The two principal manufactories, those of “Flight, Barr, and Barr,” and “Chamberlain and Co.,” continued until 1840, when they amalgamated, and the two firms formed one joint-stock company. The plant and stock were removed from Warmstry House to Messrs. Chamberlain’s premises, and the works were there carried on under the style of “Chamberlain and Co.” The mark used by Chamberlain and Co. was as follows:—

From 1840 to 1847 the managing directors were Walter Chamberlain, John Lilly, and Martin and George Barr, and Fleming St. John; from 1848 to 1850 the proprietors were Walter Chamberlain and John Lilly; in 1850, Walter Chamberlain and Edward Lilly. In 1850 Mr. W. H. Kerr joined the concern, which was for a short time carried on under the style of “Chamberlain, Lilly, and Kerr;” but on the 1st of January, 1852, another change took place in the proprietary. On this occasion Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lilly retired, and Mr. R. W. Binns entered into partnership with Mr. Kerr, and the firm was carried on under the style of “Kerr and Binns,” and “W. H. Kerr and Co.” In 1852 the works were considerably increased, in fact they may almost be said to have been then rebuilt, by Mr. Kerr, whose great desire was to make them the best constructed, and most roomy and convenient, of any porcelain works in the kingdom. In 1862 Mr. Kerr retired from the concern, and it is now carried on by a company of shareholders, Mr. R. W. Binns, F.S.A., who is one of them, holding the proud position of “Art Director,” a post for which no man is better qualified than he is. The total number of hands employed at the present time is between five and six hundred.

The productions of the Worcester works have been brought to a wondrous state of perfection, both as to body, glaze, form, and decoration. Certainly neither in ancient nor in modern specimens of ceramic art have such exquisitely beautiful works been produced as some of the enamels which, under the fostering hand of Mr. Binns, have of late years been made here. The body, unlike the works of Limoges or the Sèvres imitations, is pure porcelain, not a coating of porcelain over sheets of metal; and the effect is produced by the partial transparency of the white laid on the blue ground, instead of by heightening. The tone produced in these enamels is peculiarly soft and delicate, and the colours are pure and intense; they will bear—and bear well—a close and critical comparison with those of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[83] Examples consisting of an ewer and stand, a vase, a pastile-burner, a plate, a tazza, and other articles, are given on Figs. 547 to 553. The late Mr. Bott, an artist of the very highest eminence, was brought up by Mr. Binns specially for the production of these enamels, and his early death has been a great loss to Art. Through his death examples have become very scarce, and realise high prices. At the present time a pair of vases—still in the hands of the Worcester Company—are valued at 1,500 guineas, and an ewer and basin at 350 guineas, and the probability is that they will still increase rapidly in value. To Mr. Binns is entirely due the introduction and carrying out of the Worcester enamels in the style of Limoges; the ivory porcelain, a soft-glaze body of an ivory tint; the Raphaelesque porcelain; jewelled porcelain, of a totally different and far higher character than that of Sèvres; and Japanese decoration on porcelain and pottery. Besides these, to his taste, skill, and judgment are due the great varieties of styles and improvements in form and decoration which now characterize these works.

In parian, the Worcester works produce a large variety of figures, busts, groups, and ornamental articles of every kind, and of a remarkably clean and pure body.

The ivory porcelain—an improvement upon parian, and capable of greater development—is one of the specialities of these works. Besides being used for busts, figures, and ornamental pieces, in its simple state, when it has all the softness, beauty, and natural tint of ivory itself, it forms the basis of many of the ornamental decorations, especially the Raphaelesque ware, which is the colouring of the surface in relief in the style of the old Capo di Monte ware and the Buen Retiro porcelain. This style was first introduced by Mr. Binns for the Exhibition of 1862, and has retained its popularity to the present hour.

