Chapter XII (2)

The proprietors of the porcelain works in 1757 are stated by Gillingwater to be Messrs. Walker, Brown, Aldred, and Rickman. Of some of these proprietors particulars will be found interwoven in my present article, but of the others very little is known. By 1770 the manufacture had advanced very considerably, so much so that in that year, as appears by the following advertisement, a warehouse for its sale was established in London:--“Clark Durnford, Lowestoft China Warehouse, No. 4, Great St. Thomas the Apostle, Queen Street, Cheapside, London, where merchants and shopkeepers may be supplied with any quantity of the said ware at the usual prices. N.B. Allowance of Twenty per cent. for Ready Money.”

The firm was carried on (as is proved by the address furnished to Mr. Duesbury, of the Derby China factory) under the style of “Robert Browne & Co.”; the address is “Mr. Robt. Browne & Co., China Manufactory, Lowestoff, Suffolk.”

One of the partners of the early firm, and the manager of the works, was Robert Browne, who died in 1771, when the management fell to his son, also Robert Browne, who, being an excellent practical chemist, made great improvements in the ware. He was constantly experimenting on “bodies,” and succeeded in bringing the art of making porcelain nearer to the Oriental original than had been at that time attained by any other individual. Of the first of these Robert Brownes an interesting relic remains in the possession of his great-grandson at the present day. It is a small inkstand, white, with blue ornaments. It is of nine-sided form, and has Chinese figures on seven of its sides, the other two being taken up with the pattern here engraved, the initials “R. B., 1762,” being those of Robert Browne just alluded to.

The manufacture of porcelain under the management of the second Robert Browne must have attained some great degree of excellence in 1775, for in that year I find that a man named David Rhodes, who was apparently employed by his master, Josiah Wedgwood, to collect together for him examples of the productions of the different manufactories of this country, enters in his account of expenses the purchase of a Lowestoft slop basin, for which he gave ninepence. The account, which is in the possession of Mr. Mayer, of Liverpool, is curious, as the following items will show:--

1775. _s._ _d._
May 10. A Flawed Chelsea Leaf, a Plymouth Teapot,
and 2 Liverpool Coffee Cups 0 6
May 12. A set of Bristol China 6 0
„ A ½-pint Worcester Basin and broken ware 0 6
„ 2 Slop Basins, Derby and _Leastoff_ 1 6
„ 1 Quart Bristol Mug and Teapot Stand 2 6
„ A Broken Quart Mug, Bristol 0 6

Prices at which collectors nowadays would be only too glad to purchase specimens. Fancy a quart Bristol mug, and a teapot-stand of the same, for half-a-crown! and a Chelsea leaf, a Plymouth teapot, and two Liverpool coffee-cups for sixpence!

The works must at this time have become noted, or they would not have attracted the attention of Josiah Wedgwood, and made him desirous of examining the “body,” and comparing it with other wares made in this country. That the china produced at and before this time was good there can be no doubt, and the purchase of a “slop-basin” shows that tea-services must, prior to that time, have been made. It would be interesting to find that this identical slop-basin was still preserved at Etruria, as, possibly, it may be, although I have failed to recognise it.

A curious circumstance connected with the first Robert Browne, the memory of which has been preserved in his family, is worth relating, as showing the schemes and the underhand practices which were resorted to by manufacturers in those days (as, alas! now), to worm out and steal the secrets of others. The workmen who had been engaged from London having been, as alluded to by Gillingwater, shamefully tampered with, and bribed to injure the work at Lowestoft, probably induced Mr. Browne to retaliate in the manner I am about to describe. Being desirous, soon after the commencement of the works, to ascertain how the glaze was prepared, some of the colours mixed, and other particulars concerning the ingredients used, he went to London, and under the disguise of a workman, engaged himself at one of the china manufactories--of course either Chelsea or Bow. Here, after a short time, he bribed the warehouseman to assist him in his design, and soon accomplished his purpose. The warehouseman locked him up secretly in that part of the factory where the principal was in the habit of mixing the ingredients after the workmen had left the premises. Browne was placed under an empty hogshead close to the counter or table on which the principal operated, and could thus see through an opening all that was going on. From his hiding-place he watched all the processes, saw the proportions of the different ingredients used, and gained the secret he had so long coveted. Having thus remained a willing prisoner for some hours, he was at last released when the principal left the place, and shortly afterwards returned to Lowestoft, after an absence of only two or three weeks, in full possession of the, till then, secret information possessed by the famed works of Chelsea or Bow.

