Thank you, ma’am — we’ll miss you
Photograph taken at the British Industries Fair, Olympia Exhibition Centre, London in 1955
The Queen's Vase
Image courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2022
The above image shows the Queen’s Vase, a tribute to the Queen from the British Pottery Manufacturers’ Federation to commemorate the Coronation and to symbolise the unity of the Commonwealth. It was presented to her in private at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, July 14th 1954.
The making of the vase was described at length in an article which appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph on the same day. Described by the Federation as being “one of the most complicated pieces of bone china ever to be created” five employees worked on the two “Queen’s Beasts” and the Crowns which were Royal Crown Derby’s contribution to the vase. The employees are listed in the paper as follows:
* Miss Clara Smart (69) of 18 Litchurch Street Derby (Head Burnisher with 55 years service)
* Mr Albert Frederick Haddock of 123 Bower Street, Alvaston (Gilder with 51 years service)
Mr Kenneth Perry (26) of 8 Rowland Street Derby (Caster with 4 years service)
* Mr Walter Brough (50) of 55 Station Road, Mickleover (Glost printer with 13½ years service)
Miss Mary Adams (39) of 75 Litchurch Street, Derby (Printer’s transferrer with 25 years service)
(* Staff members marked with an asterisk appear in the book signed to mark the occasion of Harold Robinson’s 70th Birthday).
The vase was designed by 75 year old Mr John Wadsworth, arts director of Mintons Ltd. According to the Telegraph “before the Coronation skilled craftsmen and artists worked continuously to have the vase ready for the Queen’s return from her Commonwealth tour” (May 1954). It is described at length as follows “Ten sided, richly decorated and surmounted by a crown, the vase is 25½ inches high and is on a base of Australian black bean wood. Without its base it weighs 20lb”.
“Reproduced on the vase are the Royal Coat-of-Arms, the Royal Standard and the floral emblems of the four Mother Countries and of the Commonwealth and the Republic of India. At the top of the front centre panel is reproduced the Royal Coat of Arms on a slightly projecting shield”.
To each of the two panels immediately adjacent are two similarly raised shields, on each of which is reproduced respectively the Tudor Rose, the Scottish thistle, the Irish shamrock and the Welsh leek - the floral emblems of the four mother countries. Beneath the Royal Coat of arms is the Royal Standard. On each of the seven remaining panels are seven shields bearing the floral emblems of the countries of the Commonwealth - (Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, Canada) - and the Republic of India. The name of each country is printed on a tablet below each shield. India is described as the Republic of India to mark her special status as a member of the Commonwealth.
At the foot of each of the ten panels is a niche, each of which contains a coloured model of one of the ten Queen’s Beasts. Inscribed in gold around the plinth of the vase is this legend “To commemorate the Coronation of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II”
According to the Telegraph eleven similar copies of the vase were presented by the Duchess of Gloucester on July 20th in London to the Commonwealth High Commissioners and to representatives of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Each vase was specially adapted in that below the Royal Coat-of-Arms the shield of the coat of arms or state emblem of the recipient country was reproduced, so all are different. All include an image of the Royal Cipher in the middle of the back panel. It would appear that a vase was also presented to American President Dwight D. Eisenhower. See https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/8ow84x/coronation_vase_presented_to_dwight_d_eisenhower/
About 50 of the most skilled workers in the industry were selected to work on the Queen’s vase and its replicas, and to keep the gift a secret all members of the Federation involved in the project “pledged themselves to secrecy.” According to the Telegraph article only Albert Haddock in Royal Crown Derby “knew the purpose of the work they did on the Queen’s Beasts and the Crowns”
According to F Brayshaw Gilhespy’s Book Royal Crown Derby, a “Beast is any living or mytholoical creature which has served as a badge in its master’s shield . Thirty or forty have served royalty in the last eight centuries, so there was some discussion among experts as to which ten should serve. Royal Crown Derby were responsible for producing The Falcon of the Plantagenets” and “The Beaufort Yale”. The other eight used were:
(1) The Golden Lion of England.
(2) The Tudor Greyhound.
(3) The Tudor Dragon.
(4) The White Horse of Hanover.
(5) The White Lion of Mortimer
(6) The Scottish Unicorn.
(7) The Griffin of Edward III
8) The Black Bull of Clarence.
According to Gilhespy the “Beasts” had silvered bodies with gilded decoration and true colours in the crests. The silvering was meant to be a substitute for the stone colour of the original examples at Hampton Court Palace - see .https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_King%27s_Beasts,_Hampton_Court_Palace
The vase represents a snapshot of the Commonwealth membership at the time it was presented to Her Majesty. As far as the unity of the Commonwealth is concerned, all seven countries have remained members, but it is noted that South Africa left in 1961 to rejoin in 1994, whilst Pakistan left in 1972 and rejoined in 1989. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica 46 countries have joined the Commonwealth subsequently, although not all recognise the Queen as Head of State (see https://www.britannica.com/topic/Commonwealth-association-of-states)
It seems that the vase has largely been forgotten, but it represents a rare if not unique occasion where competitor pottery manufacturers came together to create a special commemorative piece. More than 8,000 hours are reported to have been spent on the project and there would have been significant cost implications for each participating business. Mintons sold a set of similar figures with flared bases (presumably to make them more stable) but it would have been difficult for any individual manufacturer to be able to capitalise by making replicas of the complete vase for sale. In view of the fact that much china manufacturing has now moved overseas, it would seem unlikely that this sort of co-operative exercise will ever be repeated.
