Post-Medieval Pottery 1650-1800

Cover iiEustrutiun
Two fine eanhenware coffee-pots.
The left-hand one is creamware painted with enamels; Melbourne,
Derbyshire, about 1770. The other is colour-glazed ware, slip-cast
as a cauliflower, Staffordshire or Yorkshire, about 1760s.
Both about two-fifths actual size.
(Photograph: Northampton Museum.)
Illwrration on rille page
Bear of Nott~nghamstoneware, about 1740s (height 252 mrn)
About two-fifths actual slze.
(Photograph: Nonhampton Museum.)
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION 5
2. LOCAL EARTHENWARES 7
3. SLIPWARE
4. DELFT 25
15 -
5. STONEWARE 33
6. FINE EARTHENWARES 41 7 . CREAMWARE 47
8. PORCELAIN 53
-
9. AN EARLY EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PIT GROUP 51
10. FURTHER READING
11. MUSEUMS 62
INDEX 63
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First published I984
Set in 11 paint Times and printed in Great Britain by
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Press Buildings. Merlins Bridge. Havedordwest. Dyfcd.
60
6
Posr- Medieval Porierv
century. of creamware, which was exported and prized all over
Europe and beyond, as the best reasonably priced pottery of the
period. Britain had been a backwater for ceramic production.
British ceramics were influenced by conrinen tal developments
and seldom achieved the quality of, for example, tin-glazed
earthenware produced in Europe.
Local earthenwares
Archaeofogically local earthenwares are often called coarsewares, but by comparison with earlier ots the are not coarse.
Bw comparison with delft and the later ine eart enwares they do
sekm so, however. Long before 1650 almost all potters were using
a fine. fairly hard fabric w ~ t ha little fine sand temper, which is
very sophisticated by comparison with much medieval and earlier
pottery tempered with large atit or $round shell. Almost a11 wots
were at least partia!l_vglj~cd,
whereas in the medieval period only
jugs and finer vesseIs werc glazed. Metal cooking vessels were
very common and had completcl?; replaced the simple ceramic
cooking pot, which had been the commonest pottery form made
from the neolithic period onwards. There was no reduction in the
amount of pottery in circulation. because during the Iate
sixteenth century when t hc cooking pot was superseded, many
new pottery forms such as dishes, plates, bowls (some handled),
cups, mugs and specialised cooking vessels Iike skillets and
chafing dishes came ~ n t ocommon use. The orher very common
medieval form - the jug, or pitcher - continued in production,
as did large storage vecsels.
Almost all post-medieval earthenwares are oxidised and
therefore red, becausc they were fired in a kiln with plenty of air,
or rather ox gen, available. Many medieval wares were black or
. dark brown ecnuse they were fired in a reducing atmosphere, in
a sealed kiln where the supply of free oxygen was limited.
All forms were made in metal. but the pottery equivalent was
much cheaper. Even more economical were wooden bowls,
drinking vessels and trenchers. Neither metal nor wooden vessels
are well represented in archaeological deposits because wood rots
away and the metal vessels were recycled by being melted down
when broken beyond repair.
Probate inventories (lists of possessions made after death)
show the low value placed on earthenwares since they rarely
mention them at all. They do, however, clearly indicate t h e great
variety of the more valuable metal cooking and serving vessels.
An inventory of a 'gentleman' in Yetminster, borsez, in 1686 lists
'1 furnace pan, 2 brass pots, 2 kettles, 2 skillets, 2 skimmers, 2
brass ladles, a pestle and morter, 2 brass candlesticks and 2
chaffindishes' (chafing dishes) and '18 pewter d i s k s , 12
plates, 12 pewter porringers, 3 pewter candlesticks an8",;:;
P
r;
_ -_-
.
l earthenware handled b w h . h t h crcaratcd in Dorchesrer In 154h 3. Plain greeny
orange plaze (helpht M mmm). 4. With lr h ~ t cr l ~ pdecorat~on(d~arneter132 mm). Probablv
earl! eigh~ecnthccntup Boz h also111one-! h ~ r dactual slzc ( D o t x t Uountv Museum.)
h
Chamber-pols. a form rarclv reprcwnrrd in collccrions 5. W ~ t h
s l ~ pdecoration, lrom the
group ~llustratcdin chaptct'9; early tlghrcen~hcenrury (he~ght148 mml. 6. Olive green
Ime ~ n s ~ dand
e spla~hcsoutside. prahahly h e r c~ghrcenthcentury. local eanhenware
h c ~ p h155
~ mm). Rorh ahour a quancr actual s ~ z c . (Dorset County Museum )
f
i
8
Posr-Medieval Ponery
small pewter salts and drinking holes, 4 pewter chamber pots, a
bed pan and closestool pan', w hi 1st any pottery he possessed must
be included with 'other lumber goods'. This rich inventory gives a
goad idea of the variety of brass and pewter used, but any
wooden vessels present would have been too cheap to be listed. A
later inventor), of a yeoman from Leigh. Dorset, does however
list ' 5 trenchers and one cage'. presumably because of the 'cage'
or stand. This inventory of 1760 includes bell-metal, pewter and
iron vessels. and '3 stone plates and some cups . . . 1 tea pot and
tea dishes'. which are probably included because they are not
common local: earthenware. Earthenwares were used. broken
and discarded, so that thev rarely survived to be collected, and
coIlectors tended to concentrate on decorated wares.
Local earthenwares therefore are mostly known through the
archaeolo~icalrecord. and here they appear in huge quantities.
Even pit goups of the rnld nineteenth century incIude a few local
bowls or other kitchen wares. whilsr in cgroups of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries they predominate (chapter 9).
Many of the local potteries were small family concerns. and
often pottery making was only a part-time occupation. Surviving
accounts. w ~ l l sand ~nventoriesshow that the potters were often
small farmers as well. Local clay was used. dug from as dose to
the kiln and workshop as possible. Some of these clays needed
weathering in t h e frost or mixing with fine sand. whllst others
were suitable for firing without any addition. All. however. had
to have any stones or gravel removed, sometimes by diluting the
clay with water until it was a slip and then sieving it. After the clay
7. Plain cvcwda\ eanhcn*are bowl. wth a brow-flecked oranpcy glaze ~nstde:probably
cightccnth ccntur). Iheight 153 mm). 8. A very s lend~dtwclve-handled M w l glazed
~ r t e n & hrcllau overall: canhcnvuc, probably ma& at V e w d (Doncl), and pcrhnps
c ~ ~ h t c c nrcnturv
~h
(hcight l
.
U mm). B o ~ habout une-sixth actual stte. (Donet Counry
Mutvum )
Local earthen wares
9
Earthenware pots with an won-nch sl~punder the glaze. 9. A v e T crude jug (height IR2
(height 246 mm) T h e shp can be seen extcndlng below the
century. Both about a quarter actual sizc. (Northampton
Mu s II. With a dutl green glaze, from the grou illustrated in chapter 9 (hcight 172 mm).
U.k c buff fabric with a streaky blow? plsrc &eight 131 rnrn). Both can henware, earl
etghreen~hcentury, with bands of ndg~ngreminisent of metal or u w d c n v c ~ r e b .Doll
shout two-fifths actual size. (12: Northampton Museum.)
10
Posf-Medieval Portery
had been trampled or mixed and then kneaded to remove air
pockets it was ready for use,
Almost all local eanhenwares were thrown on the wheel, that
is, formed by placing a suitably sized lump of clay on a small
circular platform (wheel) and shaping the pot as this revolves.
Early wheels were powered bv the potter's feet, but during the
eighteenth centusy wheels came into use that were directly
cranked by another worker or driven like a lathe by cord and
pulley from a large hand-turned wheel.