It may be well to note that the Brownes, I am informed, were engaged in the staple trade of the place--that of the herring fishery as well as in that of the manufacture of porcelain. The firm also were shipowners, and kept vessels constantly running “to the Isle of Wight for a peculiar sand, which, with pulverised glass and pipeclay, formed principally the ingredients of the groundwork of the ware,” and to Newcastle for coals.

Lowestoft is, fortunately, particularly rich in dated examples of its productions; but it is worthy of remark, that the whole of these examples, with names and dates, which have come under my notice, are _white and blue_; showing that, during the period through which these dates run, that was the character of the china made at these works, and that the finer body and the elaborate colouring which distinguish so much of the Lowestoft porcelain, were of later date. But of this presently.

The earliest dated example of Lowestoft china ware I have yet seen is the inkstand just described, which bears the initials “R. B.,” and the date “1762.” In Mr. Norman’s collection was a bowl with the name “ABRM. MOORE, 1765,” and a basin, said to have been made for Sarah Crisp, has her initials “S. C., 1765.” The next is a fine bowl, with a large group of Chinese figures--emperor, mandarins, &c.--painted in blue, and inscribed on the bottom with the name of an eccentric old maid, well known in the town, and whose gravestone lies in the churchyard:--

ELIZA^{TH} BUCKLE
1768.

This bowl and other pieces of a service (notably a basin and cream jug, painted with shepherd and shepherdess) made for her, were painted by her nephew, a man named Robert Allen, who, as a boy, was one of the first employed when the manufactory was established and remained there until its close. The bowl is in the possession of his aged daughter, Mrs. Johnson. This Robert Allen may well be classed amongst the “worthies” of Lowestoft. Working at the china manufactory from the first, he became foreman, and was entrusted with the mixing of the colours and the ingredients of the material itself, and remained so till the close of the factory in 1803. As a painter he appears to have been chiefly employed on blue; at all events the only authenticated specimens of his work which I have seen are of that colour. He also employed himself in staining glass, and numerous pieces of his work are still preserved by families in the town. His principal work was the painting in the east window of the parish church, which he completed in the year 1819, being then in his seventy-fourth year, and presented it to the town. In acknowledgment of this service a silver cup, now in possession of his daughter, and bearing the following inscription, was presented to him:--“A token of respect to Mr. Robert Allen, from his fellow-townsmen at Lowestoft, for having, at the advanced age of Seventy-four, gratuitously and elegantly ornamented the East Window of their Parish Church Anno. Dom. 1819.”

After the closing of the Lowestoft works, Allen, who dealt in china, &c., put up a small kiln at his own house, where he carried on operations on a limited scale, buying the unfinished ware from the Rockingham works and painting and finishing it himself for sale. Mr. Brameld, of the Rockingham works, who was an excellent painter on china, occasionally visited Lowestoft, and became attached to Allen, to whom he presented a set of five vases, beautifully painted from nature with flowers copied from specimens he had gathered on the Dene. He also presented him with a snuff-box, painted by himself.

Of the same year as the bowl above described (1768) a dated example in the possession of Mr. Seago, the town clerk of Lowestoft, is a bowl, with the words--

EDWARD MORLEY
1768

Another bears the date--

RICD. MASON
JANY. 1TH
1771

Of this latter year another dated example is shown on the engraving (Fig. 838); it has the words--“James & Mary Curtis, Lowestoft, 1771.” This mug was painted by Thomas Curtis, son of the pair named in the inscription. He was for some time, it is said, employed at Dresden, and became a “silent partner” in the Lowestoft works, and in his will is described as a “porcelain painter.” Part of a set of china, painted by this same Thomas Curtis on Oriental body, in 1775, and intended as a wedding present for his son James, is still preserved in the family.