According to the Royal Collection website “The British Pottery Manufacturers Federation (subsequently the British Ceramic Manufacturers' Federation) came into existence in 1919 and continued to trade until early 1995 when the company was dissolved as a result of its activities becoming fully incorporated within the British Ceramic Confederation”.
The vase made for Australia is kept at Parliament House, Canbarra. see this article https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-29/queen-beasts-vase-at-parliament-house/8012996. Reference is made in this article to vases in New Zealand and Canada. This is a link to an image of the New Zealand vase https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/display-of-royal-memorabilia/ There also appears to be a vase at the Lord Mayors’ Parlour, Stoke on Trent - see https://www.flickr.com/photos/tamla14/10309350873
You can see a number of images of the vases presented to Her Majesty and Scotland via this link to the Royal Collection https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/1/collection/57141/the-queens-vase. If you simply wish to browse through the Royal Collection use the link to this excellent resource: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/page/1
This blog could not have been produced without the kind assistance of Kathryn Jones, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts Royal Collection Trust
John and Valerie Robinson June 2022
Platinum Jubilee
These items were produced by Royal Crown Derby to celebrate the Coronation on the 2nd June 1953. A Coronation loving cup, number 130 of a limited edition of 250. They were sold boxed and with a leaflet I believe. Coronation plaque being one of a limited edition of only 25 painted by Reuben Hague (and subsequently by his son Douglas) and sold at 150 guineas each. In today’s money that is about £5,000. It is believed that only 18 were actually completed. The image is produced courtesy of the Robinson Newman Collection. Gadroon tray sold boxed and with a leaflet. 60,000 of these Coronation dishes are reported to have been made.
You can see these and other Royal Commemorative items on the Royal Commemoratives Page
Duke and Duchess of Argyll
A dessert plate in the heraldic shape, dating from 1955. It is part of a Royal Crown Derby service commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Argyll who had married four years earlier in 1951. This marriage ended in a “brutal and bitter” (Derby Telegraph) divorce in 1963. These events have been made into a three part BBC drama “A Very British Scandal” starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany which starts 9 p.m. on Boxing Day. This is a link to the Derby Telegraph article by Rhianna Bensen https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/what-expect-a-very-british-6390345
John and Valerie Robinson 26th December 2021
"This Golden Age"
The title of a film which was made in 1956 and which may no longer survive.
The two photographs above were taken to publicise the film, but in the event it seems that the images were not used and are shown here for the first time. The production was a collaboration between Royal Crown Derby and opticians Lancaster and Thorpe. The first image taken from left to right shows: Unknown (Could this be co-editor and cameraman Kenneth Jones?), Phillip Robinson, Dorothy Robinson, Harold Thorpe, Richard Thorpe, his wife Nellie Thorpe and Norman Thorpe. The second image shows Daphne Thorpe, her husband Richard, Marion Thorpe (wife of Norman), Nellie and Harold Thorpe, Dorothy and Phillip Robinson and Norman Thorpe.
The film premiere with “Reception and cocktails” was held at the Assembly Rooms, Derby on the 29th November 1956.
Very fortunately Mr and Mrs Paget (See earlier blog entitled “An Invitation”) were invited to the event and kept their programme which has somehow survived
The making of the film had been recorded in some detail in an article by Wilf Shaw entitled “No gold bars - but they did get some film shots!” which appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph of Friday 21st 1955. Between images of Phillip Robinson and Harold Thorpe, the paper declares that on a trip to South Africa “They shot thousands of feet of colour film and recorded in sound many phases of its industrial and social activities for inclusion in the scheduled Royal Crown Derby film “This Golden Age””.
The article provides further tantalising glimpses as to the content of the film as it continues “These scenes will “tie-up” South Africa gold production and the use of gold by the Royal Crown Derby company in the manufacture of high grade china. Scenes already filmed include: Clay mining in Cornwall; the presentation last July by the directors of the “Derby Evening Telegraph,” of a 2000-piece Crown Derby banqueting service to the Borough of Derby, and the town’s Octo-centenary celebrations. Mr Robinson and Mr Thorpe, who are collaborating in the production, have still to film sequences at the Royal Crown Derby factory in Osmaston Road, and of Derby from the air….Other South African scenes will include views of the countryside, hospitals, ….traditional tribal dances and animal life in the game reserves… The film should include spectacular sequences involving the black rhinoceros - “the terror of the forests”
The programme refers to other factories visited in the film. If it does survive it is likely to be a useful resource, especially for social historians.
Kenneth Jones is also listed as director and editor of a film made of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to Derby in 1957. see https://www.macearchive.org/films/visit-her-majesty-queen-and-his-royal-highness-prince-philip-duke-edinburgh-derby. This 9 minute film is listed as “a Camerathorpe Production a unit of Lancaster and Thorpe Ltd”.
It would appear from internet searches that Lancaster and Thorpe shops have been rebranded under the Vision Express banner.
Does the film or any of the footage survive?
John Robinson May 2021.
An Invitation
This invitation was sent by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor J. H. Christmas J.P. to Mr and Mrs Paget then residing at 124 Weston Road, Aston-on-Trent Derby to attend the unveiling of a plaque at the Liversage Arms. Mr Samson Selig, who also supplied the plaque, was an eminent New York lawyer and enthusiastic collector of old Derby china. He had been inspired and motivated by a comment in F Brayshaw Gilhespy’s book entitled Crown Derby Porcelain which had been published 5 years earlier. In his book Gilhespy bemoans the loss of the factory:
“A low building with an archway facing on to the Nottingham Road is now our only link with the past, all the factory buildings having disappeared these many years since. If Derby people are not interested in their own history, plenty of visitors from home or overseas would be gratified by the view of a plaque with a commemorative description on the site.”