When the main par? of the pot was leather hard the handles
were attached. Pottery needs to be dry before i t is fired because
any water left in the body will mnkc it shatter in the kiln. In the
simplest potteries vesseIs were dried outside in the sun. but many
had dryine,
- - sheds, some us in^ a low artificial heat.
Glazing made the pots less porous and more attractive.
Originally galena, a lead ore mined at several places in En land,
was ground to a powder and dusted on, but a later and etter
method was to dip the pot in a liquid mixture of slip and galena as
this could cover more of the pot. Irt the later seventeenth century
lithatge or lead oxide, which gave a shinier finish. stalted to
replace galena. although not all local potteries changed t o it.
Mosr local porters ground and prepared their own glazes.
tters used saggars in the k ~ l nbut
. others simply placed
sherds o pottery or pellets of clay between the vessels to prevent
the glaze from sticking them together. Later developments
included fixed shelves inside the kiln so that the finer wares could
be stacked separately. Firing makes the pot hard and rurns the
glaze into a shiny glass-like coating. Manv different types of kiln
were used at this period, varying in corn !exit), from the simple
clam with no permanent su erstructure &n early and surprisingly e l ective method of firing! to quite large complex kilns with a
permanent dome, several firemouths. and a covered walkway
around to protect the firing area from the weather. A great
variety of fuels was used, ranging from wood, or even fune, to
coal or pear. Firing would takc from three days to a week. The
temperature was raised slowly at first. to make sure the pots were
wholly dry, then steadily to a maximum of around IOU0 " C.The
kiln might take two or three days to cool down.
Most early pottery was produced by these processes. but for
more refined wares more sophisticated methods were used.
particularly for decorated pots. These are described under the
appropriate t y e of pottery.
t
Somepo
?
/
Local earthen wares
11
as a
13. An u n c l . ~ i r cL3rihenware
~,
hrc pot, wbluh would k f ~ l l r dwrth hot . ~ < h efor
s
prtablc hcatrr prohablv eighteenth centurv (hcighl 131 mm) About one-fifth actual
slze. 14. A s~mplesl~pwaredlch wtth yellowy SIFP and grrn glaze. of a lype produced hv
many local pottertes dunng chr eighteenth and r~ine~eenth
centuries (diameter 251. mm).
About one-sixth actual swe. (Both Northampton Museum )
Glaze colour resuEts from the cnlour of the body of the pot or
the slip coatings, seen through r he basically colourless glaze, or
from additions to the glaze itself. Most clays contain iron, which
in an oxidising atmosphere makes the glaze orangey or brown
depending on how much is prescnt. and on some earthenwares
15. Puzzle jug with a dark brown glaze (height 172 mm). The tube in the handle supplies
the nozzles on the rim. Prohabky nineteenth ccntuty E6. Posse1 pot w11h n dark brown
glaze. probably made in Wtltshlre, late sevenrcenth or early eighteenth m n l u ~
(height
178 mm) Both earthenware, ahout a quaner dctual size. (15: Northampion Museum; 16:
Donet Countv Museum.)
I
Post-Medieval Porrery
iron-rich flecks in the fabric produce small brawn stains in Ithe
glaze. Some of the very dark brown wares hare an iron-rich slip
under the glaze (this is articularly clear on 9 and 10. where the
slip extends f u n h e r A w n the pot than the glaze). Many
post-medieval pots have an olive-green glaze, or one which has
patches of orange and green, and this is probably the result of full
o r partial reduction in the kiln at the end of the firing: green or
orange. o r atchy, glazes were produced by the same pottery.
Instead +o! being applied as a slip, iron could be added directlv
to the glaze. and manganese was also used in this way, producing
a dark brown speckled and streaked effect (12 and 21). A very
good green was produced by using copper filings in the glaze, hut
during this period they were mostly used for very sparse flecks of
green on slipwares, especially sgraffito.
Besides forms which are still made and used today, these
potters were producing some vessels (particularly for liquids)
which are less familiar. Puzzle jugs (15) of various shapes, bur all
using the principle of a concealqd tube bypassing the pierced
neck. were commonly made in both local and fine earthenwares.
Fuddling cups, formed of several conjoined cups (17) made in
slipware. earthenware or delft. were also designed to drench the
dnnker. Posset pots. for the popular drinks made from spiced hot
milk with wine. beer or honey, were commonly made in delft,
slipware and local earthenwares during the seventeenth and
earlier eighteenth centuries (16. 25, 26 and 37).
Many of these local potteries were also producing slipdecorated wares in the same basic fabric as the plain earthenware
(2. 13 and 29). Distinguish~nga simple slip-decorated vessel from
one which has n o slip but w h ~ c hmight well have been fired in the
17. Brown dazed earthenware fuddling cup w t h enrenmntd handles, rohahlv made En
wiltrh~re.purchased In West h r r e l rn IK%'(he~_ehrS2 rnrn). 18. E a r t k n w a r i skilEet In
tine buff fabnc w t h a v e n smooth glaze v a n i n g from dark yetlow to pale olive preen
he@! 51 m m ) Both probably scvrn€crnth ccntuw. a b u t one quartcr actual slze
Dorset County M u x m )
I
Local earthen wares
19. Splendidly proport~onedemhenware jug w ~ t han iron-nch FIIFproiuiang a v e y dark
brown laze, late seventeenth or early eighreenth cenNp (hr~ghr1-8 mml. 20. Slipware
jug w a h d i i f h a v h ~ t cr i p and with brown sI~pdixorarlon, prohahi! Sullordrhtri. lare
seventeenth century (herght 174 mm). Both a b u t one-th~rdacrual sue (Norrhampron
Museum.)
same kiln, as this book does, might be considered silly, but
sorting pots into their different types does aid our understanding
of them. Fine earthenware factories also produced several types
side by side.
In some cases the Iocal earthenware potters and the fineware
potters both made the same forms, such as plain bowls (73 and
chamber ots (5 and 61, but generally the fineware potlers of the
eighteentg century concentrated on the more sophisticated
forms, like tea and coffee wares, whilst the local potters supplied
heavy utilitarian cheap pots. Throughout this period the local
potters retained much of the market in baking. brewing and
cheesemaking utensils, which were very heavy to transport.
Archaeological groups indicate that they also supplied almost all
of the kitchen wares. Slip-decorared oots are not necessarilv
better than the plain earthknwases. as demonstrated by the juis
above. Local earthenwares are occasionally dull, heavy or even ill
suited to their function, but many are handsome objects, made by t,
master craftsmen who produced huge quantities of simple cheap
vessels for everyday use, highly functional, very beautiful and the
epitome of good design. These qualities result from the great
experience and skill of the individual potters, from the long
tradition of pottery making, and perhaps from the direct contact
between many of these pottcrs and their customers.
I
16
Post-Medieval P o t t ~ r y
II
Slip ware
17
27. Very Iarge slipare dish
with a coating of white sli
and trailed dekration in dart
brown slip '-ewelled' with
white and xiti ran slip infilling; Staffordshire. about
1670-80 (diamekr 450 mm).
About one-sixth actual slze.
(Fltmilliarn Museum, Cam.
bndge.)
23. Wrotham sl~pwarety [handled drinking vcsscl), ulirh pads 01 u h l t t clsr dnd rra~led
r h ~ r eshp. laited red a n i w h ~ t eclay on the handler, and dark brown glaze: I! har rnltmlr
and 15 dat~Z1667(height 187 mm). 24. M c t r o p l l ~ a nst~pwarcjug with the mscnplron FOR
EARTH [ A M , m ~ dserentcenth centuv (h~?phl127 mrn). Both about anc-th~rdactual
size. ( F ~ u m l l ~ a Museum.
m
Cambridge.)
