The ceramic art of Great Britain from pre-historic times down to the present day, Volume 1 (of 2)

In Lord Mount Edgcumbe’s possession, too, is a pair of vases of very similar character (but more nearly resembling Mr. Fry’s specimens of Bristol), on which the Plymouth mark has, at a later period, been added. Many good examples of Plymouth still remain in the hands of families resident in Plymouth and its neighbourhood, and in the cabinets of most collectors.

In the Museum of Practical Geology some characteristic examples of Plymouth ware may be seen. Among these are a pair of shell-salts (Fig. 708); a pair of figures, “Europe” and “Asia,” and some other figures; some remarkably good mugs, jugs, and sauce boats; one or two cups and saucers; and other pieces. There are also two plates (one of which is shown on Fig. 715), described as “in earthenware, with thick white enamel, painted,” the one with flowers, and the other “in green, with flowers on the border and crest of the Parker family in the centre. Unmarked.”

The mark of the Plymouth china is usually painted in red or blue on the bottom of the pieces. No mark has yet, however, come under my notice on the white examples. On the early blue and white the mark appears invariably to be in blue, and somewhat thick and clumsy in its drawing. On the later and more advanced goods it is more neatly drawn in red or blue. It varies a little in form, according to the different “hand” by which it was affixed. The mark is the chemical sign for tin or mercury, ꝝ, and was doubtless chosen by Cookworthy, the chemist, to denote that the materials from which it was made, and which he had discovered, were procured from the stanniferous district of Cornwall. The following are varieties of the mark selected from different specimens:—

On some other examples the sign with the addition of the Bristol mark of the cross beneath it occurs; and on others a number, as if to denote the number of the pattern (or possibly of the workman), occurs. These two marks, the simple sign and the sign with the number, occur on pieces belonging to the same set.

M^r
W^m Cookworthy’s
Factory Plym^o
1770

In Mr. Skardon’s possession is a pair of small sauce boats, embossed and painted with birds and flowers in colours; they each bear the name, painted on the bottom, as here shown. In Dr. Ashford’s possession is an example bearing a very similar mark, but in writing letters, thus:—

M^r
W. Cookworthy’s
Factory Plymouth
1770

Another curious example, formerly in the possession of Mr. C. W. Reynolds, bears the word “Plymouth,” the arms of the borough, some illegible letters, and the date “March 14 1768 C F.”

However beautiful and satisfactory the productions of the Plymouth works might be as china, they were not, it would appear, remunerative commercially. The clay and the stone Cookworthy had within easy distance, but his material was difficult and expensive to make, his experiments produced frequent failures and losses, and therefore he was unable to keep pace with other manufactories, and to compete with them. Add to this that he was far from being a young man—being then in his seventieth year—it is not surprising that he should determine on giving up the works, especially when Lord Camelford, who was one of his partners, says between two and three thousand pounds had been sunk in their prosecution.

On the 6th of May, 1774, therefore, William Cookworthy (who, it would appear probable, had already removed the manufacture to Bristol), for considerations set forth in the deed of assignment, sold the business and patent-right to Richard Champion, merchant, of Bristol, who had been connected pecuniarily with the works at Plymouth, and who had previously, “under license from the patentee” (William Cookworthy), commenced the manufacture of china in Bristol, under the style of “W. Cookworthy & Co.,” and they were transferred to that city.[89] Champion appears to have been a connection of Cookworthy’s—a cousin of the latter, Phillip Debell Tuckett, marrying, in August, 1774, a sister of the former (Esther Champion), about the time when the affairs for the transfer of the works were finally completed; and the arrangements appear to have been completed entirely to Cookworthy’s satisfaction. The following letter, highly characteristic of Cookworthy’s style, relates to the settlement of the transfer. Though without date, it evidently was written only a short time prior to the 6th of May, 1774. It is addressed to his cousin, Anna Cookworthy, of Plymouth:—

The works having been transferred to Bristol, were carried on by Richard Champion, who having incurred considerable expense without a proportionate return, petitioned in the same year for a further term of fourteen years patent-right to be extended to him, which was accordingly done by Act of Parliament passed in the session which commenced the 29th of November in the same year (1774). This Act and others will be found noticed in my account of the Bristol china works.