The Pagets also received a separate invitation from Royal Crown Derby to attend the Dinner held in honour of Mr Selig.
The event was recorded in the Derby Evening Telegraph Saturday September 29th 1956 edition under the headline “Plaque Marks 200 Years of Crown Derby - New Yorker’s tribute to William Duesbury”. The plaque is reported to declare:
“On this site in 1756, William Duesbury I established a factory to continue the manufacture of china commenced in Derby in 1750. From here the Crown Derby tradition of fine quality and craftmanship has become famous the world over.”
The plaque was apparently “unveiled on the side of the public house, in a side street where the ceremony could be conveniently held without interfering with the traffic. Later it is to be moved to the front of the building.”
At the Dinner held later that day, Phillip Robinson, proposing the health of Mr Selig, “thanked the Mayor and Corporation for the loan of the civic banqueting china” (which had been given to the Corporation by the Derby Evening Telegraph - see examples on the U K Commissions and Second World War Memorabilia page). He is quoted as saying that “Crown Derby now had more friends and more accounts in new countries than they had before the war. They had experienced serious problems and it might interest historians to know that in 1941, (the) Crown Derby works nearly closed.” (See blog page 1939-45). The extent of the difficulties facing the works in 1941 can only now be determined by further research, but it does seem likely that the business would have been in dire straits if it had not been for the export trade, which was principally to the US at that time.
Mr Selig was presented with a pair of china birds.
Phillip Robinson very nearly didn’t make it to the unveiling of the plaque or dinner, as his wife Dorothy was very unwell. He was given assurances by the consultant that he would be summoned if her conditioned worsened. Samson Selig became aware of Phillip Robinson’s dilemma, and as a sign of his appreciation, he presented to the Robinson family a touching gift of a silver christening cup to mark the recent birth of the author of this blog.
Christening cup by Mappin and Webb, hallmarked Sheffield 1956
At some point the plaque vanished. We know that it was in situ on the “grime stained” front wall of the pub, because this is confirmed in an article by Derby Evening Telegraph reporter Anthony Inchley entitled “Do-it-yourself landlord gives Liversage Arms a face-lift” which appeared on the 17th November 1961. The Landlord, Gerry Kerney, had by then been publican at the Liversage Arms for some 2 1/2 years. Amongst his many reported makeover innovations, was an oil painting in the Lounge which at the touch of a switch “swings open to reveal a dartboard.” Ahead of his time, do-it-yourself was a novel and unusual activity, hence the press article.
The Liversage Arms owned by the Liversage Trust forms part of its Nottingham Road estate. It was built in 1896 “to designs by Alexander Macpherson, one of Derby’s most important architects.”
When St Alkmunds Way was opened in 1969, the setting and location of the Liversage Arms was totally transformed. The building was left very close to an elevated section of a busy dual carriageway. This isolated it from the passing trade it would have enjoyed when it directly fronted the main Nottingham Road.
Beer Mat - date unknown but probably C1978 when Andy Morrow is reported to have been serving pints of Pedigree at the Liversage Arms during the Derby City Charter Beer festival.
Reports on the Pub suggest that it re-opened in 2005 before closing in 2007. In 2009 it re-opened as “AJ’s”, perhaps with the same licencees, to trade until at least 2011. By 2013 it appears that the building was no longer a viable proposition for a public house, but located within the Nottingham Road Conservation Area created in 1993, demolition was not an option. Planning Permission was granted to the Trust in 2014 for conversion of the property into 6 flats. It seems, from the Planning Statement, that the property had by then “stood empty for quite some time.” The drawbacks of the location were plausibly outlined:
“Passing fairly close to the front of the building and at an elevated level is St. Alkmund's Way forming part of the Derby inner ring road. The proximity of the road has consequences as far as the redevelopment is concerned, both from an air quality and noise disturbance point of view.”
No mention was made of the plaque in the Planning Application, and by this time it seems to have disappeared.
The pictures above show the Liversage Arms as it appears today having been converted into flats. The second image [on the right] shows the decorative terracotta panel above the front entrance door facing Nottingham Road. Images © John Robinson
In 2013 Derby City Council and Derby Civic Society announced they they would erect a Blue Plaque as a memorial to Duesbury at Landau Forte college, in Derby.
Image © John Robinson
The wording on this new plaque is clearly not the same. A press release made the following claims:
“William Duesbury (1725 – 1786), the famous Georgian porcelain factory owner who co-founded Royal Crown Derby, has been honoured with a Blue Plaque today (Friday 18 October 2013) at the site of his former factory on Fox Street – now Landau Forte College – and an unveiling of some of the china he made during his lifetime.
Duesbury, who established the Derby Porcelain factory on Fox Street in about 1750 and went on to gain international renown for high quality porcelain china with potter and jeweller Andrew Planche, has been recognised with the official unveiling of the Blue Plaque by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Fareed Hussain, the CEO of Royal Crown Derby, Kevin Oakes, the Chair of Governors at Landau Forte College, Keith Doble, and the Chair of Derby Civic Society, David Ling.“
In a press release David Ling says:
“William Duesbury is a worthy recipient of a Derby Blue Plaque; he was an important enameller, a British entrepreneur, and founder of Royal Crown Derby. Duesbury arrived in Derby with his father on January 1st 1756 having acquired a share in the Derby Potworks on Cockpit Hill. In 1773 Duesbury’s hard work was rewarded by King George III who, after visiting the Derby works, granted him permission to incorporate the royal crown into the Derby back stamp after which the company was known as Royal Crown Derby. Duesbury died of a heart attack in 1786 at the age of 61, and is buried in St Alkmund’s Church, Derby. We are all looking forward to the unveiling of this very special Blue Plaque at Landau Forte College on the site of Duesbury’s factory.”