;C"z
Fc
and plates were made in this elaborate style. Many are dated and
bear initials which must be those of the potters as the same ones
recur.
Manv simpler orange-bodied slipware pots have been found in
London and so are called 'Metropolitan' slipware. This was made
at Harlow and elsewhere from the early seventeenth century.
Dishes. jugs (24). tygs and chamber pots were decorated with
W. E. With a coating of dark brown slip and whitc
Staffordshire slipware pmw!
decorat~on,and lnscribrd R I C ~ ~ MPER
R D 1699 (heieht 124 rnm). 26. Wrth a coatine of
whltc dip end drrk h r o w dccorarion, and tnscnkd GOD BLESS O V E N AtViV, who
rc~pncdfrom 17112 to 1711 (he~phtIU mm] Both are abour one quartcr actual s~zc
[Northampton Muscum.)
simple trailed patterns and sonlc have inscriptions. Many are
religious - FEARE GOD 1630. FAST ANIS PRAY 1659 although some are secular - B E M E R E A N D \PIS.
Slipware was one of t h e first stages through which North
Staffordshire became the largest pottcry-producing area in the
world. During the early to mid seventeenth century earthenwares
made there were d~stributedover :In increasingly large area, and
from around 1660 quantities of sophisticntcd slipware wese
produced.
Many of the Staffordshire sl~pwares(and the very similar wares
made in Brfstol) have :I cornplctc coating of slip, with the
decoration in a second colour. 'I'ht. most magnificent have three
colours, like the huge Georgc 'Taylor dish (271, which is also
'jeweiled', that is, many of thc lirlcs of slip have dots of white slip
on them. This jewelling is iilso found on simpler vessels (26).
The very large d~sheslike 27 are the peak of the slipware
potters' art. They are very difficult to throw on the wheel because
they are so large, and the tralted decoration shows complete
mastery of this awkward technique. Thomas Toft is the most
famous name associated with these dishes, but there are several
other names which recur. It is unclear whether the names axe the
owners' or the potters', but the latter seems probable. They date
from about 1680 until just into the eighteenth century.
18
Post-Medieval Potrery
The Toft type dishes ate the most elaborate slipwares eves
made, but they were only a tiny proportion of production. Even
in Staffordshire the bulk of slipware produced was fairly simple.
Many dated or inscribed pots were made, however, including
simple mugs, model cradles (presumably christening gifts), posset
pots like 25 and 26 (at least some of which originally had domed
lids) and dishes. Simpler slipware without the overall wash was
also made in Staffordshire but was not distributed over such a
wide area. Staffordshire coated slipwase is found all over Britain
and occurs in almost every archaeological group of appropriate
date, but there were manv other kilns producing slipware.
Indeed. by the middle of the seventeenth century, simple locally
produced slipwares are found in most excavated groups. They are
mostlv utilitarian wares with only sparse decoration. As everyday
pots they are used, broken and discarded in large quantities, and
they did not survive to be collected.
Ticknall in Derhyshire is known from documentary sources to
have produced much slipware, but this can only be distinguished
from Staffordshire products if, like 30. the pot is known to have
been purchased near Ticknall. This is not a satisfactory method of
idenrification. Slipware cups and dishes remarkably similar to
Sraffotdshire wares were produced in Bristol from about 1680
and are commonly found in the south-west of England.
During the eighteenth century many local kilns produced
slipware, some decorated with slip lines or simply coated with
slip, some with more complex decoration. and others. particularly simple dishes, with swirled or combed decoration. These were
produced in great quantities alongside plain east henwares,
throushout the eighteenth century and well into the nineteenth.
28. Staffordshire sli ware
dish. covered In dark Rrown
slip w ~ r b stranst hounds '
traded on In pccnish grey
sltp, further round the pot are
a stag and hare (he~phr 130
mm) Ahour 171W A b u t
one-thtrd actual s ~ z c (FI!zwI~l ~ a mM u x u m . Cambndse.)
j
I
I
I
Slip ware
Moulded sl~pwarrdiqhu*, hor11i r ~ r t tra~led
l
uhite shp. 19. I Iugc sln~plerectangular d~sh,
el hreenth or nrneteenth cL,nrury. white sl~pm e r dark hrnan sl~p(433 mm across longest
S I ~ C I30.
. Charmme r ~ r c u l . ~~ri l i h ,early clghrccnth r c n ~ u r houghr
~,
near Ticknrll about
1 KW; urh~teslrp d~rccrlyon rhe bod! (diametcr 312 mm). Both ahout one-sixth actual SIX.
(Northampton Museum.)
31. Slipware dish made In an elaboiare mould, coated with whFte slip and partially
decorated wirh dark brown and ran slips which arc restra~nedby rht moulded lines
(dlameter435 mm). SM on the panel in rhc ccntre is probably the mould maker's iaitia2s.
Staffordshcre, early t o mid e~ghteenthcenlur! A b u l one-sixth ac~ualsize. (Fimilllam
hTuseum. Cambridge.)
Post-Medie vnl Pottery
/I
I
Slip ware
long after Staffordshire had turned to making far more sophisticated pots and fabrics. The pots produced by the local kilns were
mostly for the kitchen or dairy, not for the table, although some
of the dishes and bowls may have been used for serving.
Many simple slipware dishes were made by pressing thick
sheets of clay over moulds. T h ~ sis called press-moulding and was
used for many localty produced slipwares well into the nineteenth
century. Most dishes produced this way were smooth inside and
decorated with marbled or combed slip, but in Staffordshire
moulds were used to produce a raised or embossed pattern on the
inside of t h e dishes, which confined the several coloured slips
within the specific areas they were applied (311, producing a very
neat effect. A few of the Fired clay moulds survive.
Sgraffito slipware
A different type of slipware is produced by completely covering
a vessel with slip and then scratching the decoration through it, so
that when glazed the surviving areas of slip and the revealed body
of the par contrast with one another. I t is easier to control the
result by this method than by trailing the slip, but often the naive
drawing of the patterns produces strange results (33). Scratched
or incised decoration without a slip coating was common in the
medieval period, and sgraffito slipware was imported from
32. Staffordshire. Devon or
Somerser sgraffiro dish. coalcd in whitt. slip and dated
1753 (diameter 368 mm).
There are smudges c ~ weeny
t
blue in rhe glaze. A h u t onefilth actual size. (Northampton Muwum.)
33. North Devon sgraffita harvest lug with the ro al coat of arms and the inscri tion on
the other side: HARVIS IS COM ALL HISSE$ I NOW IN MACKIN OF &OUR I
BARLY MOW WHEN MEN DO I LABER HARD A N D SWET GOOD I ACE IS FAR
BETTER THAN M E T / BIDEFORD APRIL 28rh 1774 M-tW (heinht 377 mml. About a
half actual size. (Royal Albert Memoriat Museum. ~ x e t e r . ) '
Post-Medieval Pottery
24
tion was impressed into the ot and then filled with slip. Printers'
type was used to impress t e inscriptions ( 3 9 , and a neat and
effective finish was achieved. Only a limited range of slipdecorated vessels was produced - most commonly spirit flasks
( 3 3 , small beet barrels and tobacco jars. A characteristic
inscription is Otions of Brandy and Rivers of Wine Planrecion oj
Tea and a Garie to my mind.These potteries were also producing
a normal range of plain earthenwares.
4
Delft
g
DelR showlng Chlnesc ~nfluence. 36. Plate palnted in two
shades of blue wuth romc
bnght yellow, In a common
pattern found on srvcral dllferent-shaped plates; Enpl~sh.
lfrHDs (diameter 192 mm) 37.