Thus ended, after the brief period of nineteen or twenty years from the first discovery of the material to its close, the manufacture of porcelain in Plymouth—a manufacture which was an honour to the locality, a credit to all concerned in it, and which has given it, and Cookworthy its founder, an imperishable name in the ceramic annals of this country.

Having passed through the history of the works, so far as scantiness of material will allow, it only remains to turn back for a few minutes to the thread of the life of Cookworthy with which I started, and to follow it, so far as may be necessary, to its close.

During the time he was engaged on the manufacture of chinaware, his ever-active mind seems to have been busied with other things as well, and he appears to have been sought, and much esteemed, by the savans of the day. Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone Lighthouse, was an inmate of his house while the lighthouse was in progress, and they were constant companions in examining the dove-tailed blocks of stone as they were prepared on the Hoe for shipping; Wolcot—“Peter Pindar”—was a frequent visitor for days together at his house; Sir Joseph Banks, Captain Cook, and Dr. Solander, were his guests just before the famous “Voyage Round the World” and on their return, when their protégé, Omai the Otaheitan, was also his guest; Earl St. Vincent, then Captain Jervis, was his attached friend, and he was looked up to by all as a man of such large understanding, such varied and extensive knowledge, and such powers of intellectual conversation, that, as Lord St. Vincent is said often to have remarked, “whoever was in Mr. Cookworthy’s company was always wiser and better for having been in it.” He carried on considerable experiments to discover a method by which sea-water might be distilled for use on board ship. He was a disciple of Swedenborg, some of whose works he translated, and was also an accomplished astronomer, and an ardent disciple of “good old Izaac Walton.” As a preacher among the Society of Friends he seems to have been most highly esteemed, and to have been a man looked up to by the whole of that body.

In 1780, Cookworthy, then seventy-five, died in the same house in Nutt Street, Plymouth, which he had occupied from the time of his first starting in life, and a touching “testimony” to his character was given by the “monthly meeting.” He was interred with every mark of respect at Plymouth, and his memory is still warmly cherished in the locality.

Plymouth Earthenware.—The manufacture of chinaware having ceased in Plymouth in 1774 this useful and elegant art was lost to the town. Some years later rough common brown and yellow earthenware was made here. In addition to these, manufactories of fine “Queen’s Ware,” and painted, printed, and enamelled ware, were established in 1810.

In 1815 there were three separate manufactories in Plymouth. The proprietors of these various potteries were Mr. Fillis, Mr. Algar, and Mr. Hellyer.

Plymouth Pottery Company.—Mr. Wm. Alsop (who made coarse ware near the Gas Works) built a manufactory for fine earthenware of the ordinary commoner quality, but afterwards removed to Swansea, his works passing into the hands of Messrs. Bryant, Burnell, and James. Subsequently Mr. Alsop returned from Swansea and formed a Limited Liability Company for the carrying on of this concern, and produced large quantities of the common classes of pottery and printed goods. On the death of Mr. Alsop a Mr. Bishop, from the Staffordshire pottery district, took the management of the works, but the manufacture gradually died out, and about 1863 the plant was sold off and the place disposed of to the Gas Company. The mark used by this company was the Queen’s Arms, with the words “P.P. COY. L. (Plymouth Pottery Company Limited.) Stone China.” The quality of the ware was of the commonest description of white earthenware, blue printed in various patterns. There is at the present time a manufactory of common brown ware, carried on by Mr. Hellyer.

Watcombe.

Watcombe Pottery.—The works at Watcombe, St. Mary Church, about two miles from Torquay, in Devonshire, were established in 1869, and have made more rapid progress in the time than any other manufactory on record. Their establishment owes its origin to the discovery a few years ago, by G. T. Allen, Esq., of Watcombe House, of a bed of the finest plastic clay, of considerable extent and depth.