There are some obvious factual inaccuracies in the statements. I can find no record of Fox Street ever being the site of the factory, only Nottingham Road. When Duesbury was given a patent by George III in 1773 to stamp his ware with a crown, Derby China became “Crown Derby” not “Royal Crown Derby.” The Nottingham Road business passed from William Duesbury I to his son William Duesbury II in 1786 and thence to various owners including Robert Bloor, until 1848 when it was forced to close down. Some of the workers and artists then managed to raise enough funds to “procure the best of the moulds, body formulae, patterns books, etc. from the old factory, and obtain the right to continue the production of Derby China, including that of using various marks. They established a new factory at King Street, Derby.”
The King Street Works. Image Courtesy of the Derby Telegraph. Planning permission has recently been granted for conversion into shops and six homes. See https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/eyesore-city-centre-building-turned-3640821 dated 13th December 2019
Whilst the King Street based business was up and running from 1848, an entirely separate business - the Derby Crown Porcelain Company - based at Osmaston Road commenced china production in 1876. This business separately secured the royal warrant becoming Royal Crown Derby in 1890. In 1935, Royal Crown Derby took over the King Street based business. In view of his past track record although not listed as a director at the time it seems inconceivable that Harold Taylor Robinson did not have a hand in the takeover. The King Street operation was closed down, allowing the Osmaston Road business to claim the Duesbury connection.
The apparent anomalies with regard to the location of the Duesbury factory prompted me to research maps and other resources which are available online. I also made enquiries of the Liversage Trust which has records in respect of their Nottingham Road estate dating back to 1518. The circumstances surrounding the development of the factory are the subject of some debate, but the following dates do appear to be generally accepted:-
1756 - Date of association of William Duesbury, John Heath and Andre Planche and the year of the acquisition of cottages on Nottingham Road opposite St Mary’s Bridge.
1773 - Visit of George III to the factory.
1786 - Death of William Duesbury I.
1795 - William Duesbury II takes into partnership Michael Kean.
1796 - Completion of the canal and death of William Duesbury II.
1797 - Erection of a new factory by Michael Kean.
1809 - Purchase of the business by Robert Bloor.
1828 - Retirement from the business by Robert Bloor. Business managed by James Thomason
1844 - Thomas Clarke takes over the business.
1845 - Demolition of original factory buildings and erection of a nunnery on the site.
1848 - Re-establishment of the business at King Street.
1863 - Demolition of the nunnery.
1896 - Construction of the Liversage Arms.
I have found only two images of the works thus far:-
Old China Works Derby showing kilns for firing the porcelain. John Keys, Sketches of Old Derby and Neighbourhood (London and Derby 1895)
Image courtesy of Local Studies and History - Birmingham Central Library
Although this image is reputed to show the Derby works, Peter Lead has kindly pointed out that the same image appears on page 401 in the first volume of Jewitt's Ceramic Art of Great Britain (1878). Peter goes on to say that “you will notice that this shows the Bristol works and is based on four large tiles, dated 15th May 1820. It appears that it was Samuel Keys who said it was the Derby works”. It therefore appears that John Keys appropriated this image and falsely attributed it to the Derby works. It gives an impression of the activities carried out at the time and the type of premises used only.
This image of the Duesbury works dated C1780’s appears in Bow, Chelsea and Derby Porcelain by William Bemrose 1898.
Bemrose informs us that this image was “drawn from memory by Moses Webster in 1870 and approved by several of the old china painters who recollected the old works”. As the factory had been demolished twenty five years earlier in my view it can really only be regarded as a representation or artist’s impression of the works, not an accurate record of the buildings. It shows an assortment of buildings arranged in a rectangle around a central yard area, with the bottle kilns and chimneys inside the complex and to the right. The three story building on the left provided accommodation for the owner or manager, as the process would have needed 24 hour supervision. This has its own pedestrian gate and path for access. The factory is accessed through an archway with two separate doors for the use of the workforce. With the prevailing wind in the UK being from the south west, it would have been sensible to site the living accommodation upwind of the bottle kilns!
This floor plan appears in Bemrose and was apparently copied from a lease to Bloor dated 1815. There are a number of issues with it. Firstly it shows only the ground floor layout, and the image of the factory shows two, three and possibly four storey buildings. The bottle kilns or “cones” are only two and not four in number and are in different locations. There is no scale shown and it is “copied” from the lease, so there is no way of determining its accuracy without having sight of the original. However there are three points of particular interest, the stated dimension of 170ft for the frontage, the location of the bird cage walk and the reference to the adjoining premises “Mr Craynes property”.
In order to try to identify the site of the factory I have looked at the various maps which are available. These findings are set out below.
Part of the The 1791, George Moneypenny map of Derby. Reproduced courtesy of the Derby Local Studies Library. This map is believed to be a reprint of a map originally produced by Peter Perez Burdett dated 1767 and engraved by Thomas Kitchin of London.
Number 7 refers to the China Works, which are clearly shown fronting Nottingham Road. In his book “Crown Derby Porcelain” by F Brayshaw Gilhespy, the origins of the factory are described as follows:
“Early in 1756 houses were purchased by William Duesbury and John Heath, on the Nottingham Road, by St Mary’s Bridge. On this site the Derby Porcelain Factory was built”.