The jewelled porcelain, for which Worcester now is famous, is totally different from that made at Sèvres or Tournay, whether ancient or modern. The French jewels are all made by enamellers, and each colour is fused on a small plate of metal which forms the setting, and may be stuck on the vase or plate with gum if it is not required to pass it through the fire. These jewels may be bought by the dozen or hundred in any variety: but the work decorated with them is essentially French, and tinselly. The English jewelling, though perhaps not so brilliant, is of far higher and purer character, and is far more legitimate as a decoration for pottery. Each of these jewels is formed of colour melted on to the china, and occasionally raised higher and higher by repeated firings, and thus it becomes, and is, a part of the material itself. The most elaborate piece of work produced at Worcester in this style is a déjeûner set made for presentation to the Countess of Dudley on her marriage, from the city of Worcester. It is powdered all over with turquoise, but so arranged in geometric lines that only the different sizes of the jewels are noticed. In Japanese porcelain the Worcester works produce a vast variety of articles; amongst these are vases, spill-cases, jardinières, toilet ornaments, trays, and an infinite number of other elegancies. These Japanese productions are not servile imitations of native art; they are Japanese art and art-characteristics adapted and rendered subservient to the highest aims of pure design of our own country. Mr. Binns, to whom this introduction is owing, has caught the very spirit of Japanese art, and, with the happy facility he possesses of turning everything to good account, has so grafted it upon English productions that the one becomes an essential and component part of the other. Among the more pleasing and characteristic of the vases are a set on which the designs, in relief (admirably modelled by Mr. Hadley) upon tablets, represent the various processes of the potter’s art as followed in the East; and these pictures—for true pictures they are—are so minutely and exquisitely painted and gilded (by Callowhill), that it requires a good lens to bring out their many and very minute beauties. Of these I give some engravings. This introduction, which now forms a distinctive feature of the Worcester works, is a marked and decided advance in ceramic art; the effect of bronze and other metals being quite an achievement.

In majolica the Worcester works produce many splendid varieties of articles, and many spirited and beautiful designs. Dessert services, floral table decorations, shell-pieces, spill-cases, and vases are among the articles produced. The body is finer and more compact than that frequently used by manufacturers, and the colouring is faultless and in the purest taste. It was a wise thought to graft this branch of ceramic art on to that of the finest porcelain at Worcester, and its rapid development shows how thoroughly it has been appreciated.

But it is not in ornamental goods only that these works take high rank. They produce every possible variety, from the simple gold and white to the most highly decorated tea, coffee, déjeûner, dinner, toilet, and other services. These are produced in very large quantities, and form a staple and constantly increasing branch of the manufacture; and in all these, however simple, the same purity of taste in patterns is displayed as in the rarer and more costly gems of art.

It is a common belief that high art and commercial success cannot go hand in hand,—that to make things sell you must sink art—or that, if you produce high art examples, you must give up all expectations of a remunerative trade. This theory I do not believe in. I hold it to be the mission of the manufacturer, in whatever branch he may be engaged, to produce such goods as shall tend to educate the public taste, and to lead it gradually upwards to a full appreciation of the beautiful. The manufacturer is quite as much a teacher as the writer or the artist, and he is frequently a much more effectual one. In pottery especially, where the wares of one kind or other are hourly in the hands of every person in the kingdom, it behoves the manufacturers to produce such perfect forms, and to introduce such ornamentation, even in the commonest and coarsest ware, as shall teach the eye, and induce a taste for whatever is beautiful and perfect and lovely in art. The mission of the manufacturer is to create a pure taste, not to perpetuate and pander to a vicious and barbarous one; and I believe, in the end, that those who do their best to elevate the minds of the people by this means will find that, commercially, their endeavours will be most satisfactory—assuredly they will be the most pleasant to their own minds. The Worcester people seem to understand this thoroughly, and to have wisely determined that nothing, even of the most simple design or common use, which is not pure in taste and elegant in form shall be issued from their works.

The marks of Messrs. Kerr and Binns were the following:— But they had also another, a special mark, designed by Digby Wyatt, which is used solely for marking the goods made for her Majesty. In the mark (Fig. 568) in the third quarter of the shield, left white in the engraving, the initials of Mr. Bott, the painter, are found on his beautiful enamels.

The Worcester works have, at one time or other, been favoured more than most English establishments with orders from royalty. Of these I give five examples of plates, to show the beauty and intricacy of their designs. Fig. 569 is a part of a service made for the Queen; Fig. 573, from the service made for Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, in 1789; 572, for the Princess Charlotte on her marriage; 571 for his Majesty King William IV.; and 570, for the Duke of Cumberland in 1806.

A curious feature in connection with these works, and one which I am only aware has been followed by one other English china manufactory (that of Pinxton), was the issuing of porcelain tokens—that is, china money—for the convenience of the masters and workmen at the factory. They are, it will be seen, in the form of a promissory note. They bear the “promise” on the obverse, and on the reverse the letters W P C (Worcester Porcelain Company), and were issued for various amounts.

Examples of some of the more recent productions of the Royal Worcester Porcelain Company (as shown at the French Exhibition of 1868) are shown on our cuts, Figs. 560 to 565.

Royal China Works.—The porcelain works of Messrs. Grainger and Co. are situated in St. Martin’s Street, with show-rooms in the Foregate. They were established in 1800, as I have before stated, by Mr. Thomas Grainger, nephew to Mr. Chamberlain, to whom he served an apprenticeship as a painter; the latter part of his apprenticeship being devoted to taking a share in the general management of the works. When out of his time, Mr. Grainger started a manufactory on his own account, and took into partnership a Mr. Wood, a painter of considerable skill and eminence, whose productions on the early porcelain made by them are characterized by a peculiar mellowness of shade, and who excelled in “mezzo-tint drawing;” and the works were carried on for some time under the firm of “Grainger and Wood.” Afterwards, Mr. Grainger took into partnership his brother-in-law, Mr. Lee, and the style of the firm was then changed to that of “Grainger and Lee.” The mark was as appended.