The next dated example of blue and white was in the museum of the late Mr. Mills, of Norwich. It is a mug, and bears the inscription--“ROBT. HAWARD 1781.” The same gentleman had also other initialed specimens, made originally for members of his family. In Mr. Seago’s collection is an inkstand marked _S. A. Sept. 26 1782_, being the initials of Samuel Aldred; and Mr. Norman possessed a similar inkstand inscribed “_A present from Lowestoft_,” but not dated. In Norwich a later example, with the initials and date--

W
J S
1784

is also preserved. A beautiful example, the _latest_ known dated specimen of Lowestoft china, is in the possession of Mr. J. Williams, of Islington. It is a mug, three and a half inches high, painted in blue with borders and flowers, and has on the front the initials and name[105]

G C
LOWESTOFT
1789

These will be sufficient to show the range of years over which the Lowestoft blue and white porcelain was manufactured. That it was made to the close of the works there is every probability; but that it gradually gave way to a finer and higher class of goods is certain. Earthenware, too, of a fine kind, appears to have been made at Lowestoft, of which I have seen some interesting examples, so called, in various collections.

In the possession of Mr. Andreas A. Cockayne is a pair of remarkably good salt-cellars of undoubted Lowestoft make. The inside is painted with roses and other flowers, and the outside has festoons of roses and foliage, and on either side of each is a shield bearing _gules_, on a bend, _argent_, three leopards’ heads, caboshed, of the field; over all an escutcheon of pretence with the arms of Cockayne, _argent_, three cocks, _gules_. Crest, a leopard’s head, caboshed, _gules_.

Before speaking of the later and higher class of goods made, or painted, at Lowestoft, it is quite necessary to put collectors on their guard against giving implicit credence to all they hear in the locality as to the kinds of ware made at these works. I have seen undoubted specimens of early Worcester, of Caughley, of Bristol, and of several other localities, gravely asserted to be Lowestoft, and even attempted to be proved to be such by the very marks they bear. As a proof of this I may just mention that it is said the company did a large trade with Turkey, and the ware prepared for that market “had on it no representation of man or beast (so as not to offend Mahometan law), and at the bottom of each piece the Crescent was painted!” It is perhaps unnecessary to say that the pieces marked with the “Turkish Crescent” are the ordinary blue and white with the Worcester and Caughley marks, and that some of the pieces are the well-known “cabbage-leaf” and other forms of those makes.

The great characteristic of the latter and more advanced porcelain made at Lowestoft, is its extreme minuteness and intricacy of pattern and beauty of finish. Indeed the decorations on many of the specimens which I have examined, are of a character far superior, both in design and in the exquisite and almost microscopic nicety of the pencilling and finish, to those mostly produced at other English manufactories. The borders are frequently very minute and elaborate, and the wreaths, festoons, or groups of flowers, are equally delicate in their proportions.

Some of the productions of the Lowestoft works are apparently painted on Oriental body, but there are many good examples in existence where the body is of Lowestoft make which are of very fine quality. The collector will be able to distinguish immediately between the examples painted at Lowestoft on Oriental body and those which were potted and painted there. Punch-bowls and tea and coffee services appear to have been the staple productions of these works, and, fortunately, many of the former, and several almost complete sets of the latter, are remaining in the hands of families in the neighbourhood, and in those of local collectors, who seem imbued with a truly laudable desire to keep alive the memory of what has been done for the Ceramic Art in their town. The bowls are usually of remarkably good form, and highly ornamented. They are mostly painted at Lowestoft, on Oriental body. Some of these, though not dated, nevertheless give collateral evidence of the period at which they were made, and become, therefore, historically valuable; as do also, indeed, some of the services bearing the initials, heraldic bearings, and monograms of families in the neighbourhood. A punch-bowl in the possession of the town clerk of Lowestoft, which is elaborately ornamented inside and out, bears inside a well-painted representation of a fishing lugger at full sail, within a circle, beneath which is the name of the vessel, _The Judas_. This bowl was made for the boat _Judas_, and was filled with punch and drank to its success before each fishing voyage, and at carousals at their end. In the same collection is another beautiful bowl, bearing on either side, within ovals, and surrounded by ornamental ovals, &c., portraits of the notorious John Wilkes, and another, with the words “Wilkes and Liberty.” The painting of these, as of all the higher class of wares, is very beautiful and, indeed, in some parts exquisite.

