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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements 6

Foreword by J.V.G. Mallet 7

Introduction 9

1. Feldspathic Stoneware 12

2. Market Conditions for Decorative Ceramics in the Late 18th Century 14

3. The Documentary Record of Chetham & Woolley 18

4. The Oak-Leaf Border Group 22

5. ‘Pearl’ Stoneware Jugs 36

6. ‘Pearl’ Stoneware Mugs 52

7. Pratt-type Wares 56

8. MIST-type Wares 60

9. Miscellaneous 94

Conclusion 106

Postscript 108

Appendices 112

Notes 120

Bibliography 127

Index 131

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4. THE OAK-LEAF BORDER GROUP

Plate 16. Coffee pot with oak-leaf border. Height 49cm. c.1800. Unmarked.VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

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first presented, it did not unfortunately survivethe test of subsequent discoveries – the Chetham& Woolley Venus and Cupid finials in Plates 13aand 13b show the hair falling straight down inone case and to the side in the other.

Venus and Cupid finials were not the only onesto appear on Chetham & Woolley wares. Theteapots illustrated in Plates 14 and 15 share thesame ‘pearl’ body and all the other typical featuresof the factory’s oak-leaf border group. However,in these examples one has a simple acorn knop(Plate 14) and the other (Plate 15) a representation

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4. THE OAK-LEAF BORDER GROUP

Plates 17 and 18. Two oak-leaf border coffee pots withunusual finials, c.1800. Height and location not known.

Plate 19. Chetham & Woolley coffee pot, but lacking theoak-leaf border. Unmarked, c.1800. Height 45cm.

WARRINGTON MUSEUM

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texture and translucency, the same shape ofhandle, the same proportions, the same type ofmoulded beak and the same engine turningdecoration. Most importantly, it has a sprig reliefhunting scene composed of moulds from the poolof seven from which all of the pictures on the fiveunmarked jugs were made. The combination forthe jug in Plate 40 is sprig moulds 1, 2a, 5 and 6.Significantly, this latter jug is also marked –impressed at the base of the handle are the names‘CHETHAM & WOOLLEY’.

The number of common features sharedbetween the unmarked jugs and the markedChetham & Woolley jug in Plate 40 makes it isreasonable to conclude that the five unmarked jugsin Plates 34 and 36 were also made by that factory.They are representative of typical Chetham &Woolley feldspathic dry-bodied stoneware jugs ofwhich over forty examples – all unmarked – have

now been discovered and identified in variouscollections in both the UK and USA.

The identification of the group of sevenfactory associated sprig moulds in Plates 38 and39 makes it possible to recognise another groupof the Chetham & Woolley hunting scene jugs.The link is the jug in Plate 42 which is made fromthe same ‘pearl’ feldspathic stoneware body, withthe same engine turned decoration to the lowersection, and where the hunting scene is composedfrom some of the special Chetham & Woolleyassociated sprigs, in this case moulds 4, 5 and 7.

One difference between this and the other jugsis that the handle shape in this case is of arectangular form. However, since the sprigmoulds creating the hunting scene are so stronglyassociated with the Chetham & Woolley jugsexamined previously, it leads to the reasonablededuction that the factory also made jugs with

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5. ‘PEARL’ STONEWARE JUGS

Plates 43 and 44. Feldspathic stoneware jug sprig relief decorated with a hunting scene.Unmarked. Dated 1804. Height: 16.5cm. PRIVATE COLLECTION

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these rectangular shaped handles. This makes itpossible to identify another grouping of sprigrelief decorated hunting scene jugs and anotherset of factory associated sprig moulds.

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5. ‘PEARL’ STONEWARE JUGS

Plate 45. Feldspathic stoneware jugs in the same Chetham & Woolley ‘pearl’ body, all withthe same rectangular shaped handles. Unmarked 1800-1810. Heights: 17cm, 16.5cm and10cm. PRIVATE COLLECTION

Plate 46. Follower head first into stream. Plate 47. Follower riding strongly with companionappearing. Plate 48. Upright rider clearing gate. Plate 49. Fox escaping amongst rocks. C. WYMAN

Plate 50. An unusual sprig relief moulded tavern scene ona Chetham & Woolley feldspathic dry-bodied stonewarejug. 1795-1810. Height: 21cm PRIVATE COLLECTION

46

48 49

47

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(A) OCTAGONAL TEAPOTS ANDASSOCIATED WARES

There are several shards from the group found nearthe Chetham & Woolley Commerce Street sitewhich can be readily matched to a well known, but

previously unattributed category of feldspathicstonewares (Plate 75). The octagonal form anddecorative features of these fragments mean thatthey can easily be identified as coming from a groupof elegant octagonal-shaped feldspathic stonewareteapots such as that illustrated in Plate 76.