In 1810, about two years before Mr. Lee became a partner, the works were destroyed by fire. The manufactory was shortly rebuilt on a new site, on the opposite side of the street, and has been considerably enlarged. Mr. Lee having retired from the concern, the business was then carried on by Mr. Grainger until his decease in 1839, when his son, Mr. George Grainger, one of the present proprietors, succeeded him, and has carried on the works, under the style of “G. Grainger and Co.,” to the present day. Up to the year 1850, porcelain alone was made at this establishment, and its quality was remarkably good, both in body and in ornamentation. In that year, however, Mr. George Grainger invented a new body, which he named “semi-porcelain.” This new ware was first made public at the Great International Exhibition of 1851, and from its peculiar qualities of durability, hardness, and freedom from cracking with heat, attracted considerable attention. The surface of the semi-porcelain bears every characteristic of the finest china, and, of course, in colour, in painting, and in gilding can be made quite equal to it; but it has the additional advantage of being so completely vitrified that the inside, in case of being chipped or broken, remains of its original whiteness. It is peculiarly adapted for dinner-services through not flying or cracking with heat so readily as the ordinary china does, and because of its power of retaining heat for a much longer time. It is somewhat extensively exported both to France and to India. Mr. Grainger manufactures very largely of this material chemical vessels, batteries, insulators for telegraph wires, &c., and for these purposes its superiority is admitted by the highest scientific authorities. These insulators (in an unglazed state) after being soaked for many hours in acid, stood the test of a battery of two hundred Daniel’s cells—a very severe test—showing thus great strength and resisting power—a strength which would be much increased when glazed.

The mark of the present firm is as follows:— Another has simply the words “Chemical Porcelain, Grainger and Co., Manufactory, Worcester.” Messrs. Grainger and Co. also produce some admirable vases, excellent parian figures and ornaments. Another variety of goods is the perforated parian ware, in which is made vases, &c., of remarkably pure design and careful execution. Some of the best specimens of lace drapery have been produced by this firm. At the Exhibition of 1862, the last at which the firm exhibited, a medal was awarded them for this “semi-” or “chemical porcelain,” which, undeniably, well deserved such a distinction.

The toilet services of this firm are of considerable elegance in design, as will be seen on Figs. 581 and 582. Fig. 580 exhibits a “honeycombed” coffee-service of very elegant design, the foliage being gracefully thrown.

A new invention of Messrs. Grainger is their “Opalite,” a highly vitrified and very fine body, in which they have produced, with remarkably good effect, embossed tiles for external decorations in shop fronts, &c. A design of a celadon ground with the blackberry, conventionally treated, in relief, in white, with the stems relieved with burnished gold, burned into the body, is remarkably beautiful and effective.

Mr. St. John’s Encaustic Tile Works.—After the removal of Messrs. Flight and Barr’s works to the present site of the Royal porcelain manufactory, on the amalgamation spoken of on a preceding page, Mr. Barr for a time continued making encaustic paving tiles on the old premises. In this he was joined by Mr. Fleming St. John, who was one of the managing directors of the Royal porcelain works, and some excellent patterns, and of good colour and material, were produced. The tile works were, however, in 1860, sold to Messrs. Maw, who continued to carry on the manufacture until 1852, when they removed to Broseley, where the manufacture is still continued (see “Broseley”). In 1853 the premises were purchased from Mr. Fleming St. John by Mr. Allcroft, one of the partners in the firm of Dent, Allcroft, and Co., and their business of glove-making was removed within the same year.

“Worcester Tileries,” Rainbow Hill.—These works were established in 1870 by Mr. H. C. Webb, their present proprietor. The tiles produced are in three series—1st, geometrical tiles in five colours, viz. black, red, buff, grey, and chocolate; 2nd, geometrical tiles in these colours with the addition of cream, fawn, blue, white, and green; 3rd, the whole of these, with encaustic or inlaid tiles added. The geometrical tiles are made of various sizes and of every necessary shape, and thus pavements of admirable and effective design and of endless variety are produced, which are equally suitable for small villas, cottages, schools, &c. The colours are clear and good, and the quality hard and durable. The mark used by Mr. Webb is the name HENRY C. WEBB, WORCESTER, in raised letters, in a small circle impressed in the clay.