When writing in 1863 upon these works (and it must be borne in mind that I was the first to write upon them) I expressed myself as above. My opinion that some of the Lowestoft productions were painted there on Oriental body,--an opinion based upon thoroughly good foundation--has been taken exception to by a later writer (who has been indebted for nearly every scrap of information he has embodied in his work to what I then wrote), in no measured terms. I was fortified in that opinion by the judgment of the late Mr. Rose, of Coalport, than whom no man living had a more thorough practical knowledge of bodies and of all the different processes and phases of Ceramic Art, and whose opinion in all technical matters was sought and relied upon by all scientific men of real intelligence; and I am far from feeling disposed to give up that opinion at the mere dictum of a dealer. I have hesitation in saying that if a tithe of the pieces exhibited as Lowestoft _were_ painted there (which I very much doubt), they assuredly were painted on Oriental body, for much of the ware now vaunted as Lowestoft is certainly not English.[106]

The coffee-pot (Fig. 841) formerly belonging to Mr. Norman is a good specimen of Lowestoft painting. It forms part of a service, evidently a marriage-service, originally made for Captain Walsh. The initials it bears are probably those of himself and his bride. They are enclosed in an oval within a wreath of roses and palm branches, tied with a true lover’s knot. On either side is a Cupid, who supports a human heart pierced with two arrows, and this is surmounted by a coronet. On reference to the delft plate just described and engraved (Robert and Ann Parrish), it will be seen how strongly the design of that early example of Lowestoft earthenware accords with this, perhaps one of the most highly finished of its productions in porcelain.

It is unnecessary to describe other services, although many of them are of the highest beauty. One tea service, with the crest (an owl) and the monogram of W. W. conjoined, is especially deserving of notice, however, as being one of the choicest examples of porcelain painting of its kind which have come under my notice. This service, until lately intact, has unfortunately been dispersed, and portions of it passed into the collections of Sir Henry Tyrwhit, Mr. Norman, Mr. Seago, and others.

It is worthy of remark that on much of the Lowestoft china the rose is plentifully introduced. The reason for this is probably two-fold: first, the arms of the borough is the Tudor (or full-blown) rose, crowned with an open arched crown; and this may probably have been the principal incentive in giving the rose so constant and so prominent a place in the ornamentation of the china. Second, during the period of the great Revolution, a French refugee of the name of Rose, one of the cleverest of the French porcelain painters, found his way to Lowestoft, and was engaged by the company. He became the principal, and by far the best, of the artists employed, and probably introduced the rose more generally, in allusion to his name, than would otherwise have been done. To him may probably be ascribed the finest and most minutely finished specimens of painting which the works produced, and it was his taste which gave that French character to the general style of ornamentation which is so discoverable on many of the services. It is well to remark that on some of the pieces painted by him he is said to have introduced a small rose under the handle as a special mark of his work. Like that of many another man of genius, the lot of this clever refugee artist was a sad one. He was an aged man when he came to Lowestoft, and he remained at the works till his eyesight failed him, and he became very poor. A subscription was entered into, and a couple of donkeys to help him to carry water in the town purchased, and thus he passed his last few years.

