The ceramic art of Great Britain from pre-historic times down to the present day, Volume 2 (of 2) : $b being a history of the ancient and modern pottery and porcelain works of the kingdom and of their productions of every classJewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
History
The ceramic art of Great Britain from pre-historic times down to the present day, Volume 2 (of 2) : $b being a history of the ancient and modern pottery and porcelain works of the kingdom and of their productions of every class
Jewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
Pottery, British -- History
In the Mayer museum is a teapot of cream-coloured ware, with black
printing, of Richard Abbey’s making. On one side is “The Farmer’s
Arms,” with supporters quarterly: viz., 1st, a sheaf of corn; 2nd,
two scythes in _saltier_, across them in _fess_ two flails, knitted
together by a sickle; 3rd, a hay rake and hay fork in _saltier_, with
a three-pronged fork, prongs upwards, in _pale_; 4th, a riddle and a
bushel measure; crest, a plough; supporters, a dairymaid with a churn,
and a mower with a scythe; motto, “In God is our trust.” On the other
side is the appropriate verse;--
May the mighty and great
Roll in splendour and state;
I envy them not, I declare it;
I eat my own Lamb,
My Chicken and Ham,
I shear my own sheep, and I wear it.
I have Lawns, I have Bowers,
I have Fruits, I have Flowers,
The Lark is my morning alarmer;
So you jolly Dogs now,
Here’s “God bless the Plow,”
Long Life and content to the Farmer.
On taking to these works, Messrs. Worthington, Humble, and Holland
engaged as their foreman and manager, Mr. Ralph Mansfield, of Burslem.
This person served them for some years, and afterwards commenced a
small pottery on his own account at Bevington Bush, where he made only
the commoner kinds of earthenware. These works ceased at his death.
Besides Mansfield the foreman, the new Company engaged about forty
“hands,” men, women, and children, in Staffordshire, and brought them
to Liverpool to work in different branches of their art. As Wedgwood
had chosen to call _his_ new colony “Etruria,” the enterprising company
determined on christening _their_ colony “Herculaneum,” which name they
at once adopted, and stamped it on their wares. The buildings acquired
from Richard Abbey were considerably enlarged, the arrangements
remodelled, new ovens and workshops erected, houses for the workmen
built, and then workpeople were brought from Staffordshire. The story
of the removal of this band of artisans is thus pleasantly told by my
friend Mr. Mayer: “After enlarging and remodelling the works, and the
little group of emigrants, who were chiefly from Staffordshire, being
ready to start, their employers gave them a dinner at the Legs of Man
public-house at Burslem, to which a few of their friends were invited.
There they spent the parting night in jollity and mirth; and at a
late hour, in conformity with an old Mercian custom, still prevalent
in some parts of Staffordshire, the parting cup was called for, and
each pledged the other to a loving remembrance when absent, and a safe
journey and a hearty goodwill. Next morning at an early hour they
started on their journey, headed by a band of music, and flags bearing
appropriate inscriptions, amongst which was one, ‘Success to the Jolly
Potters,’ a motto still met with on the signs of the public-houses in
the Staffordshire pot districts. When reaching the Grand Trunk Canal,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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