Chapter II: Introduction

In issuing my present work I have two distinct personal duties to perform, and I hasten, in these few brief lines of introduction, to discharge them. First, I earnestly desire to ask indulgence from my readers for any shortcomings which may be apparent in its contents; and next, I desire emphatically to express my thanks to all who have in any way, or even to the smallest extent, assisted me in my labours. The preparation of the work has extended over a considerable period of time, and I have had many difficulties to contend with that are, and must necessarily be, wholly unknown to any but myself--hard literary digging to get at facts and to verify dates, that is not understood, and would scarce be believed in, by the reader who turns to my pages--and hence errors of omission and of commission may have, nay, doubtless have crept in, and may in some places, to a greater or less extent, have marred the accuracy of the page whereon they have occurred. I can honestly say I have left nothing undone, no source untried, and no trouble untaken to secure perfect accuracy in all I have written, and yet I am painfully aware that shortcomings may, and doubtless will, be laid to my charge; for these, wherever they occur, I ask, and indeed claim, indulgence. I believe in _work_, in hard unceasing labour, in patient and painstaking research, in untiring searchings, and in diligent collection and arrangement of facts--to make time and labour and money subservient to the end in view, rather than that the end in view, and the time and labour and money expended, should bend and bow and ultimately break before _time_. Thus it is that my “Ceramic Art” has been so long in progress, and thus it is that many changes have occurred during the time it has been passing through the press which it has been manifestly impossible to chronicle.

I have the proud satisfaction, however, of knowing that my work is the only one of its kind yet attempted, and I feel a confident hope that it will fill a gap that has long wanted filling, and will be found alike useful to the manufacturer, the china collector, and the general reader.

When, some twenty years ago, at the instance of my dear friend Mr. S. C. Hall, I began my series of papers in the _Art Journal_ upon the various famous earthenware and porcelain works of the kingdom, but little had been done in that direction, and the information I got together from time to time had to be procured from original sources, by prolonged visits to the places themselves and by numberless applications to all sorts of people from whom even scraps of reliable matter could be obtained. Books on the subject were not many, and the information they contained on English Ceramics was meagre in the extreme. Since then numerous workers have sprung up, and their published volumes--many of them sumptuous and truly valuable works--attest strongly to the interest and pains they have taken in the subject. To all these, whoever they may be, the world owes a debt of gratitude for devoting their time and their talents to so important a branch of study. To each of them I tender my own thanks for having devoted themselves to the elucidation of one of my favourite pursuits, and for having given to the world the result of their labours. No work has, however, until now been entirely devoted to the one subject of British Ceramics, and I feel therefore that in presenting my present volumes to the public I am only carrying out the plan I at first laid down, and am not even in the slightest degree encroaching on the province of any other writer.

I think I may safely say there is scarcely a manufacturer--even if there be one at all--in the length and breadth of the kingdom with whom I have not frequently communicated in the progress of this work. Except in some few solitary instances I have received the information I have sought, and my inquiries have met with the most cordial and ready response.

To all those who have thus assisted me with information or otherwise, and especially to my friend Mr. Goss, who has greatly assisted me over the onerous task of some of the Staffordshire potteries, I offer my warmest thanks; and to those few others, who from inattention, shortsightedness, or other cause, have not responded to my inquiries, I would express my sorrow if, through that inattention on their part, I have been unable to give as full particulars regarding their potteries as I could have wished. To thank by name those who have assisted me with information would require a long list indeed; I therefore tender my acknowledgments to all in the one emphatic good old English expression--“_Thank you!_”

LLEWELLYNN JEWITT.

WINSTER HALL, DERBYSHIRE.
_November, 1877._

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE

Practice of the Art in England--The Celtic Period--Classes
of Vessels--Cinerary Urns--Food Vessels--Drinking Cups,
&c.--Modes of Ornamentation--Food Vessels--Immolation Urns
or Incense Cups--Handled Cups 1

CHAPTER II.