In the group (Fig. 842), I have shown some very characteristic examples of the higher class make of the Lowestoft works. The saucer is an excellent specimen of floral decoration, and shows better than many the rose which was so plentifully introduced in decoration. The painting, however, of these bolder groups of flowers is not so good as in the more minute ones--the artists, as I have before said, excelling in minute, careful, and elaborate pencilling rather than in breadth of style and colour. The coffee-cup is a simple but very good specimen of heraldic decoration. It is part of a set made for the celebrated writer, the Rev. Robert Potter, Prebendary of Norwich and Vicar of Lowestoft, one of the most distinguished classical scholars of his time, and chiefly known for his excellent translations of Æschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, and for other equally learned works. The cup bears the arms _or_, a chevron, _sable_, between three mullets, _gules_, pierced of the first; with crest, and motto, “IN DEO POTERO.” The tea-cup in the same group is a good example of the not unusual French style of ornamentation, in wreaths, monograms, and initials. The shield bears the initials “M.S.J.,” and is surrounded by a remarkably elegant wreath of flowers, and surmounted by a crest. The engraving (Fig. 843) is a simple _sketch_ from the saucer belonging to the cup just described, and is therefore not filled in with the elaborate detail of the original. The mug engraved in the group is of a form very usual in Lowestoft specimens. It is well decorated with groups and sprays of flowers, among which the rose is predominant. The borders on all these pieces are of elaborate and minutely pencilled character.

Transfer printing on china does not seem to have been practised to any extent at Lowestoft. One jug, however, which has been handed down from father to son in the family of the most active proprietor, is preserved, with a memorandum that the copper-plate from which it was printed was given to Mr. Browne by a Mr. Gamble, of Bungay, who, with his family, was in the habit of visiting Lowestoft. Probably the plate was given that the family might be supplied with ware printed from it. The design is a sportsman with dog and gun, and on the spout of the jug are the letters ‘S. A.’ the initials of Samuel Aldred. I have also seen a set of beakers, &c., printed in blue, which are said to have been bought at the factory, and to be attested as Lowestoft make.

The Lowestoft works did not excel in figures, which were usually simple in design, and of small size. They are usually single rustic figures, and possess no notable features; four examples, purchased at the factory just before its close, are in the possession of Lady Smith, and are highly interesting as being well authenticated. Among the principal artists employed at the works were Rose, the refugee of whom I have just spoken, whose beautiful floral patterns decorate most of the best specimens of the ware of these works; Powles, a very clever artist, whose name is well known as the draughtsman of the plates illustrating Gillingwater’s “History of Lowestoft;” Allen, of whom I have spoken, who painted the east window of the parish church, and was the mixer of the colours at the factory; Redgate, who also was a good flower-painter; Curtis, of whose productions I have already spoken; Abel, John, and Joseph Bly; James, John, and Margaret Redgrave; and others named Stevenson, Balls, Mottershed, and Simpson. Besides these, several women were employed in painting and gilding.

The works were brought to a close in the year 1803 or 1804, and the materials and finished goods were sold by auction. The causes which led to their discontinuance were many, but principally the losses sustained by the company, and the successful competition of the Staffordshire manufacturers. One great loss was caused by the failure of their London agents; another and more serious one by the destruction of a very large quantity of Lowestoft china in Holland, with which country an extensive trade was carried on, as thus stated:--“When Napoleon crossed the river during a hard frost and captured Holland, amongst the British property destroyed was a quantity of Lowestoft china at Rotterdam, in value several thousand pounds.” The trade with Rotterdam was very large, and the ware was sent weekly in hogsheads by way of Yarmouth. These two losses, coming closely together, crippled the company; and the cost of manufacture, through having no coal nor any other requisite material in the neighbourhood, preventing them from producing ware so cheaply as could be done in Staffordshire and at Derby and Worcester, the works were closed, after the proprietors had realised considerable sums; and the town thus lost a branch of manufacture which was an honour to it, and which has given it a name in the annals of the Ceramic Art of this country.