Posset pot w~th a rl~ghtl
bluey glaze painted w t h d a d
outlining and ~ w oshades or
blue. English. 1700s (height
203 rnm) Borh about a quarter acrual w e . (Northampton
Muxurn. )
I t would be more correct to call delft Ein-glazed earthenware, but
the term 'delft' is succinct and convenient and also the traditional
name taken from the Dutch town, even though tin-glaze making
started there long after it did in England. For delft, the usual lead
glaze is made white and opaque by the addition of tin oxide,
which gives a good surface on which to paint. It disguises the
thick earthenware body of the pot and makes it look like
porcelain.
Delft was the first white ware and the first painted coloured
pottery to be produced in England. It was more complicated to
produce than the common earrhenwases. The pots were fired
once, unglazed (biscuit firing), and then dipped in the liquid
glaze. The absorbent clay took up the water, and after the biscuit
dried the decoration was painted an to the surface. The difficulty
of erasing a brush stroke once ir had been put on added to the
problems and accounts for the crudeness of some of t h e
decoration. The pots were fired for a second time at a higher
temperature zo fix the colours and fuse the glaze. For this second
firing the glazed vesseIs were placed in a large cylindrical vessel
called a saggar to protect them from direct contact with the heat.
Plates and dishes were kept separate from each other by
triangular spurs placed between them, or later they were
supported by pegs projecting inside the saggar. This prevented
the glaze from fusing the vessels together. Small marks in the
glaze, particular1 on plates. show where these supports were
used (47 and 49{
The tin needed for the glaze was supptied from Cornwall, not
only to the English delft potters but to those in Holland and Italy
as well. A punch bowl, probably made in Bristol and dated 1731,
has the inscripZion John Udy of Ltlxillion 1 his tin wm so fine 1 it
glidered this punch bowl I and made it to shine . . . Luxulyan is in
south Cornwall.
Glaze including tin oxide was used in the MiddIe East from at
least as early as the ninth centur!. AD, and i t was first used in
Europe in the twelfth century i n Italy for very simple painted
wares. From the thirteenth century it was used in Spain for exotic
lustre ainted wares. The Itall;~n tin-glaze wares (majolica)
gradua ly gained in sophistication until the early sixteenth century
when vases and especially dishes were produced with painted
decoration, often biblical or classical scenes or portraits, all of
f
Post- Medieval Porrery
I
t
Y
Delfi
-
so-called 'blue-dash* chargers began to be made. decorated with
frui!. portraits - often royal (48). flowers - especially tulips
(47). o r Adam and Eve (49). These peculiarly English dishes
continued to be made until the 1730s and are named after their
hluc-paiinred borders. The main decoration was painted in several
colours. Until the 1690s the cheaper lead glaze was commonly
used lor the backs of these chargers.
Dunng !he eighteenth centurv the greatest influence on delft
was Chinese porcelain. resulting in many slightly altered and
adapted Chinese patterns (54). Dishes and plates continued to be
the most common vessels made. but punch bowls were made
rather than posset pots. and jugs and mugs changed shapes, often
h i r a t i n 2 silver vessels. Fashionable tea and coffee wares were
produced. Names and other inscriptions are found (533, sometimes relatins to current events such as elections. Bucolic
inscriptions continued to appear. particularly on punch bowls.
plates and puzzle jugs, for example. on a punch howl dated 1728,
Drink fatre / Dont Sware.
Decoration ainted in two ihades of blue, sometimes after
abour 1680 wit dark blue-green outlining, is very common and
often copies Chinese patterns. From the middle of the eighteenth
century English and chinoiserie landscapes and figures were
painted in blue and are especially effective on plates (51). From
1
51. Bnstol drth late w t h a charrnlng chino~scr~e
(Chinese-~nsplrcd)sccnc palnfcd In tuo
shadcr o l blue (Pameter 170 m m ) A wnpt I.? K patnred in hluc on ,he hale, ahout 17Hl
One-third actual sue. 52. lnrcnstly sptted pale coftrc-hrown ground w ~ l hrcscwes
panted In rwo shades of blue (d~amtter2'2 mm). Larnbtth, about 1750-75 Abnur
one quancr actual sue. (Nonhampton Museum.)
--
~tdlngthe inscr~pttonMARY TC'R'vEH AGED 2
53. Delft mug, painted in b I u ~
and a red I ~ n ron the nm ~ h e ~ g 95
h t mm).
Y M K S I4 DAYS SEP{TE.MdEjfi .'
Probably Bnstol Ahout half actual 5rze (F~uwilhamh l w u m , Carnbrldyc ) 54. Delft
plate pa~ntedwth a common Chinew style In tan. green. yellow. maneanew and dark
hlue ( d ~ a r n e t ~228
r mm). L a m b e ~ h .mtd ei~hreenthcenlury. About onc quarter actual
;lzr. i ~ o r t h a r n ~ t o~u"seurn.)
n
I?>L
about 1740 another Chinese style. 'powder' ground colour, with
areas reserved on, or protected from, the ground calour and then
painted with a pattern. was used usually in blue or manganese,
and rarely green or brown (52).
Delft tiles were made from the Iate sixteenth century onwards,
but the bulk of the surviving tiles are eighteenth-century. They
were painted, or decorated with prints by the specialist printing
firm of Sadler and Green in Liverpool from the 1750s (see pages
47 and 48), but this technique was only very rarely used on delft
vesse 1s.
There is a great deal of dated delft but very little has
inscri~tionsor anv form of identification to indicate where it was
made: ~owever,'therehave been excavations at many of the
factories and, together with the few ieces which do identify
themselves by inscriptions, research as made it possible to
attribute many pieces to their factory. The many dated vesseIs
and the fact that much delft followed contemporary Chinese
imports or silver shapes in style or decoration make datlng a piece
FI
easier than attribut~ngit.
Imports from the continent of Europe, of both high uality
intricately decorated wares and simpler vessels, continue! even
after delft was made in Britain, especially during the seventeenth
Post-Medievnl Pottery
4Q
1 < 5R. Stoocwarc pickle Iar w~rh\pr~mrddecoratton and ~ n c ~ r cr nd\ ~ r l p r l % )( r~rl r ) r , r t Brrrnlron
und Saralr .%OL 28 1752 (hc~ghl273 mm). About one quarter . i ~ t u . i lw e . Madc In
London IFltmlllam Muwum. Cambridge.) 59. Huge stoncw,wc mug w ~ t hspnmed
dccorar~onand impressed tnwnptlon Thomur Triplerr 17hE (hcbpht 2 3 mm). Made In
London. Ahour one-rh~rdactual sue. (Nonhamptan Museum )
i
Stoneware
commemorating marriages were made throughout the eighteenth
century (60). Many vessels were decorated with incised patterns,
often flowers, and lines of rouletting produced by running n
patterned wheel over the surface: occasionally the whole pattern
was rouletted. Charming mugs in the shape of bears were
produced (see title page) with thc fur suggested by 'bread crumbs'
of clay. This technique was ;~lsaused on simpler vessels.
Similar stonewares were madc at several places in Derbyshire
from around 1700. and there wcre also factories elsewhere in the
north, and p o ~ ~ i b in
i y Scotland. during the eighteenth century.
Staffordshire produced brawn stoneware from around 1680,
mainly m u g and cups. Often only the upper past of the vessel
was covered with t h e brown wash, leaving the lower half grey.
Red stoneware
Red stoneware looks different from the brown stonewares
already discussed, but it is similar in being tired to a high
temperature and in being very hard. It looks like a fine red
unglazed earthenware. Red stoneware was imported from China
alongside porcelain in the later seventeenth century, and John
Dwight succeeded in copying i t . as well as other types of
stoneware. The Elers brothers soon made this ware in London
and then in Staffordshire, and it is difficult to distinguish between
London and Staffordshire products, both made in the 1690s.
