, 1855.” The view of the works, painted
on four large tiles, and dated May 15th, 1820, now on the wall of the
office of the Water Lane Pottery (Fig. 802), was also painted by him.
[Illustration: Fig. 802.]
[Illustration: Fig. 803.]
* * * * *
_The Temple and St. Thomas’s Street Works._--The oldest stoneware
pottery in Bristol is that of Mr. J. and C. Price and Brothers, in St.
Thomas’s Street and Temple Street, where their famous glazed stoneware
is made. It was established about 1735 or 1740, and has been continued
in work by three generations of the same family until the present day.
The old “Salt Glaze” was used till 1842, when great improvements having
been made through the long-continued and successful experiments of
Mr. Powell (as named in the notice of his works), it was at that time
found practicable to _dip_ the stoneware into liquid glaze in its
green state, instead of first burning and then “smearing,” as formerly
practised. Messrs. Price, having adopted the new method, continued
to improve their works, and built much larger kilns than usual in
potteries of the kind. The superiority of “Bristol stoneware” over
others became so well established, that the metropolitan makers bought
their glaze from that city until very recently, and, indeed, I believe
some of them do so at the present day. The stoneware goods produced by
Messrs. Price are of the highest quality, and, besides the more homely
and useful articles, they have succeeded in making some excellent
imitations of the antique, of very fine body, faultless glaze, and
elegant form. Many of these are admirable copies from the antique, and
are perfect in shape and in firing. Among the goods produced by this
firm are filters of a remarkably simple but excellent construction and
of elegant form; feet and carriage warmers; barrels and churns; bread,
cheese, and other pans, and every other kind of domestic vessel, as
well as every possible size and variety of bottles, jugs, &c. They
do an immense export trade for bottles for ale, stout, &c., these
being found for the purpose far superior to glass. Messrs. Price also
make all the other usual varieties of stoneware goods, and all are of
faultless quality both in body and glaze.
Other stoneware potters besides those already named were, in former
times, John Hope,[99] in Temple Street; Thomas Patience,[100] in the
same district; James Alsop, first at 9, Water Lane, and afterwards at
Temple Street, and others, as well as at Baptist Mills, Easton, and
Westbury.
* * * * *
_Temple Gate Pottery._--At Temple Gate a stoneware pottery has long
been established, and is still successfully carried on by Messrs.
William and Septimus Powell, the sons of its founder. The goods
manufactured at this establishment are what are generally termed
“Bristol ware” or “Improved stone,” which was invented and perfected
some forty years ago by the late Mr. Powell. “Its peculiarity consists
in its being coated with a glaze which is produced simultaneously
with the ware itself, so that one firing only is needed.” So great
was Mr. Powell’s success in his discovery, that “shortly after its
introduction at the Temple Gate Pottery almost every other manufacturer
of stoneware adopted it, and it has now, in a large measure, superseded
the old salt-glazed ware.” The goods principally made by the present
proprietors, Messrs. W. & S. Powell, are bread-pans, filters,
foot-warmers, and other domestic vessels, as well as bottles and
jars of every size, shape, and use. Messrs. Powell have a registered
arrangement for fitting, fastening, and keeping air-tight, by means
of a three-pronged, or tripod, iron clamp furnished with an elastic
washer, the lids of preserve and other jars--thus doing away with the
necessity of any other covering. At these works, too, vases and bottles
of classic shape are occasionally made, as are also enormous jugs--one
of which, capable of holding twenty-five gallons, has been exhibited by
the firm.
* * * * *
_Wilder Street Pottery._--About 1820 a pottery on a small scale was
worked in Wilder Street by a family named Macken, a descendant of
the owner of the old pottery at St. Ann’s, at Brislington, where
flower-pots and other coarse brown ware was made. Macken afterwards
went to America.
BRISTOL GLASS.