And here, before proceeding further, let me again utter a word or two of caution to collectors, against placing too implicit a reliance upon what has been written concerning Lowestoft china, and against taking for granted that all which is nowadays called Lowestoft china is really the production of that manufactory. If all that is ascribed to Lowestoft was ever made there, the works must have been about the most extensive, and--if all the varieties of wares that are now said to have been there produced were made, as is asserted, simultaneously--the most extraordinary on record. The great bulk of the specimens now unblushingly ascribed to Lowestoft I believe never were in that town, much less were ever made there. Mr. Owen, in his excellent work on Bristol china, says truly:--

“The fashion has become general to attribute all such (Oriental)
china to Lowestoft, in spite of the evidence afforded by its
make, texture, and glaze. It is painful to see, in public and
private collections, examples of Oriental ware so labelled,
simply because, though hard porcelain, they bear English
armorial coats and initials. Mrs. Wilton, of Twigworth Villa,
Gloucester, has a set of Oriental china mugs--with the initials
of her grandfather and grandmother--which were made for her
ancestor in China, and brought thence by himself. According to
the new fashion, these relics would be attributed to Lowestoft.
Many porcelain punch-bowls are to be found in seaport towns with
names and portraits of ships and very early dates; these bowls
are often attributed to the works at Liverpool and Lowestoft.
The officers of the East India Co.’s ships were accustomed to
take out English delft bowls, and get them reproduced in common
porcelain in China for their merchant friends; and many a relic
now prized as of home manufacture was procured in this manner.”

And again:--

“If one hundredth portion only of the Oriental porcelain which,
on the slight evidence of having a certain red trellis-work in
the borders, or coarsely-painted roses, or English armorial
bearings, is erroneously attributed to _Lowestoft_, had really
been made there, that factory must have been the most prolific
and wonderful in the kingdom. A higher critical appreciation of
the peculiarities of Oriental ware would prevent such an error.”

The mill for grinding the materials for the manufactory “was in a ravine by the Warren House on Gunton Denes, where a fine stream of water constantly flows. This was dammed up, and when it had arrived at a certain height, was set to flow over a very large wheel (the largest of the kind at that time in the kingdom), for the purpose of grinding the materials for the china.” This water wheel is, I am informed, still in existence. The factory was situated in the town, and the premises are now occupied as a brewery. The street is still called Factory Lane. It is worthy of note that no mark was used upon Lowestoft china. Marryat mentions a mark of three parallel straight blue lines; but this is evidently an error, as no such examples appear to be known.

STOWMARKET.

The Tile Works at this place are of old establishment, and have always been noted for the production of celebrated “white bricks,” spoken of in the seventeenth century. They are worked by Mr. C. O. Fison, who, in addition, manufactures an improved malt-kiln tile, both square-cluster and round-cluster, for which honourable mention was made at the 1862 Exhibition. They are largely exported to various foreign countries, as well as being extensively used in this kingdom.

IPSWICH.

_Ransome’s Patent Stone._--The first manufacture of this important material was commenced at Ipswich in 1844; the inventor being Mr. Frederick Ransome, of the firm of Ransomes and Sims of this town. The works were removed in 1866 to East Greenwich, which see (page 162) for a farther account.

EBBISHAM.

A large brick manufactory existed at Ebbisham, in Surrey, in the seventeenth century, and a long and most interesting account of it, and of the clays, as well as all the processes of manufacture, will be found in Houghton’s “Husbandry and Trade Improved,” 1693.

WROTHAM.

A pottery was in existence here, in Kent, in the middle of the seventeenth century, but nothing is known as to its history. The ware was the usual coarse brown ware, of much the same character as the Toft dishes. An example, formerly belonging to Mr. C. W. Reynolds, decorated with an incised pattern and bearing the date 1668, and the initials H. I. and I. A., is traditionally said to be of this make. In the British Museum is a large brown dish with the words E. W. E., WROTHAM, 1669, and in the Museum of Practical Geology is a two-handled posset-pot with raised ornaments and inscription laid on, in yellow slip, before glazing, T. E., WROTHAM, 1703. Another good example, belonging to Mr. Baldwin, is a four-handled tyg ornamented with fleur-de-lis, &c., and bearing the words

W
WROTHAM C R 1659.
R·S

An interesting example, considered by Marryat to belong to Wrotham, is given on Fig. 844.