In Bow, Chelsea and Derby Porcelain William Bemrose quotes local historian William Hutton writing in 1791 as follows:
“The spot upon which this elegant building stands, which is internally replete with taste and utility, was once the freehold of my family. It cost thirty-five pounds, but the purchaser, my grandfather’s brother, being unable to raise more than twenty-eight, mortgaged it for seven. Infirmity, age and poverty obliged him to neglect the interest, when in 1743 it fell into the hands of my father, as heir-at-law, who, being neither able nor anxious to redeem it, conveyed away his right to the mortgage for a guinea.”
William Bemrose also refers to “Extracts from Mr Duesbury’s Deeds” and to a series of conveyances dated 1 August 1780 whereby 2 tenaments, 5 other tenaments and a dwelling house situated “East of St Mary’s Bridge” which had been converted into workshops “for the making of china” were conveyed to W Duesbury following the bankruptcy of John Heath.
Without access to the original documents and any title plans it is unclear as to exactly what basis the properties were owned - i.e. long leasehold or freehold, and as to what constituted the boundaries of the original works. However, William Hutton clearly refers to a “freehold” interest which would suggest that in fact the tenaments and house were outside of the area owned by the Liversage Trust. The maps show no dividing boundary between the China Works and the five smaller buildings north west of the main part, which extend as far as St Mary’s Bridge. Are these properties the ones acquired by William Duesbury and John Heath?
The business soon outgrew the original site and on the 29th August 1764, the Liversage Trust granted a 21 year lease to John Heath of “3a commonly called Calver Close parish of St Alkmund’s” at a rent of £9 10s p.a. The main building shown above was built on this land. The footprint of the main part of the works does seem to fit the image in William Bemrose’s book - i.e. a rectangular layout with a gap in the buildings to the front left corner. The date of the map (1767- reprinted 1791) also tallies with the date of the Liversage Trust lease and the wording under the illustration “at the close of the first Duesbury period” i.e. 1786. The Silk Mill and St Mary’s bridge remain as useful fixed points throughout the maps to follow.
This image is taken from E W Bradley’s plan of Derby published to accompany “the Beauties of England and Wales” in 1806. The canal had been completed in 1796, the navigable part extending only as far as the factory and not beyond the junction of Nottingham Road and Ford Lane. Canals were expensive to construct; the canal company derived its revenue from the transport of materials and there would have been no point at that time in extending it beyond the factory.
The arrival of the canal would have been very beneficial to the business as it ensured a regular supply of coal and other raw materials. The inscription “China Works” extends beyond the main part of the works, and the buildings to the south east (which have been badly coloured in reverse - the red square in the main building is almost certainly a courtyard) may represent additions to the main part of the works. However the arrival of the canal would have attracted other concerns, and we know from the records that on the 6th of April 1772 the Trust granted a 21 year lease to “Worthy Balme of Derby, ropemaker, of close 2a in the parish of St Alkmund’s near the road leading from Derby to Chaddesden, rent £8 5s p.a.”. The long thin building to the east of the site could well have been used as a rope works. This image is taken from a reproduction of the map in my own collection.
This image is taken from the Swanwick map of Derby 1818.
According to Gilhespy:
“In 1797 Michael Kean erected a new factory adjoining the original one; his purpose being to manufacture earthenware. This venture was a failure and the new factory in 1799 started to manufacture porcelain, absorbing the workmen from the older portion of the factory which was closed for some years but partly reopened in the earlier years of the next century: a bird cage walk connected the two buildings”.
The second phase of the factory is shown in the above image verged blue, Michael Kean’s factory site is verged red, and the bird cage walk (jitty I suspect!) linking the two factories is marked with an arrow and coloured brown.
It appears that on the Death of William Duesbury II in 1796 part of the land which had been leased to the works by the Trust entitled “Mr Duesbury’s close, garden and woodyard” amounting to some 2.51 acres, was surrendered to the Trust and divided into plots. This area extended from the east of the works as far as present day Clarke Street and is shown in the map extract above. The Trust records confirm that on the 30th March 1797 Michael Kean was granted a 60 year lease “of a parcel of ground of 3840 sq yds. part of Calver Close, rent £16 p.a. to build buildings on the site to bring the annual value up to £20 p.a. during the first three years of the term”. Michael Kean must have expedited the construction works, because by the 3rd November the same year he took a new 90 year lease on the same site “now with other buildings” at the increased rent of £20 p.a. The site was still not large enough and on the 22nd of June 1801 the Trust agreed an assignment of the adjacent plot of some 2570 sq yds from John Coke to Richard Kean “for the residue of the term” i.e.until 29th March 1857.
In 1809 Robert Bloor purchased the business from Kean.
Cup and Saucer by Robert Bloor. If you would like to see more examples of early Derby porcelain you will find an extensive collection on this website https://www.derbyporcelain.org.uk
The buildings fronting the Nottingham Road to the north west are presumably the original houses which by this time may or may not form part of the works.
Early on in its life the canal had been extended beyond the works, with the construction of a lock - The Phoenix lock - to link the canal to the river, thereby providing access to Darley Abbey Mills. This extension to the canal is shown above, together with the enlarged basin. By this time buildings had been constructed on Ford Lane. There is no sign of Fox Street. Twenty two years later the railway arrived and this proved to be very bad news for the canal company!