As the manufacture of enamelled glass in Bristol is so intimately mixed
up with that of pottery and china, it may be interesting to add a few
words concerning it. In 1761 there appears to have been, according
to Evans, “fifteen large houses employed in that manufacture.” The
main source of information concerning the manufacture is gained from
the books and papers of Michael Edkins, to whom I have referred in my
notice of the delft-ware pottery. For the particulars gleaned from
these papers I am indebted to his descendant, Mr. William Edkins. The
ledger commences in May, 1761.
The glass made at Bristol appears to have been principally white,
of different shades, and was made in a great variety of articles,
including teapots, jugs, cream ewers, beakers, &c. The commoner
varieties of decorative glass were painted in a rapid style with
varnish colour, and submitted to a gentle heat, just sufficient to fix
it on the surface. This, of course, soon rubbed off in use, and on the
examples which are still remaining the patterns have almost disappeared.
The highest class of goods produced by Mr. Edkins was beautifully and
perfectly enamelled, the colours were remarkably good, and thoroughly
incorporated into the glass. Examples of this kind are very rare, but
one or two specimens still remain in the family and are highly prized.
As the prices charged by Michael Edkins for painting on glass, and
for enamelling, naturally become a guide to the prices he had been
paid as a painter on delft-ware, and further as a guide to the prices
of painting on china at that time, I append a few extracts from his
ledger, which will be read with interest by collectors. For these
extracts I am indebted to Mr. William Edkins, of Bristol, grandson of
the painter, who has the original book in his possession. The accounts
for painting and enamelling on glass extend from April, 1762, to
December, 1787. The following are a few of the items:--
1762. £ _s._ _d._
April 26. To 5 long dozn. Aml.[101] Beakers 0 10 0
May 3. To 3 do. basons, cans, & cream jugs 0 6 0
„ 5. To 3 Do. sorted blue ware 0 12 0
„ 10. To 2 Lg. dzn. Amell ware 0 4 0
„ 12. To 1 Lg. dzn. Aml. Beakers 0 2 0
„ 14. To 20 Sugar dishes & covers 0 2 6
June 12. To 5 Lg. dzn. Aml. ware 0 10 0
„ 17. To 1 Dn. blue pint bowls 0 8 0
„ 19. To 1 sett Jar & Beakers 5 in a Sett 0 2 6
July 15. To 8½ Long dzn. Amell sorted 0 17 0
„ 19. To 4 blue jars & Beakers with Mosaick border,
to match a large sett for Mr. Wilson 0 2 0
„ 20. To 1 do do Amell cans 0 2 0
„ 26. To 1 pint blue can ornamented with gold and
letters 0 0 8
„ 30. To Amell 12 pint cans 0 2 0
Sept. 4. To 6 setts blue jars and Beakers with mosaick
borders 1_s._ 6_d._ sett 0 9 0
„ 13. To 12 blue quart canns 6_d._ each 0 6 0
Dec. 3. To 3 long Dozen cream Bucketts 2_s._ 0 6 0
„ 3. To 12 sett large blue Jars & Beakers 0 18 0
1763.
Feb. 11. To 15 long dozn. sorted Blue ware 1 0 0
April 13. To 10 „ „ Do. Do. 2 0 0
May 31. To 12 small blue jars & covers 4_d._ 0 4 0
June 24. To 1 pint Blue Can with name John Vowell 0 0 6
Aug. 18. To 6 Enamell pint Cans--wrote “Liberty &
no Excise” 4_d._ 0 2 0
„ „ To 6 Cannisterrs blue 6_d._ 0 3 0
Oct. 18. To 1 dozn. Canns & Milk jugs 0 1 1
Nov. 12. To 12 Wash hand Tumblers 4_d._ 0 4 0
„ „ To 12 Saucers 4_d._ 0 4 0
„ „ To 6 Flower bottles 0 1 0
1765.
May 28. To 2 blue pints “Mary & John Vowell” 0 1 0
1766.
Aug. 20. To 12 long Dozen fine Wine--wrote “Pitt &
Liberty” 3_s._ Dozen 1 16 0
1767.
Dec. 4. To 3 large setts Enamell richly ornamented
with Gold and Flowers 5_s._ sett 0 15 0
1769.
Sept. 22. To 3 pair blue Cornucopias ornamented with
gold 1_s._ pair 0 3 0
1773.
