Hundreds of companies produced all kinds of pottery, from tablewares and decorative pieces to industrial items. The main pottery types of earthenware, stoneware and porcelain were all made in large quantities, and the Staffordshire industry was a major innovator in developing new varieties of ceramic bodies such as bone china and jasperware, as well as pioneering transfer printing and other glazing and decorating techniques. In general Staffordshire was strongest in the middle and low price ranges, though the finest and most expensive types of wares were also made.[3]
By the late 18th century North Staffordshire was the largest producer of ceramics in Britain, despite significant centres elsewhere, and relied heavily on child labor throughout the production process.[4] Large export markets took Staffordshire pottery around the world, especially in the 19th century.[5] Production began to decline in the late 19th century, as other countries developed their industries. After World War II it declined steeply. Production continues in the area, but at a small fraction of the levels at the peak of the industry.[citation needed]
History
The boom came after the discovery in 1720 by potter John Astbury of Shelton, that by adding heated and ground flint powder to the local reddish clay he could create a more palatable white or Creamware. The flint was sourced from either the South Coast of England or France, then shipped to the Port of Liverpool or to Shardlow on the River Trent.[6] After shipping by pack horses to the watermills local to the potteries, or to commercial flint grinding mills in either the Churnet Valley or Moddershall Valley, it was sorted to remove flint that had reddish hues, then heated to 1,200°C (2,200°F) to create an easily ground product.[6] A group involving James Brindley later patented a water-based process that reduced the generation of fine siliceousdust, lessening workers' risk of developing silicosis. In the early 1900s the process was converted to grinding bone, which had a similar effect.[6][7]
↑Squires, Kirsty (2 January 2020). "All Work and No Play? The Well-Being of Children Living and Working in Nineteenth-Century Staffordshire, England". Childhood in the Past. 13 (1): 60–77. doi:10.1080/17585716.2020.1738630.
123Staffordshire County Council: Moddershall Valley- Conservation Area, designation No.76, 1987
↑Helsby, L.F.; Legge, D; Rushton, A.J. (1973). "Watermills of the Moddershall". Staffordshire Industrial Archaeology Society (4). Retrieved 10 January 2014.
Further reading
Beaver, Stanley H. "The Potteries: A Study in the Evolution of a Cultural Landscape" Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), No. 34 (Jun., 1964), pp.1–31 online, with maps, diagrams and photographs
Dawson Aileen, "The Growth of the Staffordshire Ceramic Industry", in Freestone, Ian, Gaimster, David R. M. (eds), Pottery in the Making: World Ceramic Traditions, 1997, British Museum Publications, ISBN071411782X
Dolan, Brian. Wedgwood: The First Tycoon (2004).
McKendrick, Neil. "The Victorian View of Midland History: A Historiograpidcal Study of the Potteries." Midland History 1.1 (1971): 34–47.
Meiklejohn, A. "The Successful Prevention of Lead Poisoning in the Glazing of Earthenware in the North Staffordshire Potteries" British Journal of Industrial Medicine 20#3 (1963), pp.169–180 online
Shaw, Simeon. History of the Staffordshire Potteries: And the Rise and Progress of the Manufacture of Pottery and Porcelain; with References to Genuine Specimens, and Notices of Eminent Potters (Scott, Greenwood, & Son, 1900) online.
Weatherill, Lorna. The pottery trade and North Staffordshire, 1660-1760 (Manchester University Press, 1971).
Wedgwood, Josiah C. Staffordshire Pottery and its History (1913) 229pp; covers the development of English pottery, the history of the pottery families, and the evolution of the pottery industry; online