Convent on site of original factory on Nottingham Road 1852. Image courtesy of Ordnance Survey
This image is taken from two adjoining Ordnance Survey maps of 1852. According to Gilhespy:
“in 1845 a nunnery was built on the site of the original factory but this was demolished in 1863 as the site was so unhealthy”.
The Liversage Trust records differ slightly quoting the history as follows:
“Following Robert Bloor’s death in March 1846, on 28th November the unexpired lease of the whole property on the Nottingham Road….were first advertised “To be Sold or Let” in the Staffordshire Advertiser. This advertisement was repeated on 3rd July 1847 […] Then on 31st July 1847 the announcement stated that the proprietors are open to receive proposals for PARTNERSHIPS for any respectable party willing to enter into the concern”.
Evidently none were forthcoming and in an advertisement in the Derby Mercury dated 23rd May 1848 it was stated that the manufacture will be discontinued. This was followed by a further announcement dated 14th February 1849, stating that: “The Business of this establishment having been disposed of to Messrs Boyle and Sons, Fenton” and the property was conveyed in in March 1847 to two Roman Catholic priests for £1,950 and the buildings were demolished. It is interesting to note that if this second account is factually correct and the business was sold to Boyle and Sons, this does somewhat undermine subsequent claims to be the successors of Duesbury.
There is clearly a discrepancy regarding the dates, but in essence by 1852 the factory built by Kean has disappeared. The factory as shown in William Bemrose’s image has been redeveloped, and the bird cage walk linking the two factories which was located to the rear of 51 and 53 Nottingham Road apparently built over.
The Convent building is clearly shown, and it seems that additional land to the rear was used as a garden. Note that the Convent garden extends only so far to the east, and the site sold did not include 51 and 53 Nottingham Road. Although not marked, Wood Street is now in evidence, but not Alice Street or indeed Fox Street. The arrival of the railway had not yet impacted the area.
This image of The Convent of St. Joseph appears in Bow Chelsea and Derby Porcelain by William Bemrose.. Apparently designed by renown architect Augustus Pugin for the Sisters of Mercy from Kinsale and built at a cost of £10000, “the situation was found to be so unhealthy that in the year 1863 the convent was pulled down and the materials sold”. The image shows the position of the site relative to the the bridge over the canal and includes the Phoenix lock.. It is also interesting to note that all the gables front onto Nottingham Road.
Ordnance Survey map 1882. The image is Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
By 1882 the area had undergone a dramatic change as a result of the railway. Dominated by heavy industry, the short lived Convent building has been replaced with malthouses which also take up the greater part of the area including the Landau Forte site. The Britannia works was making steel girders for bridges, hardly conducive for quiet contemplation and prayer! By now Wood Street, Fox Street and Robert Street appear on the map, but not Alice Street, because the Liversage Arms was not built until fourteen years later in 1896. The fortunes of the canal were severely affected by the railway:
“Receipts fell from £8,180 to £2,556 between 1838 and 1868, and dividends for the same period fell from 10.5 per cent to 4 per cent. An attempt was made in 1872 to sell the whole canal to the Midland Railway for £90,000, without success, and a similar offer to the London and North Western Railway also failed” (Wikipedia, accessed 01/05/2020).`
Ordnance Survey map 1899
This map also shows the redevelopment carried out by the Liversage Trust. It is the first time that the Liversage Arms Pub appears, built three years earlier. It seems that most of the area west and east of Robert Street was cleared in 1896 to include some properties on the west side of Alice Street, but not those fronting Fox Street or Clarke Street. Perhaps these were held on a long lease and therefore outside the control of the Trust. Apparently the initial estate built by the Trust “which occupied the site for at least a century prior to that, but was in a poor state of repair .. was demolished on the recommendations of the Birmingham surveyor, J Mathews.” You can see the outlines of these buildings, which were probably “back to back” houses, in the 1852 and 1882 map extracts above.
It should be appreciated that kiln remnants were known to be incorporated in the foundations of the Liversage Arms, being visible in the basement.
The Peacock Inn and numbers 91 and 109 Nottingham Road, all stone built, survived. Numbers 51 and 53 Nottingham Road, cottages immediately to the west of the Liversage Arms site were in separate ownership and were spared, and remain today. The letters PH in front of the thin oblong building to the west of the Liversage Arms - 53 Nottingham Road, relate to the past use of that building as a public house apparently known as The Punch Bowl.
Ordnance Survey Map revised in 1938 but published in 1947. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
This image is taken from an ordnance survey map revised in 1938 but not actually published until 1947, after the war. The red arrow shows the location of the Liversage Arms site. The decline of the canal is now evident with the basin reducing in size:
“Traffic (had) suffered further decline when Butterley Tunnel on the neighbouring Cromford Canal had to be closed. The Little Eaton gangway was closed in 1908, ten years after the action was first considered, and the Little Eaton branch followed on 4 July 1935, when the company obtained a warrant for its closure. Attempts to close the Sandiacre line in 1937 were thwarted by objections from Imperial Chemical Industries. Commercial traffic on the remainder of the canal ceased in 1945. In 1964 the canal company gained permission to close the rest of the canal”. (Wikipedia accessed 01/05/2020)
Precisely where was the Duesbury factory site? One important clue lies in the description contained within the Nottingham Road Conservation document (Revision No. 2 December 2003) as published by Derby City Council. This states that:
“Close by the (Liversage) estate was the original site of the Derby Porcelain Works (now Royal Crown Derby). The only parts of this site to survive are Nos. 51-53 Nottingham Road (the former Punch Bowl Public House). These vernacular cottages date from 1757 and have been included in the Conservation Area in recognition of the importance of the porcelain works in Derby’s history”.