Aug. 25. To 84 blue wash hand basons & Plates 0 14 0
1775.
Aug. 23. To 24 large Shades, with a large gold border
at top and the bottom rim gilded 3 0 0
1787.
Dec. 10. To Ornamenting 1 Enamell Jar with Gold
[last Entry in Ledger] 0 1 0
SALT GLAZE.
It is said that the delft-ware potteries were preceded by a maker of
salt-glazed stoneware--a German named Wrede or Read--and a curious
story is told in connection with him and the difficulty he had in
establishing his works. It appears that the people being surprised at
the glaze he produced on his ware, and at the secrecy he endeavoured to
preserve regarding his pottery, and noticing the dense clouds of vapour
which every now and then arose from his kiln (caused, of course, by
the throwing in of the salt through the fire holes when the ware had
arrived at a certain degree of heat), believed that he had called in
supernatural aid, and that the fumes which ascended were caused by the
visits of the devil. He was “mobbed” by the people, his place injured,
and he was forced to fly the town.
BRISLINGTON.
About a century ago, I am informed, there was a pottery at St.
Ann’s, in this parish, conducted by a family named Macken. The older
productions are described as “a drab-coloured ware with a plum-coloured
glaze; the more modern were the same ware covered with a layer
resembling porcelain; white, and apparently of felspar, this kind has
almost invariably a rough blue pattern.” One of the Macken family had a
pottery in Bristol.
A manufactory formerly existed at this place, and the ware produced
may be described as very closely approaching, in general appearance
and effect, the common descriptions of Turkish pottery. The patterns
were produced, in coarse and rude designs, in a kind of copper or red
lustre, on the plain buff clay ground. Examples are somewhat rare. The
works were carried on by Richard Frank, of Bristol, and his family,
but were closed in the latter part of last century. The works, which
were of course but small, still stand, but are converted into cottages.
“They are situated at the bottom of St. Ann’s Wood, between St. Ann’s
Vale and the river, on a line about half a mile beyond Netham Dam,”
and opposite to Crewshole. Some good examples of this ware, which is
remarkably clumsy and coarse, but very curious, are preserved in the
Bristol Museum (Fig. 804). The circular dish is fourteen inches in
diameter with a small centre of nine inches. On its back is the rude
monogram (Fig. 805) of Richard Frank, its maker.
[Illustration: Figs. 804 and 805.]
CREWS-HOLE.
A small stoneware pottery was established here by a clever but somewhat
peripatetic potter, Anthony Amatt, originally of Derby, who was one
of the workmen employed by Richard Champion at the famous Bristol
china works. His works were merely a wooden shed or two, and the
bulk of his productions were flower-pots. He afterwards, I believe,
had a small pottery at Temple Gate, which came into the hands of Mr.
Powell when Mr. Amatt entered into his employ. Previous to this it is
believed a small pottery for producing the same kind of ware as that
of Brislington had existed at Crewshole. In 1794–5 Amatt was living at
Twerton, in Somersetshire; in those years he was extensively engaged in
painting on earthenware and china for Mr. Egan, of Bath, brother-in-law
of the second William Duesbury, of the Derby China Works. The original
bills are in my own possession. He was afterwards a stocking weaver.
WESTBURY.
The _Sugar House Pottery_ at Westbury, which had been for many
years carried on by George Hart, passed, on the 8th of December, 1775,
into the hands of Stephen Fricker, potter and publican, who was host
of the Fountain tavern in High Street, Bristol. Besides sugar bakers’
moulds, which gave the name of “Sugar-house Pottery” to the works, the
usual classes of flower-pots, chimney-tops, puncheons, pitchers, and
other domestic coarse brown ware articles were made.
EASTON.
A small manufactory was established here for the manufacture of various
articles by a process for using the magnesian limestone of the district
in its body. Many very creditable and artistic articles were produced,
but the whole affair proved a failure, and the works were closed. The
spill case (Fig. 806) is said to have been made here.
[Illustration: Fig. 806.]