Globular mugs rather like 51 hut plain, mugs like 63, beakers and
teapots were the principal forms made, and they were often
ornamented with 'sprigged' prunvs flowers or other designs (63).
Sprigging is applied decoration which is made in small moulds
61. Doublc-walled 'carved' Nottlngham qtoncware mug. about 1690-1705 (height 1M
mm). 62. Small stoneware bottle, pcrh:~psmade in London in the early eighteenth century
(hcighr 103 mm). 63. An un lazctt scd ctoncware mug with spnggecl figures and flowers
madc In London or ~taflorckhirc a b u t 17CU (heiphr 105 mm) r \ b u t one-third actual
517C (Northampton Museum.)
60. Nomngham stoneware martla e cup
mth roulcntc! bands
around, comb-inc~sed
decoratron. and [he
insctlptlon W
&
Marhot Borbtr C. T.
Currrrl~usTofi 17,77;&
hand, repeated parttallv on the o p i t e
sld<(hctght 24g mm)
About a q u a r t e r
actual size. (Northampton Mwurn.)
Post - Medieval Porrery
36
Sfoneware
and then attached to the vessel, or. as with these early vessels.
small moulds pressed on ro the pot (58 and 59). (See page 41 for
eighteenth-century red stoneware.)
White stoneware 4 + 5
John Dwight succeeded in making white stoneware (along with
many other varieties) in London in the late seventeenth century.
using 'ball' clay from Dorset. This fine white clay was already
being uscd to make clay pipes. However. Dwight onIy produced
small quantities. and production on a commercial scale did not
take lace until the 1720s. and then in Staffordshise, not London.
The irst attempts at a white stoneware were made of the usual
grey stoneware fabric dipped into the white clay. The earliest of
these had the common brown wash over the top half of the
vessels, often mugs. so that only the lower half was white. These
were soon fotlowed by vessels o n which the white dominated
(65). The dipped wares continued to be made until the 1760s
hccavse they were much cheaper, using local clay for the bulk of
the pot and the expensive imported white clay only for the
coating. Another economical stoneware. drab ware, made during
P
Wh~zcstoneware. 64. ChocoEare pot enamelled in a Chrnese srvlc In several colourr
(hctpht 14h mmf. Sraffor&hlrr. a b u t 17Mk Ithe Itd is a rrstoratlon). 65. Sroncwarc mug
wlth whhrr d l pcd surface and a brown band on the nm [hriyht I26 mm). Sralfordsh~rc,
a b u t I720 &rrvatcd in Nunhamp~on.Both a l ~ l r l cunder half rcrual xizc ixnrtharnpton
Muwurn )
>.-F
-.
T F -
-
--*..
Wh~testoneware holttles. 66. Plan whlte. 1;ithc-~urncd(hc~ght266 mm). 67. Scratch blue
decorated (helghr 223 mm) Both S t a t f o r d c t > ~ r cmid
,
ciphtccnth century About one-third
actual size. (Northampton Museum.)
the 1720s and 1730s from a local Staffordshise clay which fired
grey, was decorated with white clay sprigging. White stoneware,
with the whole ot made from white clay. was developed around
1720. Calcined rburnt) ground flint was uscd in the fabric instead
of sand and made the vessels very strong and light. White
stoneware. like the brown. was glazed with salt.
This new lightweight pottery must he seen in relation to its
contemporaries. The only comparable ceramics available were
imported Chinese or conzinent;il porcelain, which was white but
very expensive. and delft. cithcr English or continental, which
had an almost white appear;mce but was heavy and easily
chipped. White stoneware was 1clcii8for the growing middle-class
market for newly fashionable aea wares, and for tabke pottery
generally. Its sophistication is i n masked contrast to the contemporary Staffordshire slipwares and stonewares, and its shapes
~
38
Posr-Medieval Por~ery
Sroneware
39
teapots in the form of houses. ships or camels.
The uality of slip-cast vessels ultimately de ended on the
carved lock from which the mould was ma e and on the
condition of the working mould, whilst press-moulded vessels
depended on t h e quality of the mould. With these methods,
skilled work was re uired from the block cutter or mould maker,
rather than from t e potter himself.
White salt-glaze was also decorated in colour . Scratched
decoration was infilled with blue stained clay (67) and occasional- 9
lv with brown, and sometimes blue or brown sprigs were used.
dccasionally vessels were completely covered with dark blue.
From about I750 salt-glaze was enamelled (painted with
co!ours) in imitation of contemporary Chinese or English
porcelain. The fired vessel had to be refired at a lower
Temperature to fix the enamels. Gilding was also used from a
slightly earlier date and was fixed at a still lower temperature.
White salt-glaze took enamels very well, the crisp bright colours
contrasting with the clean w h ~ f cbody. and much of the painting
was of a very high standard (63). While much enamelled ware was
produced in Staffordshire. i t is likely that plain Staffordshire
vessels were also sent to he decorated elsewhere.
Staffordshire was the largest produccr of white salt-glaze, but it
was made in many other areas - Dcrhyshire, Yorkshire and
Liverpool, for example - b u ~attribution to a particular factory is
difficult.
By around 1770 white salt-g3azod stoneware was losing its
popularity in the face of cornpctition from the newly refined
cream-coloured earthcnwarc dcvelopcd in Staffordshire, known
as crearnwase.
B
B
X
i
Wh~tcsalt-glaze 68,69. Smatl starfish d~shesmade ubcr J, unc-plccc [nould (hoth 7 I mm
across) 70. W a n - ~ h a p c dplcklt tray, slbp-cast (hc~ghr13 mm). 71. h rlnv plpkln, thrown
and turned o n thc l a ~ h c(hcrght 61 rnrn). All Stalfordsh~re,mid e~ghteenthrenrury. A b u r
onc-thtrd aciual slzr (Norrhampton Muwurn.)
relate more to contemporary silver than to the traditional shapes
of stipwarc and earthenware. Large-scale production of white
stoneware preceded porcelain manufacture in England by some
twenty-five years.
Many of the early white stonewares were thrown on the wheel
and then, when Peather hard, turned on a lathe (66). Some were
then decorated with sprigged ornaments. Much excavated white
salt-glaze is plain and it includes fine tankards with simple
ribbing. plain bowls and large jugs. as well as tea wares.
Press-moulding and slip-casting. two mass-production methods
employed on white stoneware. were introduced during the 1740s.
The results are similar, in effect producing the pot, or part of the
pot. complete with its decoration in one operation, but the
techniques are different.
For press-moulding. a thin sheet of clay was pressed into a
single mould o r was squeezed between the upper and lower parts
of a two-part mould. White stoneware was so strong that very
lthin vessels could be produced in this way. and the thin salt-glaze
did not blur the moulded details.
Slip-casting means that slip or liquid ciay was poured into a
plaster of Paris mould, which absorbed the water from the slip so
that the vessel could be removed. With a complicated object such
as a teapot the main b d y and the other parts -the spout, handle
and foot-ring ( ~ fany) - would all be cast separately and then
assembled. Exotic shapes were made by this method, including
W h ~ t esalt-glaze teapots. 72. Painled w t h .c~+r~rral
coloured enamels. and w t h a crabstack
handle and spout; Statfordsh~rc.17Mk he~ght128 mrnl. 73. Heart-shapd sltp-cast teapot
wtth vine decoration and a snakc hc.id o r 1 I I spout,
~
Srafford5hire. P74Q or 1750s (he~ght
132 mm). Both a b u t a quarrcr acru,~t~ r c IUorrhsmp!on
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44
Posr-Medie val Potrery
teapot (height 230
rnm), white body with a sage
freen dip and white sprigs.