YARMOUTH.

Although the name “Absolon, Yarmouth,” may occur on various pieces of ware in different collections, it must not, for one moment, be taken for granted that the pottery was produced there. The Absolons were china and glass dealers in Yarmouth, and one of the family appears to have erected a kiln, called the Ovens, and there to have burnt in the flowers and other designs which he employed himself in painting upon ware produced from other places. His plan appears to have been to procure the ordinary cream-coloured ware in plates, &c., and paint upon them flowers in the manner of those of Swinton, Don, &c.; and in the same manner to write their names on the back; and then to burn them in in his own “oven.” Mr. Norman possessed some plates of Absolon’s painting, which bore on the back the usual mark of his name, pencilled on and burnt in, and the name “TURNER” impressed in the ware. These pieces, there can be no reasonable doubt, were made by John Turner, of Lane End. Mr. Chaffers says that having the name of “Turner” stamped upon them, “proves that they were actually made at Caughley, and decorated at Yarmouth;” but this carries its own condemnation on the face of it, for Turner of Caughley is not known to have stamped his _name_ on his ware, and beyond this he did not produce cream ware at his works. There is reason to believe that Absolon bought his ware from Staffordshire and Leeds. He put his name in colour on the bottom of the pieces he decorated.

COSSEY.

The works at Cossey, near Norwich, which now produce many art-works of merit in the form of decorated bricks and other architectural enrichments, were established about 1800, as a brick-yard, and so continued of small size, until about 1827, when Cossey, or Costessy Hall, the seat of its noble owner, Lord Stafford, was rebuilt, when they were enlarged, so as to enable a full supply for the purpose to be made. The foreman of these works was Mr. Gunton, and under his care the manufacture of ornamental bricks, for the new hall, was tried, and with marked success. On this hall,--one of the best of brick buildings, and one which may be looked upon as a gigantic example of Cossey ceramic art--are some remarkably fine Tudoresque chimney shafts, as well as excellently designed and well-executed cusped window-heads, transoms, mullions, &c.; and finials, door-jambs, cornices, panelling, and string-courses, all of equal excellence. These are all formed of moulded brick made at Cossey from native clays, and are still in remarkably good preservation. After the completion of the building of the Hall the brickworks were closed for about four years, when Mr. Gunton succeeded in renting them in the hope of fully carrying out his idea of manufacturing decorated brickwork. Unfortunately, however, he was not permitted to have the use of the moulds from which the Hall bricks had been made; but, nevertheless, he from time to time prepared new moulds for chimney shafts, window-heads, mouldings, &c., and gradually got them into notice, and architects and builders soon began to see their advantage. The works are now carried on by his son, Mr. George Gunton, whose productions are of the highest possible class of merit. Among the architectural enrichments produced at these works,--the designs being entirely supplied by architects, and of the purest style and finish--are chimney shafts, many of which are of the most elaborate style of ornamentation; window-heads, &c.; balustrades; cornices; medallions; crest-ridging; string-courses; plinths; arches and keys; pateræ; architraves; finials; capitals, bases, and shafts; and many other matters. These are produced of remarkable sharpness and of great beauty of finish--the tooth, nail-head, and other ornaments, being very pure in character. They are produced in two colours--a fine, rich, deep red, and a stone; the latter being the nearest approach of any to artificial stone, and both being extremely hard and durable.

CADBOROUGH.