WESTON-SUPER-MARE.
The _Royal Pottery_ was established in 1836 by Mr. Charles
Phillips as a brick and tile manufactory. In the following year glazed
ware, for domestic vessels, was introduced, as was also, to a small
extent, the manufacture of flower-pots, &c. In 1840 the production of
glazed ware was discontinued; and, the clay of the locality being found
to be admirably adapted for horticultural vessels, vases, statuary,
&c., special attention was directed to them, and with such marked
effect that, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, medals and certificates
of merit were awarded for them. In 1870 Mr. Phillips retired from the
business, which was at that time purchased from him by the present
proprietor, Mr. John Matthews, by whom it has been very considerably
extended. By Mr. Matthews, too, several new branches have been
added to the business, and a new and better taste has been infused
into the art decorations. Notably among the new introductions are
rustic-work, baskets of artificial flowers, busts, vases, suspenders,
&c. Flower-pots, of which from 20,000 to 30,000 are made weekly, and
of all sizes, from 1¾ inches to 30 inches in diameter, are a staple
production of the “Royal Pottery,” and are supplied to her Majesty’s
garden at Windsor Castle, H.M. Commissioners of Works at Kew, Hampton
Court, the Parks, &c., the Royal Horticultural Society, Chiswick,
&c., and to most of the principal gardens in this country, as well
as being exported in large quantities to New Zealand, Port Natal,
and Chili. They have the reputation of being the best, most compact,
and most durable of any manufacture; and, although of such enormous
size, are turned with marvellous precision, and fired without running
or casting. Two great, and registered, specialities] are the “Oxford
Pot” with perforated rim for training pelargoniums, azaleas, roses,
&c., without the aid of sticks, and the “Alpine-plant pot”--a kind of
double pot so arranged that the space between the outer one and the
inner one (in which, of course, the plant is set) can be filled with
water or moist moss. The more notable ornamental productions of the
“Royal Pottery” are figure, shell, and other fountains, of various
tiers in height; life-size figures and groups of figures; statuettes
and busts; reproductions of ancient statuary; eagles, lions, and other
gigantic figures on artificial rocks and pedestals; flower and other
brackets in considerable variety; vases and tazzas of every conceivable
form, many of which, peculiar to these works, are of remarkable
elegance; pedestals and garden-seats; flower-vases and flower-stands,
elaborately and elegantly decorated in relief; fern-stands and flower
and fern-baskets, with and without handles, charmingly decorated in
relief with wicker-work, fern-leaves, and other ornamentation; cut
flower-baskets and vases; crocus pots; elegant suspenders for flowers,
for use in conservatories, entrance-halls, archways, &c.; orchid pots,
of greatly improved form and construction; window-boxes for flowers;
stump or rustic arborettes, of various sizes, for lawns, rockeries,
parterres, &c., of the most striking and novel character; rockery
arborettes for ferns, lychopods, &c., of various sizes, either for
out or in-door use; and architectural decorations, &c. The general
colour of these productions is a delicate red, which is calculated to
harmonize well with surrounding foliage. The designs of the vases,
&c., are remarkably good, bold, and effective; the body durable and
hard; the colour pleasing, and the workmanship faultless. The greatest
achievement of Art in terra-cotta which has ever been gained is the
production of baskets of flowers, each individual leaf or flower
modelled from nature; and vases decorated in the same manner. Those who
are acquainted with the exquisite beauty of the groups of porcelain
bisque flowers produced at the old Bristol and Derby works, will
scarcely be prepared to believe that they are successfully vied in the
coarser material by Mr. Matthews. But such is the case, and hence it is
that I call attention to these new and beautiful ceramic productions.
So true to nature are many of the flowers, and so delicately modelled
in all their minutest details, that the most skilful botanist can
scarce find a deviation from nature in leaf or flower. The basket
engraved on Fig. 807 is a fair specimen of the Matthews’ reproduction
of flowers; but the most exquisitely beautiful group yet produced is an
example in my own possession--the _chef-d’œuvre_ of the works. It
is unsurpassed by any production in terra-cotta. These floral baskets
are a speciality of the Royal Pottery, and are among the most beautiful
of art productions.
