The Clay Industries, Including the Fictile & Ceramic Arts on the Banks of the Severn: with notices of the early use of Shropshire clays, the history of pottery, porcelain, &c. in the district — John Shaqi
The Clay Industries, Including the Fictile & Ceramic Arts on the Banks of the Severn: with notices of the early use of Shropshire clays, the history of pottery, porcelain, &c. in the districtRandall, John
History
The Clay Industries, Including the Fictile & Ceramic Arts on the Banks of the Severn: with notices of the early use of Shropshire clays, the history of pottery, porcelain, &c. in the district
Randall, John
Ceramics -- Great Britain -- History; Clay industries -- Great Britain -- History; Porcelain, English
It was the excellency of the Broseley and Benthall clays, above referred
to, which attracted the Messrs. Maw to the spot and led them to remove
from Worcester, to where they had been in the habit, first of all, of
having them conveyed by barges on the river, to the present site of their
works, fashioned out of the old Benthall Iron Works, carried on a century
ago by Mr. Harries, then owner of the Benthall estate. Notwithstanding
the additions made by them, the trade has so wonderfully developed itself
that after building upon or in some way occupying every inch of ground,
they are cramped for room, and have purchased a piece of ground at the
Tuckies on which they are about to erect more commodious premises.
In addition to those classical and other adjuncts of architectural
comfort and embellishment, embracing encaustic tiles—the reproduction of
an art limited in mediæval times to church decoration, but now having a
much more extended application, and the manufacture of tesseræ, used in
the construction of geometrical mosaic pavements, similar in character to
those found in the mediæval buildings of Italy, also moresque mosaics,
like those occurring in Roman remains in this country and on the
continent, they now manufacture a superior majolica, and faience of great
purity, in both of which departments they have recently received first
class medals at the Philadelphia exhibition. The accompanying engraving
will convey an idea of the adaptation of faience to articles of domestic
utility.
[Picture: The adaptation of faience to a fireplace]
JACKFIELD POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
Older even than the Haybrook Mug House are the Pot Works of Jackfield,
which, according to the parish register of Stoke-upon-Trent, quoted by
Mr. Jewitt and Mr. Chaffers, supplied a race of potters to that great
centre of early pot-making in the year 1560. Excavations made too, some
years ago, brought to light on a spot near which the present works of
Craven, Dunnill & Co., now stand, an oven, or kiln, with unbaked ware,
which appeared to have been buried by a land-slip; and in an old pit,
which it was said had not been opened for two centuries, a brown mug was
discovered, which had upon it the date 1634. If Jackfield supplied early
potters for Stoke, Stoke sent pot masters to Jackfield. One of these was
Mr. Richard Thursfield, an ancestor of Greville T. Thursfield M.D., who
took these works and carried them on in 1713. He was succeeded by his
son John, of whom we have spoken as afterwards living at Benthall and
carrying on works there. The late Richard Thursfield, Esq., had in his
possession some good examples of Jackfield ware. Among them was a
handsome jug, gilt, having on it, we believe, the name of one of the
family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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