Romano-British Pottery--Upchurch Ware--Durobrivian
Ware--Roman Potters’ Kilns--Pottery in London--Salopian
Ware--New Forest Ware--Yorkshire, Oxfordshire,
Lincolnshire, and other Wares--Varieties of Vessels:
Amphoræ, Mortaria, &c.--Sepulchral Vessels--Tiles--Tile
Tombs--Clay Coffins--Lamps--Penates--Coin Moulds, &c. 24

CHAPTER III.

Anglo-Saxon Pottery--Forms of Vessels, from Illustrated
MSS.--Culinary Vessels--Pitchers and other domestic
Vessels--Cinerary Urns--Cemeteries at Kingston, King’s
Newton, Bedford, &c.--Modes of Ornamenting 64

CHAPTER IV.

Pottery of the Norman and Mediæval Periods--Examples
from Illuminated MSS.--Norman Potworks at Burley
Hill--The Ferrars Family--Mediæval Pottery--Grotesque
Vessels--Costrils--Mammiform Vessels--The Cruiskeen or
Cruiska--Godets, &c.--Simpson’s Petition--Rous and Cullyn’s
Patent--Bellarmines--Ale-pots--Salt-glazing--Butter-pots--Dr.
Plott--State of Staffordshire Potteries--Combed
Ware--Ariens Van Hamme--John Dwight--The
Brothers Elers--The Tofts--William
Sans--Tygs--Candlesticks--Cradles, &c. 76

CHAPTER V.

Pottery in England in the Eighteenth Century--Delft
Ware--Posset Pots--Billin’s Patent--Redrich and Jones’s
Patent--Benson’s Patents--Ralph Shawe’s Patents--Trial
of Right--The Bow Works--Heylyn and Frye’s Patents--The
Fulham Works--White’s Patent--The Count de Lauraguais’
Patent--Staffordshire Wares--The Plymouth Works--William
Cookworthy’s Patent--Josiah Wedgwood--Crease’s and other
Patents--Ralph Wedgwood’s Patents--Progress of the Art
during the Century 107

CHAPTER VI.

The Fulham Works--Dwight’s Inventions and Patents--First
China made in England--Dwight’s Books of Recipes,
&c.--Present Productions--Lambeth--Exchequer
Trial--High Street--Coade’s Works--London
Pottery--Lambeth Pottery--Fore Street--Waters’
Patent--Imperial Pottery--Crispe’s
China--Blackfriars Road--Bas-reliefs for Wedgwood
Institute--Vauxhall--Aldgate--Millwall--Mortlake--Southwark;
Gravel Lane--Isleworth--Stepney--Greenwich--Deptford--Merton--
Hounslow--Wandsworth--Ewell--Cheam--Chiselhurst 118

CHAPTER VII.

Chelsea--M. Spremont--Sale of the Works to
Duesbury--Removal to Derby--Wages Bills--Simpson’s
Works--Wedgwood’s Works--Ruhl’s Works--Bow--Heylin and
Frye--Weatherby and Crowther--Craft--Sale of Works to
Duesbury--Kentish Town--Giles and Duesbury--Euston
Road--Mortlocks and others--Hoxton--Hammersmith 168

CHAPTER VIII.

Worcester--Royal Porcelain Works--Dr. Wall--Warmstry
House and its Owners--The Porcelain Company--Early
Marks--Transfer Printing--King of Prussia Mug--Josiah
Holdship--Poem--Robert Hancock--Richard Holdship--Derby
China Works--Caughley--Flight and Barr--Chamberlain--Kerr
and Binns--R. W. Binns--Productions of the Works--Royal
Services--Tokens--Royal China Works--Granger and
Lee--Productions--St. John’s Encaustic Tiles--Rainbow
Hill Tileries--St. George’s Pottery Works--Rustic
Terra-Cotta--Stourbridge--The Lye Works--Stourbridge Clay 221

CHAPTER IX.