$4. Jasper
corn a series called 'Domestic
Ernptoyment': this one is
'Sewing'. Stri s have been
turned t h r a u x to the white
W y towards the base. Impressed WEDGWOQD on
the hasc. Staffordshire, 1780s.
About one-third actual size.
(Temple Newsam House.
Leeds.)
85. V e r y p l a ~ n r l a s s ~ c a l
basaltes teapot (he1 ht k35
mm). Impressed ~ V E D C -
W O O D Staffordsh~re,about
17W0-1810. About a quarter
actual s u e
(Northampton
Museum )
86. Colour-glazed c o f f e e - p t , mth spngytd rnot~fssplashed mth green. hrown and yellow
in, the laze (he~ght168 mm].Ident~calpots are knoun In salt-glaze. Staffordshire. 1740s
81. ~ o % u r - ~ l a z or
e l o n o ~ e s h e l lr a r e mvercd jug u l t h a streaky brown jlaze ouir~de
{helght 176 mm). Stnftordshlre. 1 7 4 h or 1750s Both about one-third actual s u e .
Nonhampton Museum )
I
Fine earthen wnres
45.
Whieldon or colour-glaze ware
An almost white earthenware, made with the same ingredients
as white stoneware, was made in Staffordshire alongside the
coloured-bodied earthenwares and white stoneware. It was fired
to a lower temperature than stoneware and was glazed with lead,
not salt. It is not certain when this ware was first made but it was
in production in the 1740s.
Colour-glaze ware, and its direct descendant the whiter
creamware, can be considered the ultimate development of the
lead-glazed tradition of English potting. However, white stoneware was the first to use the ingredients of white ball clay and
ground flints, and it is possible to see colour-glaze and creamware
as simply the lead-glazed equivalent of the stoneware, since they
were made from the same recipe. All these white wares were the
British pottery industry's response to imported white porcelain.
Thus the origins of creamware are complex.
Much of this ware was decorated with almost translucent
colours actually in the glaze, produced by dusting on metallic
oxides. These ran during firing (861, producing a rather blurred,
messy effect unless they were used quite densely, as in 88, to
produce what has been known as tortoiseshell ware. A beautiful
green glaze, refined around 1760, was used to splendid effect on
vessels modelled as cauliflowers, pineapples and other fruits (89
and 93).
88. Hexa onal teapot, slip-cast w ~ t ha Chlnzse pattern, mostly green, with yellow, brown
and grey the& 116 rnrn). Sraffordshlre. 1760s, perha 5 Wedgwood. 89.A cauliflower lea
caddy, with grccn-glazed leaves (hclyhl 114 mm) 5% -casr. Staflordihire, 1760s. Both
a b o u ~one-third actual s i x . (Northampron Museum
7
.
-* "
<f<
-.
46
Posr-Medieval Pottery
I
Creamware
Colour-glazed plaits. all lmttatrng siker Eoms and drcorat~on.90. Grey-blue glaze w ~ t h
splashes of black. green and yellow. 91. Octagonal. brown glaze w ~ t hlarge spots of green
and yellow. 92. Black wth much green and yellaw. 90 and 92 are pcssrbly Yorkshirc. 91
StafTordsh~re. all abour 17605 or I77Rs (diameter o l all three about 240 mm). About
one-sixth actual azc, (Nonhampton Museum.)
As with white salt-glaze, some shapes imitated metal protoes - the three lion's masks and claw feet on 87 for example.
%hrtock handles and spouts, imitating branches of trees, were
common in all fine earthenwares as well as white salt-glaze (72).
Colour-glazed wares avoided the extremes of salt-glaze: the
cauliflower and chinoiserie (Chinese-inspired) slip-cast designs,
although exotic. are very pretty.
Calour-glaze has been called Whieldon ware because Thomas
Whieldon was known to have made it, along with almost every
other type of fine earthenware and white stoneware. However,
he was only one of the many potters making colour-glaze wares.
As with all the fine earthenwares, production was not restricted
to Staffordshire. In common with all the fine earthenwares of the
mid eighteenth century, table wares, especially those for serving
tea, coffee and chocolate, were common colour-glaze products.
Plates and shallow dishes Iikc 90 to 92 must have been produced
in huge quantities, since great numbers survive and they are
common excavated finds.
t
The colour-glazed wares gradually evolved towards the fine white
creamware, which became the most successful pottery ever made
in England. It excelled porcelain in lightness and rivalled it in
decoration, but it was much cheaper. Its success virtually put the
delftware potters out of business even on the continent of
Europe. Salt-glaze and other fine earthenwares had been
exported from Britain, but creamware was sent to Europe and
America in vast quantities.
Creamware made from Devon and Dorset ball clays, and
decorated like the salt-glaze with enamel colours over the glaze,
was being made in the 1750s alongside colour-glazed wares, in
Staffordshire and elsewhere. Several Staffordshire potters were
trying to improve it and make it paler. Wedgwood introduced
Cornish china clay, which made the ware much whiter, and in
1765 Queen Charlotte ordered a creamware tea service from him:
Wedgwood renamed his creamware 'Queen's Ware'.
Creamware was made in many other laces besides Staffordshire. The Leeds Pottery was the largcst.xEolour-$azed and other
fine earthenwares had been made there from around the middle
of the eighteenth century, and from the 1780s quantities of very
fine creamware were produced. Commonly Leeds handles on
teapots and such like were double and intertwined, with small
s ngged flowers concealing the junctions of the handle and body
(84,95 and 97), but similar types were also used in Staffordshire.
There were also several smaller creamware factories in Yorkshire, two in Derbyshire (941, and others elsewhere, including
Newcastle and Bristol. In Liverpool the Herculaneum Pottery
made creamware, amongst other wares, and Sadler and Green
printed designs on Wedgwood creamware from Staffordshire.
Liverpool was very well placed for the large export trade to
America.
Unlike salt-glaze, creamware had a smooth surface, very
suitable for transfer printing. It seems strange to print on pottery,
but b this method complex designs could be reproduced easily
and c eaply. Intaglio copper plates were used: the plate was filled
with colour, a mixture of metallic oxides, fluxzs and oil: the
impression was taken an to a piece of paper, applied to an already
fired and glazed pot, and then fired on.
Much creamware, particularly plates, was decorated by this
B
49
Cream ware
Creamware teapots. 95. Painred wtlh c01ourt.d cn,imelz In a rsplcnl creamwart stble
(hetght 144 mm).Impresed WEDGIq.'OOP on the haw. Stalford<hlrc, 1771k 96.~ n f n i c d
in underglaze blue with a pattern cornrn~~nlv
lnund on Worcc\rer parrelain (see 1M)
(he~ghr163 mm). Pnss~blvLeedq. 1'SOr H o ~ hahnur J quartcr acrki;d blzc. (Vonharnptoru
Muscum. )
93. Colour-gl.ucd crrarnuarr cottee-pot. slip-cast a$ a cauliflower, partlv prccn-glazcd
(hclphr 244 rnml Sraftordshlre or Yorhhlre. 17605. 94. Creamwarc cnffcf-pot p:~~ntcd
w t h colnured rnamcls, and w t h an elaborate handie and flower knob (hc~ghr?J<rnm)
Melbourne. I3erh)~hirc. about 1T0.Both about a quarter actual sine l 'hrtharnp~~m
Muscum )
method from about 1760. Fsem 1761 the f ~ s mof Sadier and
Green in Liverpool, s cialist ceramic printers. decorated Wedgwood creamware wit prints. usually dark red. black or lilac.
Most of the prinrs were left plain, but some were washed over
with enamel colours. Printing was not introduced at the Ceeds
Pottery until around 1780.