St. George’s Pottery Works.—These works were established by their present proprietor, Mr. D. W. Barker, formerly of Frome in Somersetshire, in 1869, for the manufacture of rustic ware, terra-cotta, and patent bricks—the latter being the main production of the establishment. The works are situated on Gregory’s Bank, close to the canal, on the north side of Worcester, where they occupy a large area of ground. The kilns were erected from the designs of the patentees, Hoffman and Licht, of Berlin and Dantzic, and the machinery by the patentees, Bradley and Craven, of Wakefield. As these are said to be among the best constructed of modern brick and terra-cotta works, I quote the following particulars:—

The analysis of the clay, as reported by Dr. Arthur E. Davis, is as follows:—silica, 56·74; alumina, 31·66; oxide of iron, 6·96; lime, 3·43; magnesia, trace; alkaline salts, 0·53; loss in analysis, 0·68; total, 100·00.

The rustic terra-cotta ware produced at these works is of a very superior quality, and the designs are so true to nature as to be faultless in every respect. In this ware garden-seats, flower-pots, and flower-vases, mignonette and other boxes, spill-cases, and a variety of other articles have been made, and all are equally good in design. Among the rustic flower-pots and stands some are excellent representations of the gnarled root of a tree; the small branches of trees nailed to the sides of the vessel; and the bole of a tree beautifully modelled, and apparently hollowed out to receive the plant. In these cases the grain of the wood is well copied. Mr. Barker’s great forte in these designs seems to have been the accurate and truthful copying of nature in the barks and peculiarities of growth of various trees.

Mr. Barker manufactures the ceramic part of Beckitt’s patent photographic apparatus—an apparatus consisting of an earthenware cylinder and a series of troughs of the same material, in which the cylinder is made to revolve by means of a handle; the troughs being intended for the hyposulphate bath, the gold solution, and wash, respectively.

Ordinary flower-pots and other horticultural ware, of good quality and excellent material, are extensively made, and form a staple branch of the St. George’s trade.

Stourbridge.

The Lye Works have the reputation of being the oldest in this district, having been established in 1750. Its present proprietors are Messrs. William King Perrens, of Wilmcote Hall, and George King Harrison, of Hagley. They are makers of fire-bricks of all kinds, blast furnaces, glass-house furnaces, gas retorts, gas ovens, &c., and are proprietors of best Glasshouse pot-clay.

The other makers at Stourbridge are—

I am indebted to Mr. George King Harrison, of the “Lye Works,” Stourbridge, for the following interesting particulars respecting Stourbridge clay. He says—

Dr. Plot, in his “History of Staffordshire,” date about 1686, says—

Stourbridge clay (properly so called) is found only in a comparatively small district, say within a circle of not more than two miles, taking the valley of the Stour at the Lye as the centre, and at depths varying from three or four yards from the surface to one hundred and eighty yards; its position in the strata is in all cases below the thick coal, at distances varying from twelve to twenty-five yards; and it is generally overlaid by a shaly, friable kind of coal, called “batts,” from twelve to twenty-four inches thick. The thickness of the seam varies very much, rarely exceeding thirty-six to forty-two inches, and sometimes thinning down to five or six inches when close to faults or small disturbances in the measures. The quality is very variable, in some instances as hard as stone, having to be blasted with powder, and in others soft and easily workable. There is a great variation in its component parts, arising principally in the proportion of silica; a clay containing only about fifty per cent. of silica being very inferior, and contracting very much on exposure to intense heat. In order to show this difference in a practical form I have had eight clays from as many mines in the Stourbridge district, prepared under precisely similar circumstances, subjected to the same heat, and all burnt in the kiln at one time. The result showing the great variation and power of resisting heat, since, in the eight samples, hardly two are of the same weight and size. The eight bricks all made in one mould.

The usual treatment of clay for glass-house purposes is as follows. After having been carefully selected, it is broken into small pieces by women accustomed to its appearance, who throw on one side all pieces of discoloured and irregular clay; it is finely ground by heavy edge-runners, and mixed with a certain proportion of ground potsherds (old broken burnt pots); the proportion of burnt clay varies according to the purpose for which the clay is to be used; it is then mixed with water, and tempered with the foot, and allowed to lie a considerable time—which should not be less than six or seven weeks—when it should acquire great tenacity before being made into pots.

These pots are built up by hand gradually, great care being taken that the last layer of clay is not allowed to become hard or dry, or it will not unite properly; neglect in this respect causing the pot to give way in the furnace. The pots are dried very gradually, and are seldom fit for use under six to eight months.

The clay, after the selection of the best pot-clay, is allowed to lie in large heaps, subjected to the action of the atmosphere, and is then used in the manufacture of gas-retorts, fire-bricks, &c. The quantity of bricks made annually in the Stourbridge district is about fifty millions.