[Illustration: Fig. 807.--Group of Flowers in Weston-super-Mare
Terra-Cotta.]
The clay from which the various terra-cotta and other objects are
made is the native clay of the place, and is produced in the field
in which the works are situated. It is a fine plastic clay, of light
colour, and admirably adapted for the various purposes to which it
is being applied. The first six or eight feet in depth is this fine
plastic clay, from which the vases, statuary, busts, fern-stands,
flower-baskets, and other finer goods are made. Below this are several
feet in depth of blue clay, from which bricks, drain-pipes, &c.,
are made, and which lies in a bed of peat about fifteen inches in
depth. Below this peat is a considerable depth of soft clay, from
which the ordinary bricks are made. Roofing and flooring tiles, and
garden-edgings, are also made in large quantities. The following is an
analysis of the plastic clay made for the purpose of this account.
“Before analyzing, the clay was dried at the temperature of boiling
water.
“Silica 57·29
Alumina 13·55
Ferric Oxide 4·90
Manganese Oxide 0·46
Lime 8·84
Magnesia 2·27
Potash 3·62
Loss on calculation (Water and
Carbonic Acid) 10·06
------
100·99
“The greater part of the lime shown above exists in the raw clay as
carbonate. The high character which the clay bears as regards its
suitability for ‘Terra-Cotta’ work is fully borne out by the analysis.
(Signed), Edward G. Tosh, F.C.S., Chemical Laboratory, Whitehaven.”
They possess the advantage of not turning green while in use.
[Illustration: JOHN MATTHEWS, LATE PHILLIPS, ROYAL POTTERY,
WESTON-SUPER-MARE.]
The mark of the Royal Pottery is sometimes the Royal Arms alone, and
at others the Royal Arms surmounting a tablet with the name. There are
also other potteries, where coarse common ware is produced, in the same
neighbourhood.
POOLE, DORSET.
_The Architectural Pottery Company’s_ works were established in
1854 by Messrs. Thomas Sanders Ball, John Ridgway (china manufacturer,
of Cauldon Place, Hanley), Thomas Richard Sanders, and Frederick
George Sanders. In 1857, Mr. Ridgway retired from the concern and it
was carried on by the remaining partners until 1861, when Mr. Thomas
Sanders Ball also retired. Since then the works have been continued
by Messrs. T. R. and F. G. Sanders alone. The Company produce patent
coloured and glazed bricks and mouldings, semi-perforated and pressed;
patent mosaic, tessellated, encaustic, vitreous, and white, blue, and
other glazed wall tiles; embossed and perforated tiles; quarries and
fire-clay goods, and other articles--the clays used being Purbeck clay,
Cornish china clay, and Fareham clay, while those for plain quarries
are from the Canford estate.
[Illustration: Figs. 808 to 811.]
The encaustic paving tiles are of good design, many being carefully
copied from mediæval examples, while others are new and of extremely
good character--some being classic and others gothic. The colours
used in the encaustic tiles are very varied and, in some instances,
rich; red, buff, blue, chocolate, black, white, brown, green, &c., of
different shades and of harmonious combinations. A speciality of these
works are the tessellated tiles, under Bale’s patent process. These
are literally formed of thin tesseræ of various colours, laid on and
forming a part of the quarry itself. By this means all the richness
and intricacy of the geometrical designs of tessellated pavements is
produced, and at small trouble in laying down. Their character, as a
rule, is better than the Italian tiles produced on the same general
principle. These “tessellated tiles” possess every quality for general
adoption, and no doubt will, in time, become, so to speak, acclimatised
to this country. In quality the Architectural Pottery Company’s
decorated tiles are not so hard and compact in body as some others are,
but doubtless this can be improved upon.
The marks used by the company are:--
ARCHITECTURAL
POTTERY COMPANY
POOLE DORSET
REGISTERED
ARCHITECTURAL
POTTERY CO
POOLE : DORSET
ARCHITECTURAL
POTTERY CO.