Some of the early painted (enamelled) creamware is very
similar to painted white salt-glaze. but much of it is in a distinctive
and chamin style (95 and 97). Other styles are similar ro
porcelain (99 , and occasionally identical patterns were used (96
and 100). Very formal, modern-looking borders usually date
from after 1770 (101).
Underglaze blue-painted decoration was used on creamware
(96 and 993 in imitation of Chinese and English porcelain. Blue is
so common because the pigment, cobalt, will stand the high
temperatures needed to fire pottery or porcelain. and so can be
applied to the unfired vessel. Ofher colours were more expensive
to use because they were applied over the glaze and so needed an
extra firing.
Plain. simple creamware was also produced (981, alongside all
these decorated wares. Very splendid plain white creamware with
moulded decoration was made in Staffordshire and Leeds,
r
7
including large tureens, ewers, pierccd dishes and plates, cruet
stands complete with bottles and casters. and very elaborate
centrepieces for dining tables with hanging baskets, or shells,
around a central figure. Altljaugh plnincr and more restrained,
these creamwares are amongst the most sophisticated earthenwares of the eighteenth century. Jasper illustrates most clearly
the later eighteenth-century interest In classical decoration, but
many of the wares, including creamware, were influenced by the
'antique' Greek and Rami111 style.
Mugs. 97. Creamware painted with t,trcc roses in coioured enamels w ~ t han elaborate
handle and terminals (hc~ght0 4 rnnl). I.cctl\ or St;~tfurdsh~re,
later eighteenth century. 98.
Plain creamware (he~ghl123 mm). Pruh:~t?lrStaffnrdth~re,17905. 99. Pearlware painted In
underglaze blue w ~ t ha very cnrnntnn I1,lltcrn (hc~pht112 mm). St~ffordshireor Leeds.
larer r ~ g hteen! h century. All trout ;! rlrlarrter;ic~ualsize. (Northamptun Museum.)
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Further reading
Further reading
There is a large number of publicarions on pottery and only a
small selection can be given here. Many of the books listed
contain extensive bibliographies.
General
Charleston, Robert J . World Ceramics: An Illustrated Hkfory.
Hamlyn. 1968.
Charleston, Robert J., and Towner, Donald. English Ceramics
1580-1830. Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1997.
Godden, Geoffrey A . British Pottery: An Illuslrared Gnide.
Rarrie and Jenkins. 1973.
Lawrence. Heather. Yorkshir~Pots and Potteries. David and
Charles. 1974.
Rackham. Bernard. Catalogue of the Glaisher Collection. 1934.
Rackham, Bernard, and Read. Herbert. English Pottery. 1924;
reprint EP Publishing Etd. 1972.
Rado, Paul. An Inrroducti~n to she Technology of Portery.
Pergamon Press, 1969.
Rhodes, Daniel. Kilns: Design, Consrrucrion and Operotion.
Cilton. 1968.
Weat herill, Lorna. The Potrery Trade and North Stoffordshire
1660-1760. Manchester University Press. 1971.
Local earthenwares
Brears, Peter C. D. The Collector's Book of English Country
Pottery. David and Charles. 1974.
Brears, Fetes C. D. The EngIish Country Pottery. David and
Charles. 1471.
Jenniogs, Sarah. Eighteen Centuries of Purrery from Norwich.
East Anglian Archaeology, 1981.
Lewis, J . M. The Ewenny Poneries. National Museum of Wales,
1982.
Archaeological journals, especially Post-Medieval Archaeology
and the county journals.
Slipware
Cooper. R. G. English Slipware Dishes. Tiranti. 1958.
Grant, Alison. North Devon Potrery. Exeter University, 1983.
Deln
Garner, F. H . , and Archer. Michael. E n ~ l i s hDelfiware. Faber
and Faber, 1972.
Ray, Anthony. English De!frwnre Pottery . . . in the Ashmol~an
Museum, Oxford. Faber and Fabcr, 1968.
Stoneware
Lockett, T. A . , and Half enny. B. A . (editors). Stonewares and
Stone Chinas of Noxi r p n l England to 1851. Stoke-on-Trent
Museum, 1982.
Mountford, AmoId R. The Illw~rated Guide co Staffordshire
Salt-Glazed Stonewarp. Barrie and Jenkins. 1971.
Oswald, Adrian, Holdyard, R. J . C., and Hughes, R.G . E n g l ~ ~ h
Brown Stoneware. Faber and Faber, 1982.
P
Creamware
The Castleford Potrery Parterrz Book 1796. EP Publishing Ltd,
repinzed 1973.
Towner, Donald. Creamware. Faber and Faber, f 978.
Walton, Peter. Creamware nnd Other English Pottery at Temple
Newsam Home, Seeds. Manningham Press, 1976.
Porcelain
Godden, Geoffrey A . Brisish Porc~lnin:An Illustrated Guide.
Barrie and Jenkins. 1974.
Gadden, Geoffrey A. Sraffordshir~ Porcelain. Granada, 1983.
Halfpenny, Pat, and Lockett, Terry (editors). Staffordshire
Porcelain 1740-1831. Stoke-on-Trent Museum, 1982.
Sandon, Henry. The Illustrated Gldirle lo Wnrcesrer Porcelain.
Herbert Jenkins, 1969.
Srnith , Sheenah. Lowestoft Porcelain in the Norwich Castle
Museum. Norfolk Museums Service, 1975.
The pottery inscriptions quoted all come from Early English
Porrery: Named, Dated and Snsrrihed. (1591; EP Publishing Ltd ,
reprint 1973) by J. E. and E. Hodgkin. The inventories are taken
from Probate Inventories and :Munnriol Excer ts of Chelnole,
Leigh and Yetminster (Brisrol University, 19765)by R. Machin.
For marks see Encyclop~dio of British Potfery and Porcelain
Marks (Bame and Jenkins. 1964) by Geoffrey A. Godden.
11
Museums
The museums listed here have very good displays of postmedieval pottery,
and most have local
are advised to check
journey.
Ashmolean Mrcreum of Arr and Archaeology, Beaumont Street,
Oxford OX1 2PH. Telephone: Oxford (0865) 512651.
Castle Mrcreurn, Norwich, Norfolk N R l 3JU. Telephone: Norwich (W3) 611277. extension 279,
Fi~zwillkmMweum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB.
Telephone: Carnbrid e (0723) 6950t.
Mnnchesrer City Art G af?~ty,
MosFey Street. Manchester M2 3JL.
Telephone: 061-236 9322.
Norlhampron Central Museum arrd Arr G a i l e ~Guildhall
,
Road,
Northampton NN 1 1 DP. Telephone: Northampton (0604)
34881, extension 391.
Royal Albert Memorial Mwerim, Queen Street. Exeter. Devon
EX4 3RX. Telephone: Exe~er(0392) 56724.
Stoke-on- Trenr City Mweum and Art Gallery, Broad Street,
Hanky, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 4HS. Telephone:
Stoke-on-Trent (0782) 29h 11.
Temple Newsam House, Leeds LSl5 OAE ( 5 miles south-east of
Leeds). Telephone: Leeds (0532) 647321 or M1358.
Victoria and Albert Museum, Crornwell Road, South Kensington.
London SW7 2RL. Telephone: 01-589 6371.