This discovery was made while excavating behind his residence, and Mr. Allen, who is a gentleman of great learning and of refined taste, and who is son of Dr. Allen, Bishop of Ely, and was the last Master of Dulwich College before the late changes made in that institution, took immediate steps to have its qualities for ceramic purposes tested. A company was immediately afterwards formed for the getting and sale of the terra-cotta clay to various potters; but, after experiments had been made, and its unique beauty, when worked, discovered, it was wisely resolved to erect a pottery on the spot, and to convert the clay immediately from the pits into Art-manufactures and architectural enrichments. Shortly afterwards, the company were fortunate enough to secure the services of Mr. Charles Brock, of Hanley, in Staffordshire—a gentleman of the most enlightened taste, and of the most extensive practical knowledge—to become the manager and Art-director of the concern. Mr. Brock at once turned his attention to the development of the resources of the clay thus fortunately discovered; and having brought together a number of skilled workmen and workwomen from the Staffordshire potteries, and procured the best possible models and modellers, soon produced Art-works which are quite unequalled in this country, in works of this character and material. At the present time about one hundred persons are employed at the Watcombe works, and there can be but little doubt that, as they are yet quite in their infancy, that number will be considerably increased as their resources become more developed. The Watcombe clay is remarkably fine, clean, and pure; and, with skilful manipulation, and the requisite degree of heat in firing, has a warmth, delicacy, and pureness of colour, and an evenness of tint, that is very gratifying to the eye; while the surface in the “turned” specimens is fine, smooth, and almost velvety to the touch. It is capable of being modelled into raised flowers and other ornaments, and is eminently adapted for most decorative purposes. Many of the borders and pressed ornaments have almost the sharpness, as they have quite the general effect, of those made of jasper body; indeed, many of the productions bear a very strong and marked general resemblance, in appearance, to those of jasper ware; and they are superior in many respects to the much-vaunted terra cotta of France and Germany.

The Art-productions of the Watcombe pottery are extremely varied, and show how capable this local clay is of being turned to good account in a variety of ways. Among the more notable productions are statuettes and busts, for which the clay is peculiarly suitable. Of these, the difficult figure of “The Disc Thrower” is one of the most successful, both in modelling, in firing, and in all the other manipulative processes. Another artistic statuette is a sweetly pretty figure of a country girl, bare-footed and reclining. Her right hand holds up her apron filled with flowers, while in her left she holds an open book, which she is intently reading. The conception of the figure, simple and graceful in the highest degree, is remarkably good, and the execution is free and artistic. In others, a charming effect is produced by leaving the figure itself of the natural red of the body, and introducing a lighter tinted clay for the drapery in which they are partly enveloped; this, again, being lighted up and relieved here and there with a slight touch of colour. Among the busts are a pair of Byron and Scott—two of the most popular subjects that could be produced—and of full life-size, being about two feet six inches in height, and two feet in width. In modelling, these busts are among the most easy, graceful, and life-like we have ever seen, either in marble, in parian, or in any other material, while as productions in warm-tinted terra-cotta they surpass anything yet produced. They are not only life-like portraits of these two great and widely-different types of men, as regards features and figure and pose, but they convey an actual reflex of the mind of each in the expression which the modeller has caught and perpetuated. The tint of the Watcombe terra-cotta is a delicate rich warm red, with what may be truly called a “bloom” overspreading its surface. It is, therefore, on that account, as well as for its matchless fineness and purity, eminently adapted for busts and statuary; and, for such large size busts as the pair we are writing about, it is infinitely superior to any other material. The vases, which are made in endless variety, are characterized by extreme chasteness and elegance of outline, and by excellent taste in decoration, whether that decoration consists in festoons of hand-modelled flowers, in pressed work, in milling, in printing, or in painting. Many of them in form and in ornamentation, although of so different a body, bear comparison with the better specimens of Wedgewood-ware, and exhibit a purity of taste which is quite refreshing. For tea or déjeuné services, the insides of the teapots and cream-ewers are simply, but judiciously glazed; while the cups are, as in some old oriental examples, lined with celeste, which colour is also occasionally introduced with good taste, on the handles and mouldings. Brackets, of charming design, candlesticks, jugs, medallions, tobacco-jars, spill-cases, flower-stands—and, indeed, all the articles produced—bear the same stamp of care and elegance. The turning is done with admirable precision; the moulding with a refreshing delicacy of finish; and the gilding and enamelling—only sparsely introduced, by the way, and then only as an accessory to the general design—executed with a pure taste and by a master mind. Besides these, it is necessary to mention that architectural decorations and enrichments, statues, garden and flower-vases, pedestals, and garden edgings, besides other articles, are made; the commoner strata of clay being remarkably well adapted, from its hardness and durability, for these purposes. Our engravings convey but a very poor idea of the beauty and elegance of form of the vases, &c., here produced; the purest taste characterizes the various articles. The works are carried on by a company, under the style of “The Watcombe Terra Cotta Clay Company,” consisting of seven proprietors. They are situate about two miles from Torquay, on the Teignmouth Road, near to the picturesque rocks and downs of Watcombe. Large show-rooms have been erected, and everything done to make the Watcombe works attractive and useful. They have been visited by, and received the patronage of, many distinguished persons. The marks used by the company are simply impressed in the body of the ware, or printed on its surface. The usual mark is simply the words “Watcombe, Torquay,” or “Watcombe;” but another, and very picturesque mark has also been adopted—it is a woodpecker on a branch of a tree, with a distant landscape and ship on the sea, within a garter, on which are the words, WATCOMBE TORQUAY.