POOLE DORSET
PATENT · INLAID
MOSAIC
PATENT
ARCHITECTURAL
POTTERY . CO
POOLE · DORSET
PATENT
ARCHITECTURAL
POTTERY . CO
POOLE,--DORSET
BALE’S PATENT
INLAID MOSAIC
A P · CO
POOLE
PATENT
A. P. CO.
A. P · CO
POOLE
* * * * *
_Bourne Valley Pottery._--At this pottery, worked by Messrs.
Standing and Marten, who have an establishment at Bourne Valley Wharf,
Nine Elms, London, glazed stoneware sewage and sanitary pipes, on
Creshes’ patent, and terra-cotta vases, figures, chimney-tops, garden
edgings, and architectural enrichments are made.
* * * * *
_Branksea Pottery._--These potteries were built by Col. Waugh for
the manufacture of stoneware sanitary goods and terra-cotta, in 1855,
who also established alum works here. Fire-clay goods of the usual
quality of the district are made, and the sanitary pipes are of a hard
and durable nature. The works have the advantage of a large bed of
excellent clay close at hand.
KINSON.
The works at Kinson, near Poole (with a wharf at the Albert Embankment,
Lambeth), were established in the middle of the present century, and
consisted of twelve kilns with boiler, engine-house, drying-sheds,
stables, offices, &c. After a few years they were closed, and so
remained until 1867, when the property was purchased and came into the
hands of the present “Kinson Pottery Company,” who commenced making
stoneware drain-pipes. Shortly afterwards the company introduced the
making of terra-cotta goods, in which they have been very successful,
and fire-bricks, which they manufacture to a very considerable extent.
The estate consists of about twenty-seven acres of freehold land, which
is underlaid through its whole area with a thick compact bed of clay,
in layers of various descriptions. It is (roughly speaking) of three
qualities, about 40 feet thick, lying in nearly equal beds of each
description. The quality is shown in the following copy of Herapath’s
analysis, taken some years ago, for the original company:--
+------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+
| |No. 1,|No. 2,|No. 3,|No. 4,|No. 1,| L. |
| | Dark.| Grey.|White.| Grey.|White.|White. |
+------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+
| Silica | 51·40| 59·10| 66·20| 54·40| 58·70| 65·40 |
| Alumina, total | 30·00| 35·16| 28·00| 37·00| 34·80| 25·40 |
| Magnesia | ·60| -- | -- | -- | ·50| -- |
| Carbon | 2·10| -- | -- | ·20| ·30| -- |
| Protoxide of iron | 12·60| 4·60| 1·60| 5·40| 3·50| 5·00 |
| Sulphate of lime | 3·40| 1·24| 4·40| 3·00| 2·00| 4·00 |
| +------+------+------+------+------+-------+
| |100·10|100·10|100·20|100·00| 99·30| 99·80 |
| +======+======+======+======+======+=======+
| Alumina out of the } | | | | | | |
| above soluble in } | 12·75| 12·50| 8·70| 13·20| 12·10| 4·46 |
| acid } | | | | | | |
+------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+
The above alumina is that portion which is soluble in boiling
nitro-caloric acid, and therefore considered as not in
combination with the silica.
(Signed) WILLIAM HERAPATH, F.C.S.
The clays lie in the mine as follows:--
No. 1. Stock-brick Clay.
2. Top White Loam.
3. Top Black Loam.
4. Top Blue White Vein.
5. Top Blue Red Vein.
6. White Loamy Pottery Clay, Red Vein.
7. White Loamy ditto.
8. Best London, for bottle ware.
9.} Best Blue Vein.
10.} Best Bottom Black.
The productions of the Kinson Pottery, in stoneware, are sanitary
and drain-pipes of every description, traps, syphons, and pans, and
other articles; they are highly vitrified, strong, and durable, and
of excellent quality. In terra-cotta, vases, rustic seats, brackets,
garden edgings, chimney-pots, architectural enrichments, and other
goods are produced, as are also fire-bricks, arch and wedge bricks, &c.
The quality of the terra-cotta is extremely good and durable.