Index
Agate ware 22, 41
Archaeological groups 5, 13
Archaeological p ~ tgroup 5h-9
Asrhury ware 41
Ball clay 36. 45, 47
Barnstaple 22
Basaltes 43
Bellarmines 33-4
Bideford 22
Biscuit finng 25
Blocks 39
Blue-dash chargers 28-30
Blue painted decoration 30, 48. 53. 54
Bowls, handled 7
Bow porcela~n53
Br~sllnpton 26
Rristol: creamware 47
delft 26
porcelain 53
slipware 18, 56
stoneware 33
Buckley slt ware 23
Canewart 3
Chargers, blue-dash 28-30
Chelsea porcela~n53
S
Ch~nesc~rnports28. 30, 35, 53
Clamp fir~ng 10
Clay preparation 8
Cobalt 48
Cnlour-glazed ware 45-6
Colour glazing 45-6
Combed slip 15
Cooking pots 7
Corn~shchina clay 43
Corn~shtrn 25
Crabstock handles and spouts 4h
Creamware 41-51
Delft: Dutch 26
Engl~sh25-32, 56
imports 26
tdes 31
Derbysh~re:creamware 47
slipware 18, 19
stoneware 33, 35
white stoneware 39
Donyatt 23
Drab ware 36-7
Drug jars 27, 28
Drug-pots 27
Drying 10
Dublin delft 26
Dwight, John: stonewares 7, 33, 35,
3h
Earthenwares, I
d 5, 7-14,56-9
E m t i a n Black 43
Elers brothers: red stoneware 35
Enamelling 39, rt8
Engine turning 44
Ewenng slipware 32.
Fire pot I1
Finns 7, 10
Fuddling cups 12
Galena 10
Glasgow 26
Glaze colour 11. 12, 46
Glazes 10
Green glaze 12. 45
Hard-paste porcelain 53
Harvest jugs 21, 23
Imports: Chinese 28. 30, 35, 53
Dutch 15, 26
German 33, 58
Jackfield ware 41
Jasper ware 43
Jewelling 17
Kilns 10
Lambeth delft 26
Lathe turning 38
Leeds 43
Leeds Pottery 47, 48-9, 51
Litharpe 10
Liverpool: creamware 47
delft 26, 31
porcelatn 53
prinitrng 31, 48
stoneware 39
London: deIft 26
stoneware 33
Malliny ware Zt,
Manganese 12. 31
Marketmy 14
Marks 50-1
Meissen porcelain 53
Metal vessels 5, 30
Metropolltan slipware 16
Newcastle creamware 47
New Mall porcelain 54
Nottingham stoneware 33
*A4817 227q53
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post-Medieval Pottery
Spnpng 31;6
Oxidisation 1 1-12
Sta
nrdsh~re
creamware 47, 49
.
.
Pattern h k s 51
fine eanhenwares 41-6
Pearlware 51
Plymouth porcelain 53
ongins of indust 14. 17
slipware 15-20.
56
Porcclaln 3 . 25. 30. 37. 39. 48. 52-3
stoneware 35
Posset pts 11. 11. 24
Potters. \ma1 8
white stoneware 36-40
Stoneware: brown 33-5
Powder grounds 31
German 33
Pratt ware 51
red 35-6. 41. 43
Press-moulding 20, 38-9
white 3 6 3 0
Printing 31. 47-8
Sussex sl~pware23-3
Probate inventones 7
Ticknall. slipware 18
Puzzle ju s 11. 12
Tinglaze see Delft
Queen's bare 47
Toft-type slipware 17
Red stoneware 35. 31
Transfer pnnting 31. 47-8
Reduction l 1- I2
Vauxhall. delft
26
'Rosso Antico' 43
.
Sadler and Green, Liverpool 31. 48 Yewood 8
Wedgwood. Josiah 43-4, 47. 48. 51
Saggars 25
Wheel throwing 10
Saltglaze 33
Whieldon, Thomas 43. 45-6
Scratch blue 39
Wincanton delft 26
S afito 20-3, 57
Wbocten vessels 7
rn~ng
. black ware 41
Worcester porcelain 53
Shropshtre 41. 42
Wrotham slipware 15. 16
Shp casting 38-9
Yorkshire: creamware 47
Sli ware 15-23
white stoneware 39
paste porcelain 53
2.
sf
Post-Medieval P o t t e ~1650-1800
and the porcelain lactorres. This book cornbrnq!~the art-h~stor~cal
or colldor's approach
wtt h an apprec~ationof archaeologically excav lted pottery Collectors e n d to concentrate
on the f~neror more decorated wares. whe eas archaeologlcally rhe less fine, locally
produced wares are much more common. fhese everyday %\ares
discussed and
~llustrared,lncludin a small p ~gr:rrF
t
34 c:;dnd 1710 wh~ch
showssomr~o t F F ? m T i 3 T & 5 e r
and shapes to be Yound. SI~~*uare,
delft, stoneware, frne earthenwavtls, crrsrnware a n d
porcela~nare all descrtbed, and their h~storyI S outl~ned.Methods of produzt~ona i t l
decorat~onare expla~ned,and contemporary imports d~scuss~rl
Over a hundred pots a r e
~llustratedas photographs, and a further read~ngI~strs given.
1
About the author
Jo Draper was born In Hanlpsh~reand became rnvolved in arctia~r~logy
at an early age.
She has dbrected several excavatrons In Dorch~star,Doaser, and has p~hllshedthese lo~ntly
whth her husband. She has also publhshed other archaeologbcal reports, and art~clesr n
Dorchester's topography and h~story.Archaeolo ~cilllv~ x c a v a t e dpottery led lo an Intere3t
In ell cernrnlcs, part~cularlythose of the post-rnejrP.dl pel,( 1 She worked on the extensiv~
collec.tionsat Northampton Museum and p u h l r ~ , ~catalogue!
ed
of dated pottev, mugs, jug5
and same of the tea ots there She 1s edrtor 11 the Proceedings o f the Dorset Natural History
and ~ r c h a e o l o g i c a r ~ o c i e t'y .
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Shire Archaeology
TtEm in t l
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series, with :heir series nurr~bers,are:
Aer a8 Arc-,
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7 1' R m 7,
Metl~rv.~l
Po!tov ~n Brltaln Jnremy Hdsbm 161
A m e n , Agw,jlrura lr,?plmentr,
f , s !1 51
M ~ 4 ~ r vRoads
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5nnn Paul H~ndle126)
h ~ t - 4 53.315 P a ? ,VrC a
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V.J,,( r - > u ~ l ~ q Por!cw
vjl
l650.1800 Jo Orr7per 140)
k , a b S a x r n Mrc?st. : e Mary r m d ,bqoI Kcrr I 181
Purrrmr, In Rurnan Ur~raln Nv~erl G Sv/bo 13:
-%%on
9 r w h O m ? r ~cnlerr~(5l
f'rb~h~slor~c
Asrruncn~yand Rlrual Aubrey Burl 1321
k w ~ r v dR m m s .n k r -wkq b " w m a ~ M z r ~ a r eLo//
l 1331 Ptrnsrfor~c Stona Clrclm Aubmy Burl (91
A r i h d m q of G,tO..,%
ch3hn5h
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b-,I? l:o~n,pgr In Orlraln F' J Cdsey l l Z l
Ba'ro.~s r E r q h f . L Wdes r ."r ,I Gnn .:rr ~ 9 n
61, r
Crhl~,,3mi Il&15rr1~5 Alan McWh~rr(/dl
Brcnze b e Me'a .v! or %them '* tabn Svwr W F?:~h-cr.171 F1,lrr.m bonr ~n 3rlt,,#nC a ~ J
d Breeze (37)
Ii,.n>.l?M81.rrryTornt~srqnesAl~slatrSmrt Arldersoo ,I!?!
Desenw: Y , l q e s - T r e v w *c>%rcv - 2
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Femqagare Fmmc,s mt '201
H . r - n * R r , e ~ s h M o w c s Celrt Jflhnson (251
F'S-: :-nplemen's o-Ih~ Q!d PC.F \ql. P p y * :.**(r l .
r-#&'?re$ R i'~',;i
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C;:;Js o' Rornar i t srasn .\l -.arc,? ;C-F.;.
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Greek C c r & r ?' h' 9yi:pr i??l
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