WATCOMBE,
TORQUAY.

Honiton.

A manufactory of common brown and red ware existed here in the early part of the present century, but has long been discontinued. Its productions were for ordinary domestic use—the common “cloam” of the country—and consisted of pans, pitchers, pancheons, porringers, &c.

Exeter.

In Felix Farley’s Bristol Journal of December 29th, 1764, is the following:—“We hear that a few gentlemen of fortune have undertaken to set up a new manufactory of china at Exeter.” Probably rumour was all, for as yet I have found nothing to lead to the inference that the works were ever established.

Bovey Tracey.

The great source of Devonshire clay used in most of the potteries of the kingdom is the district near the estuary of the river Teign. This clay is known by various names—“Black clay,” “Ball clay,” “Devonshire clay,” “Kingsteignton clay,” or “Potter’s clay;” and is sent off in immense quantities to the various seats of earthenware manufacture. Yet in the whole of this district where the clay is raised, and one would expect to find earthenware extensively made, only one pottery exists, and that one not on a large scale. Coal, which is such an important item in the manufacture of earthenware, is wanting in the district; and it is found more economical and advantageous to take the clay to the coal, than to bring the coal to the clay. Although no true coal is found in this district (that is, coal of the Carboniferous formation), a lignite is found on Bovey Heath field. The beds of this lignite crop out in a line running east and west for about the length of half a mile in the vicinity of the present Bovey Tracey Pottery Works. In the middle of the last century these beds had been but little worked, and lignite could easily be obtained by open pits. In consequence of the sandy and soft nature of the beds which alternate with the lignite, it has been found impossible to work underground on the plan adopted in ordinary coal-mines. The raising of Bovey lignite has, therefore, been almost given up—all the coal near the surface having been worked out. The existence of a cheap fuel in the proximity of the potters’ clay no doubt led to the establishment of potteries at Bovey Tracey. This lignite is a light bituminous coal which occurs in the Miocene formation, being the same geological formation in which the potters’ clay is found. This lignite is highly gaseous, but only possesses about a third of the heat-giving power of average English coal. It is the same as the Norwegian “Surturbrand,” and emits a disagreeable odour in burning. Large pieces of fir-trees are occasionally found perfect in it.

Indiho Pottery.—About 1772 a pottery was established at Indiho, or Indio, or Indeo, in the parish of Bovey Tracey, and continued to be worked until 1841, when it was superseded by the Bovey Pottery, which had been established a few years previously to that time. The Indiho Pottery was a small manufactory, and is supposed to have been commenced by one George Tufnell, and was afterwards in the hands of proprietors of the names of Inglett and Steer. About the beginning of the present century a really good earthenware was made at Indio; the printed ware was of a superior class, and some tea and coffee cups of a brown body with an interior enamelled with white slip and painted outside with small sprigs are characteristic and pretty. Nothing remains of the buildings of the manufactory at Indio—a modern house, the seat of Charles Aldenburgh Bentinck, Esq., standing on its site.

Bovey Pottery.—The first pottery at Bovey Tracey was not on the site of the present pottery known under this name, but was carried on in some houses, which are parish property, near the modern railway station. The house is at present a carpenter’s shop, and is at a corner just where the road turns off to the Bovey Heathfield. Tradition states that this pottery had mills to grind materials close to Bovey Bridge, and the remains of a mill and water-wheel existed on the left bank of the stream up to 1844. These works were carried on by a family of the name of Ellis; they were probably commenced in the earlier half of the eighteenth century and certainly were in work in 1755, and lasted for thirty years after that period. Nothing certain is known of the character of the ware of this first attempt at Bovey Tracey. Clay pipes are said to have been made, and jugs of a yellow body which are attributed to this period are to be found in houses in the neighbourhood.