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8.MIST-TYPE WARES

(See also Appendix 5)

Plate 76. Octagonal feldspathic stoneware teapot both slip moulded and sprig relief decoratedwith a hinged cover, 1800-1820. Unmarked. Height 14cm. PRIVATE COLLECTION

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The main bodies of teapots of this design arepartially decorated with raised mouldings createdby slip casting. Additional sprig relief decorationhas been applied to plain or coloured ground sidepanels. When compared to the teapot covers inPlates 77 and 78, it is clear to see that the shard

in Plate 75 was also once part of a similar piece.Not only does the octagonal form of the covercoincide, but the raised swag decoration on thesmaller shard also matches exactly.

In Plate 79 another feldspathic stonewareshard from the group is shown. This alsooriginates from the same category of octagonalwares. Plate 80 shows how precisely the featuresremaining on the shard coincide with decoratedsurfaces of the surviving teapot. Many octoganalteapots of this kind are known and anotherexcellent example is illustrated in Plate 81.1

In previous sections other shards found in thesame group as those in Plates 75 and 79 havebeen shown to be derived from other categoriesof Chetham & Woolley feldspathic stoneware. Asall of these shards were discovered in a coherentbatch, it is not unreasonable to draw the con-clusion that Chetham & Woolley also made thewell known group of feldspathic dry-bodiedstoneware octagonal teapots.

The teapot in Plate 81 is especially interestingbecause the base is impressed with the mark‘MIST LONDON’ (Plate 82). Normally im-

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8. MIST-TYPE WARES

Plate 75. Two shards (Numbers 2 and 3 in Plate 68) fromthe group found close to the Chetham & Woolley factory.

CITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, STOKE

Plates 77 and 78. Details showing the hinged cover of the teapot in Plate 76 and how the shardin Plate 75 matches the pattern and shape of the other cover.

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During a visit with the English Ceramic Circle tothe United States in May 2010, three additionalinteresting feldspathic stoneware items werefound, two certainly attributable to Chetham &Woolley and the third perhaps so.

The first item, from a private collection, is alarger helmet-shaped cream jug within the OakLeaf Border group illustrated in Plate 173. Thefinely lined blue edging is enhanced by thecareful painting in green and blue of the large andsmall leaf decoration, which is relief moulded, onthe shoulder of this so far unique example. Theother two discoveries were both made at HistoricDeerfield in Massachusetts. One is part of thefoundation’s collection and the other belongs to aprivate individual living in the town.

Plate 172 shows a rare and late Chetham &Woolley MIST-type jug. It is in the same form asthat illustrated in Plates 124-126, but in this casethere is a conventional blue ground, characteristicof many other MIST-type pieces. It, too, bears thesame commemorative sprig relief portraits ofWashington and La Fayette as on the examples inPlates 124-126 and must, therefore, also havebeen made specifically for the American market,in order to celebrate the latter’s return visit to theUnited States in August 1824 as an honourednational guest.

The third and extremely interesting feldspathicstoneware piece is illustrated in Plate 174. It iscomposed of four separate pieces forming a

tower. The three lower oblong tiers are bevelledat the corners, each with projecting lips, those ofthe bottom tier in the form of female masks. Theupper tier is covered with a pyramidal lid,crowned by a finial in the shape and texture of awoven basket. (The overall construction is almostidentical to the central element of a garniture of

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POSTSCRIPT

Plate 172. Chetham and Woolley feldspathic stonewareMIST-type jug with portraits of Washington and LaFayette in the same form as illustrated in Plates 124 -126.Unmarked. Height 16cm. 1824.

WILLAMS HOUSE, HISTORIC DEERFIELD, USA

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POSTSCRIPT

Plate 173. Chetham & Woolley helmet shaped feldspathic stoneware jug of the Oak Leaf Border group.Blue edged,with long and short leaf relief moulded decoration in green and blue around the shoulder.Unmarked. Height 16cm. 1795 -1805. PRIVATE COLLECTION, USA

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