I have inspected the exteriors of both properties and no plaques are evident!
51 Nottingham Road showing the front elevation and left flank wall with former gable junctions. Images © John Robinson
51 Nottingham Road today appears to comprise 2 properties, 51 and 51a. This structure has a ground floor mostly constructed with handmade bricks, although later brickwork is evident for the elevation fronting Nottingham Road, and at the first floor level for most of the building. This building has no windows on its left flank, but there are the marks of three gables which suggest that other buildings previously built up against 51 Nottingham Road have been removed. There is also a brick buttressing wall built against the left flank of the building which would again suggest that other buildings have been removed necessitating some stabilising to prevent movements in the remaining structures.
Could these gable marks represent the nunnery, or are they actually the imprint left by the Duesbury factory as shown in William Bemrose’s illustration? From the amount of soot staining and other discolouration evident to the brickwork above these former roof junctions I speculate that whatever was formerly built up against the flank wall of 51 Nottingham Road was in place for some significant time, certainly longer than the duration of the Convent. Furthermore the Convent gables in the image included in Bemrose’s book all face towards Nottingham Road. The brick tax was introduced by George III in 1784 to pay for the wars in the American Colonies, and to mitigate the impact of the tax, manufacturers increased the size of bricks. The probability is that the significant alterations to 51 Nottingham Road were carried out post 1784. Parts of the ground floor of this building could easily date from the 1750-1785 period.
53 Nottingham Road - Front elevation, exposed sash box window and re-faced right flank wall. Images © John Robinson
53 Nottingham Road is a three storey house fronting Nottingham Road and has later outbuildings attached to the rear. It shares a narrow courtyard with 51 Nottingham Road. The main part of the building is constructed with handmade bricks and there is brick corbelling evident at the eaves and verge, both early features. A former central doorway on the Nottingham Road elevation has been blocked up. The windows on this elevation have exposed sash boxes which were generally in use from the early 18th century until c1775, but the upper sashes have “horns” which suggests that the window sashes have been replaced, probably c1850. Numbers 55, 57 and 59 Nottingham Road are all missing, presumably demolished sometime after the 1937 Ordnance Survey map was revised. As a result the right flank of the property has been re-faced, probably in the late 1930’s or 1940’s from the wirecut brickwork used for the purpose. A parapet wall has also been added to discourage water penetration. Probably, for the same reason the flank wall of the Liversage Arms has been cement rendered.
Although much altered 53 Nottingham Road bears a striking resemblance to the building to the left of the illustration of the Derby China Works in Bow, Chelsea and Derby Porcelain by William Bemrose 1898 (see above) which was evidently built for the factory owner or a works manager. This may be entirely co-incidental. If 53 Nottingham Road had been used as part of the china works previously, by the late 1820’s it was in use as a public house. In “The Directory of the County of Derby” by Stephen Glover, which was compiled over the years 1827, 8 & 9, the landlord of the Punch Bowl Public House is named as being John Robinson (no known relation!). This coincides with the Robert Bloor’s departure from the business in 1828. It is also marked as a public house on the 1899 Ordnance Survey map.
In Journal 2 published by the Derby Porcelain International Society in 1991 John Twitchett reports on the results of excavations carried out on the site of a former bakery in Alice Street. Accepting that the “the small rectangular site which was at our disposal was of course only a very small part of the whole” nevertheless his conclusion that the kiln remnants incorporated in the basement of the Liversage Arms are in fact part of the new china works as built by Kean, not part of Duesbury’s works would seem entirely reasonable. Indeed this conclusion is supported by the map extracts shown above.
The evidence indicates that the china works developed in three stages. The initial works occupied a site apparently in freehold ownership fronting Nottingham Road opposite St Mary’s Bridge and comprising seven tenaments and a house converted into workshops. Today, the sole remaining residential property, 1 Wood Street, which enjoys frontages to Nottingham Road and Wood Street, and is located at the back entrance to the College, might well have been built on the site of the initial works. Writing in 1951, Gilhespy indicates that even at that time, some of the original factory remained “A low building with an archway facing on to the Nottingham Road is now our only link with the past, all the factory buildings having disappeared these many years since.” If this is correct then the first factory must have built on land separate from what became the convent site as the convent was completely demolished. The Liversage Trust records indicate that a lease was granted to the business in 1764 to enable the factory premises to be built. We can’t be sure about the exact appearance of the buildings, but the image published by Bemrose gives an impression as to how it would have looked. There seems little doubt that this factory fronted Nottingham Road and was located within that site now occupied by the Landau Forte College playing fields. Research also confirms that the factory built by Kean and later taken over by Bloor, was within Duesbury’s Garden, and therefore within that part of the trust estate on which the Liversage Arms was built. What is the status of 51 and 53 Nottingham Road? As a bird cage walk was needed to link the two factories, it suggests that these two properties were in separate ownership - a Mr Crayne apparently in 1815 - and not part of the factory at that time. However parts of both buildings appear contemporary with the second phase of the works, post 1764. The maps are inconclusive and with Covid restrictions and work commitments it has not been possible to inspect the original plans and leases.
I would love to hear from any members of the Paget family to shed light on why Mr and Mrs Paget received the invitations (and others which will be included in later blogs). The Pagets were probably acquainted with the family of 18 year old enameller Flora Dutch who was living close by at 135 Weston Road - see “Archive Photographs” page. A Samson Selig’s death in New York is recorded for the year 1972. If any member of the Selig family would like to get in touch I would appreciate a photograph of Samson Selig should one be available.