In 1842 the Bovey Pottery was purchased by two Devonshire gentlemen, Captain Buller and Mr. J. Divett, who enlarged the works, and obtained the lignite from underground workings. The supply of this substance, however, proving insufficient for the increased requirements of the manufacture, ordinary coal was substituted in its stead; and, after the opening of a railway to the works, Somersetshire coal has been used to the entire exclusion of the lignite. The works are still carried on by Messrs. Buller and Divett, under the style of the “Bovey Tracey Pottery Company.” In general character they are similar to those of the pottery district, and on the average five glost-ovens are fired each week. The quality of the ware is about equal to the ordinary and commoner classes of Staffordshire goods. It consists of all the ordinary services and articles in white, printed, and coloured wares, and is principally supplied to the home markets in the West of England, and to Mediterranean ports.

The Folly Pottery.—Another pottery in Bovey Tracey parish was the “Folly Pottery.” This pottery may be looked upon as the origin of the present Bovey Tracey Pottery. No doubt the site was chosen for its proximity to the main outcrop of the lignite. Considerable uncertainty exists as to the date of this manufacture. It was probably commenced in the last years of the eighteenth or the first years of the nineteenth century by a man of the name of Mead. It was then for a considerable period contemporaneous with the Indio Pottery. The earthenware, however, seems hardly, at any time, to have equalled in quality that of the last-named pottery. In 1835 the works were carried on by Messrs. John and Thomas Honeychurch. It is thus described in an advertisement of sale:—“To be sold by public auction, as directed by the assignees of John and Thomas Honeychurch, bankrupts, at the Union Inn, Bovey Tracey, on the 2nd May, 1836, the Folly Pottery, situate in the parish of Bovey Tracey, in the county of Devon. This may be designated one of the largest and most complete potteries in the West of England, 14 miles from Exeter and 28 from Plymouth; its situation being in the land of clay, from which nearly all the potteries in Staffordshire draw their supply, with coal-mine and railroad, &c.” The advertisement, after giving particulars regarding the processes, &c., speaks of a glost-kiln, and a biscuit-kiln, capable of containing 1,600 saggers of ware; flint kilns; a quantity of Cornish clay and flints, copper-plates, moulds, &c. No purchaser was found until 1842, when the concern was bought by Captain Buller and Mr. J. Divett, and converted into the “Bovey Tracey Pottery Company,” as last described.

Bideford.

Pot works appear to have existed at Bideford ever since the fourteenth century, but nothing beyond the ordinary coarse earthenware has been produced. Nothing is known as to the early history of these works, but fragments of ware of mediæval character have not unfrequently been dug up. An interesting relic, a chimney-pot, is in the possession of Mr. Crocker. It is of square form, and bears the name “Bideford,” and the date “1668.”

The Bideford Old Pottery, belonging to Mr. W. H. Crocker, has been in the possession of himself and his ancestors for more than a century, but of late years its productions, under the present proprietor, have received a marked improvement. The works were almost entirely rebuilt, and much extended, in 1870.

Ornamental goods are to some extent made, and consist of garden vases, edgings, jugs, and other articles. Flower-pots, sea-kale and rhubarb pots, chimney tops, &c., are also largely made.

The great specialty, however, of the productions are the fire-clay ovens, which are made in considerable numbers and of various sizes. They are of peculiar shape, and so constructed as to retain the heat for a considerable time. Their form may be said, in some measure, to approximate to the old couvre-feu, as will be seen by the engraving (Fig. 734). The bottom is flat, and the walls, which are of great strength and thickness, are arched, so that the heat is thrown upon the bread in every direction. In front is a loose fire-clay door made to fit with exactness; or, occasionally, a cast-iron door is fixed. These ovens are heated with gorse, or wood, and one bundle of either is said to be sufficient to thoroughly bake three pecks of dough. The ovens are, and for generations have been, in much repute in Devonshire and Cornwall, and in the Welsh districts, and the bread baked in them is said to have a sweeter and more wholesome flavour than when baked in ordinary ovens. They are ornamented in a primitive manner with impressed and incised lines, and the mark used is the proprietor’s name

W. H. CROCKER
BIDEFORD

North Devon Pottery.—This pottery was established in 1848 by a company formed for the purpose. The productions are confined to stoneware pipes, and sanitary appliances of various kinds. The goods are made from the strong clay deposits of the northern side of Dartmoor—a clay of peculiar hardness and tenacity—and the articles are therefore what may be called “real vitrified stone ware,” as distinguished from the pipes and sanitary goods made in other districts from fire-clay. The works are under the management of Mr. Henry Jones.