The _Cadborough Pottery_, near Rye, in Sussex, was first built about 1807, and carried on by Mr. James Smith, and afterwards by his son, Mr. Jeremiah Smith. In 1840, the business passed into the hands of the late Mr. William Mitchell (who had had the management of it, under Mr. Smith, since 1827), who carried it on in his own name until 1859, when he took one of his sons, Mr. Frederick Mitchell, into partnership, and the firm became “Wm. Mitchell & Son,” and so continued until 1869, when the partnership was dissolved, under mutual arrangement, Mr. Mitchell, sen., continuing the Cadborough business for common earthenware, and his son, Mr. Frederick Mitchell, taking the fancy department, which was his own creation, to new premises, the Bellevue Pottery (which see). In 1870, Mr. Mitchell, sen., died, and the business at Cadborough was then taken by Mr. Henry Mitchell, who still carries it on. The goods produced are the ordinary common brown wares, glazed and unglazed, and consist of flower-pots; chimney-pots; pitchers and crocks of various kinds; tongue, ham, beef, biscuit, milk, and other pans; bottles, jugs, bowls, and other domestic vessels; sewer and drain pipes; butter-pots; and all the other usual articles made in this ware. The clay is dug on the farm of Cadborough, as is also the loam with which it is mixed, and it is of peculiarly hard and durable texture, and capable of taking a good glaze. Many of the domestic vessels are mottled or “splashed” under the glaze.

RYE.

The “_Bellevue Pottery_” in the Ferry Road, Rye, Sussex, was established in 1869, by its present proprietor, Mr. Frederick Mitchell, son and partner of the late Mr. William Mitchell of the Cadborough Pottery (which see). It was established entirely for the manufacture of “Sussex Rustic Ware”--an ornamental branch of the brown-ware goods invented by Mr. Frederick Mitchell while at those works. This ware is of peculiar, but highly pleasing character, and in it a large variety of fancy articles, flower-baskets, candlesticks, jugs, vases, pilgrims’ bottles, &c., are made. The clay is peculiarly light, and of tolerably close texture, and it is capable of working into any form. The glaze, which is of equal richness with that of “Rockingham” ware, is of exceedingly good quality, and it has a rich effect over the mottling or “splashing” which characterizes this ware. Many of the productions are very artistic, and evince much taste and skill in manipulation. Some of the vessels are decorated with the leaf and head of the staple product of the county --the hop--or with other excellent copies of leaves and flowers, &c. The peculiarity of this “Sussex Rustic Ware” is its extreme lightness, and the richness of its mottling and glaze.

One article, worthy of especial notice, as made at these works (and formerly at Cadborough), is the “Sussex Pig” here engraved. This is a drinking vessel of the same general character as the “Bears,” which will be found described under the heads of Brampton, Nottingham, &c. The body, when filled with ale, stands on end, on its tail, and the head lifts off to be used as a drinking cup, precisely in the same manner as with the “bears.” In Sussex these “pigs” are used at weddings, when each guest is invited to “drink a _hogshead_ of beer to the health of the bride;” and at other social and convivial meetings. On these occasions each person is expected to drink this cup--or “hog’s head”--full of liquor.

GESTINGTHORPE.

Pavement tiles and other articles were made at Gestingthorpe, in Essex, in the seventeenth century. Houghton, writing in 1693, says:--

“From my ingenious good friend, _Mr. Samuel Dale_, of
_Braintree_, in _Essex_, I am informed, that at _Gestingthorpe_,
in that county, are made a sort of hard yellowish bricks and
pavements, called _white brick_, and _Walpet brick_, from a town
in _Suffolk_ of that name, where they were first made; they are
harder and more durable than common red brick, and therefore
much used for pavement of floors in lower rooms, and also for
fire-hearths, except just where they make their fires.”

HOLKHAM.

In 1849, the Earl of Leicester, anxious to turn the clays of his estate in Norfolk to good account, commenced the manufacture of red terra-cotta at Holkham, and produced some good Tudor chimney-tops and moulded bricks.

NUNEHAM COURTNEY.

Potworks existed here in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and are spoken of by Plot, in 1677 as being “now deserted; nor, indeed, was there, as I ever heard of, anything extraordinary performed during the working these earths.”

MARSH BALDEN.

The pottery at this place, existing in the beginning of the seventeenth century, is included in the above remark by Dr. Plot.

HORSPATH.

Tobacco pipes were made here in the latter end of the seventeenth century.

SHOTOVER.

At Shotover, in the parish of Headington, tobacco-pipes were made prior to 1677, at which time the “place was deserted.”