Salopian Wares--Uriconium--Caughley Works--Thomas
Turner--Introduction of “Willow Pattern”--Worcester
Works--Close of Caughley Works--Marks--Transfer
Printing--Hancock and Holdship--Coalport
Works--Jackfield--John Rose--Swansea and
Nantgarw--Productions of the Coalport
Works--Marks--“Willow Pattern” and “Broseley Blue
Dragon,” &c.--Broseley Pipes--Coalbrookdale Iron
Works--Terra Cotta--Madeley--Martin Randall’s
China--Jackfield Pottery--Maurice Thursfield--“Black
Decanters”--China--Craven Dunnill & Co.’s Tile
Works--Broseley--Benthall--Maw’s Tile Works--Broseley
Tileries--Benthall Potteries--Coalmoor 263

CHAPTER X.

Plymouth--William Cookworthy--The Divining
Rod--Discovery of Petuntse and Kaolin--Productions of
the Plymouth Works--Patent--Specification--Marks--Sale
to Champion--Transference to Bristol--Death
of Cookworthy--Plymouth Earthenware
Works--Watcombe--Terra-Cotta Works--Honiton--Exeter--Bovey
Tracey Pottery--Indiho Pottery--Bovey Pottery--Folley
Pottery--Bideford Pottery--Framington Pottery--Aller
Pottery 318

CHAPTER XI.

Bristol--Delft Ware--Redcliffe Backs--Richard
Frank--Ring--Flower--Bristol China--William
Cookworthy--Richard Champion--Transference of
Plymouth Works--Extension of Patent--Wedgwood’s
Opposition--“Case” of the Manufacturers--Champion’s
Specification--Champion’s Productions--Edmund
Burke--Bristol Vases--Figures--Marks--Bristol
Earthenware--Temple Backs--Potters’ Songs--Temple and St.
Thomas’s Street Works--Temple Gate--Wilder Street--Bristol
Glass--William Edkins--Salt Glaze--Brislington--Crews
Hole--Westbury--Easton--Weston-super-Mare--Matthews’s Royal
Pottery--Poole--Architectural Pottery Company--Bourne
Valley--Branksea--Kinson 350

CHAPTER XII.

Nottingham Ware--List of Potters--Nottingham Mugs--Bears--
Lowesby--Coalville--Ibstock--Tamworth--Wilnecote--Coventry--
Nuneaton--Broxburne--Stamford--Roman Kiln--Blasfield’s
Terra-Cotta--Bolingbroke--Wisbech--Lowestoft and Gunton--
Delft Ware--Lowestoft China--Stowmarket--Ipswich--Ebbisham--
Wrotham--Yarmouth--Cossey--Cadborough--Rye--Gestingthorpe--
Holkham--Nuneham Courtney--Marsh Balden--Horspath--Shotover 415

CHAPTER XIII.

York--Place’s Ware--Hirstwood’s China--Layerthorpe--
Osmotherley--Hull--Belle Vue Pottery--Stepney Lane
Pottery--Leeds--Hartley, Greens, & Co.--Britton and Sons--
Leathley Lane Pottery--Castleford Pottery--Eagle
Pottery--Pontefract--Ferrybridge--Knottingley--Ralph
Wedgwood--Swinton Pottery--Rockingham Ware--Cadogan
Pots--Rockingham China--Brameld & Co.--Dale’s
Patent--Baguley’s Productions--Mexborough--Rock
Pottery--Mexborough Pottery--Mexborough Old Pottery--
Rawmarsh--Rotherham--North Field Pottery--Holmes’s
Pottery--Don Pottery--Denaby--Kilnhurst--Wath-upon-Dearne--
Newhill Pottery--Wakefield--Potovens--Yearsley--Wortley--
Healey--Colsterdale 460

CERAMIC ART IN GREAT BRITAIN.