Fremington.

The manufacture of coarse brown ware has evidently been carried on for many generations at Fremington, near Barnstaple, for fragments of mediæval and later wares are constantly being turned up. About fifty years ago the remains of five old potteries, which could not have been worked for, at least, a century, existed near the present manufactory.

The Pottery, at Fremington, was established in the early part of the present century by Mr. George Fishley, who, in 1839, was succeeded by his son Edmund Fishley, who continued it until his death in 1861, when it passed into the hands of his son, Mr. Edwin B. Fishley, the present proprietor.

The goods produced are of the ordinary glazed red ware, and consist principally of pitchers and jars; scalding-pans for milk, for producing the world-famed “Devonshire cream”; flower-pots and pans; washing pots, cauldrons, and ewe pans; baking dishes and bread pans; salting vessels and chimney pots, and many other articles. Some of the water pitchers bear the peculiar names of “Long Toms,” “Thirty Tales,” “Gullymouths,” &c. Yellow-ware jugs and other domestic vessels are also made.

In ornamental wares some good designs in jars, beer jugs, and vases are produced. These are formed of a body of red clay, with figures and flowers in white clay. They are sometimes coloured, with good effect. The beer jugs, which are a speciality of the works, are generally white with drawings in red, of the same colour as the body.

The great speciality of the Fremington Pottery, like that of Bideford, is the manufacture of fire-clay ovens. These are made of various sizes for baking from one peck up to twelve. Their general form will be best understood from Fig. 734. The material of which they are composed is remarkably firm, hard, and compact, and retains the heat for a considerable time. These ovens, which are a peculiarity of the West of England and of some of the Welsh districts, are simply enclosed in raised brickwork, leaving the mouth open to the front. They are heated in the inside with wood or gorse, and are remarkable for the small quantity of fuel that is required—two pennyworth of wood being said to be amply sufficient to bake seven or eight shillings’ worth of flour. The bread is stated to be of a peculiarly wholesome and sweet character. The mark used on the ovens, &c., is simply the proprietor’s name impressed in the clay while moist. On the ornamental ware the name is written on the bottom of the ware.

E. B. FISHLEY,
FREMINGTON.

Aller.

The Aller Pottery.—These works, near Newton Abbot, were commenced for the manufacture of common brown ware in 1865, and three years later came into the hands of Messrs. John Phillips & Co., by whom they are still carried on, for the production of architectural pottery. The goods manufactured consist of flooring and roofing tiles, sanitary and sewage ware, garden edgings, ornamental chimney pots, decorative bricks, flower vases, &c., and various other kinds of fire-clay goods. The markets principally supplied are those of Devonshire, Somersetshire, and Cornwall.

The mark is a horse’s head, couped, with the Greek words ΦIΛΕΩ ΙΠΠΟΝ, being a playful allusion to the name of the proprietor, “Phillips.”

Pednandrea, Redruth.

Crucible Works.—These works at Pednandrea and at Fore Street, Redruth, were established about 1760 by John Juleff, and carried on by him until his decease, when he was succeeded by his son, John Juleff, by whom they were continued until 1875. In that year he died and the works passed into the hands of his two sons, by whom they are still carried on under the style of “John and David Juleff.” The firm are the only manufacturers of the original Cornish crucibles, which have always had, and still maintain, the reputation of being the best articles made for dry assaying and for standing intense heat. They are made to a large extent and sent to most parts of the world. The firm also make mufflers, scorifiers, special bricks and covers for assay furnaces, plumbago crucibles for tin assaying, plumbago brass melting pots, &c., of various shapes and sizes. Mr. Juleff received honourable mention for his goods at the 1861 Exhibition: there being no competition in these specialities, no medal could be awarded. The goods are usually marked with the name of the firm.