The Missing Plaque
As for Selig’s plaque, placed first on the side and then the front of the Liversage Arms, it would be interesting to know if former publicans Andy and Jenny, or their clientele recall seeing the plaque. Indeed does anyone know of its subsequent history and current whereabouts?
John, Val and Christopher Robinson February 2020 (revised October 2021)
This Blog could not have been prepared without the kind assistance of the Liversage Trust and Derby Porcelain International Society.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/101601564
http://liversagetrust.org/about/
https://landau-forte.org.uk/2013/10/landau-forte-students-see-early-work-royal-crown-derby-co-founder-blue-plaque-unveiled-honour/
http://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/261.htm
http://www.potteryhistories.com/page56.html
https://www.derbyporcelain.org.uk/quaker-pegg-bi-centenary
https://www.derbyporcelain.org.uk/william-duesbury-225th-anniversary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby_Canal
http://photo-sleuth.blogspot.com/2010/07/clarke-bloor-and-disney-families-of.html
The Peacock Hotel at Rowsley
Above is a rare menu card for the Peacock Hotel Rowsley dated 18th July 1951. It is interesting to note that dinner cost seven shillings and sixpence. Nationally, rationing did not end until 4th July 1954 and as a result, hotels were expected to comply with dining regulations. “Meals were limited to three courses; only one component dish could contain fish or game or poultry…..The maximum price of a meal was 5 shillings…. Extra charges (were) allowed for cabaret shows and luxury hotels.” (Wikipedia). Noting the crossed out trout on the day possibly the restaurant had sold out, had delivery issues or maybe this particular diner didn’t fancy it! I am intrigued that “Anchovies on Toast” was offered as a last course; perhaps it was “Gentleman’s Relish.”
At this time rationing was a hot topic. The 1950 general election, held 23rd February, had been fought largely on the issue of rationing. The Conservative Party campaigned on a manifesto of ending rationing as quickly as possible. The Labour Party argued for the continuation of rationing indefinitely. Labour was returned with a slim majority of 5 seats. Within weeks of the date of this menu card, another general election was held, 25 October 1951 which the Conservatives won with a 17 seat majority.
We suspect that menu cards such as these were printed and supplied by Royal Crown Derby as a means of advertising. Some of the grander establishments, such as the Midland Hotel in Derby, are reported to have had a display cabinet, stocked with Royal Crown Derby, placed somewhere near the foyer, to tempt clientele to purchase a souvenir of their visit.
This is an image of the hotel on a postcard, which from the postage paid (2d) dates it from between 1940-57.
The then chairman of Royal Crown Derby Harold Taylor Robinson, started his career in the business as a travelling salesman, and from time to time would escape from the works, accompanied by his driver Albert Askey, to deliver china to restock the hotel cabinets. The Peacock at Rowsley was a favourite destination.
These might have sold quite well!
Harold Taylor Robinson was also an enthusiastic visitor of a hotel in LLangollen, probably the Hand Hotel. On these occasions he would enjoy a long weekend break with wife and friends and deliver a car boot full of china to make the trip worthwhile. This appeared to constitute the family holiday!
This slightly smaller version for the Clarendon Hotel is blank and therefore unfortunately undated. It includes an invitation to visit the factory showrooms.
This image of the Hotel is taken from a postcard dated 30th September 1904
Below is a link to a fabulous photograph of the Hotel taken at around the same time.
https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_wow/leamington-spa-clarendon-hotel
Royal Crown Derby also produced menu stands, possibly used to display the menu on the tables.
Some establishments, for example Ranbys Cafe in Derby, used Royal Crown Derby (Pattern A713) as every day china. Others had china specially produced - see the ware made for the Falcon Hotel, Stratford on the “UK Commissions and Second World War Memorabilia” page.
Unlike the Peacock Hotel, which remains very much in business, the Clarendon Hotel closed and some 18 years ago was reportedly being converted into offices.
We think that the Seacroft Hotel in Skegness also had a sales cabinet. Do you have any examples of Royal Crown Derby menu cards? If so we would love to include images.
John and Val Robinson February 2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationing_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/halcyon-london-hotels-and-the-second-world-war/
Image courtesy of Leski Auctions, Armadale, Victoria, Australia
Ron Hamence 1915-2010
A Royal Crown Derby loving cup lettered on the base “R. Hamence, South Australia”. These were presented to the Australian Cricket Team that played in the match against Derbyshire County Cricket Club held at the county cricket ground over three days, 28th, 29th and 30th July 1948.
Ronald Arthur Hamence C1946. Image in the Public Domain.
The Australian touring party of 18 players were captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England. “The team is famous for being the only Test Match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of The Invincibles, and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. According to the Australian federal government the team "is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends”.
The Australians (456) defeated Derbyshire (240 and 182) by an innings and 34 runs. There was a Derbyshire record attendance of 17,000 on the first day. “ (Wikipedia).
The Derbyshire County Cricket ground in 1948. Image courtesy of the Derby Telegraph
Hamence, batting at number six, is reported to have made 21 runs.
Ron, at 15, is reported to have been the youngest Australian to play district cricket. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Australian Airforce. After the war he resumed his cricketing career making his debut for Australia in the fifth Test at Sydney on the 28th February 1947.
Bradman, following the Invincibles tour, described Hamence as "a fine batsman of the strictly orthodox type. Very sound and reliable with his game based on driving” and a "very safe fieldsman". In reality it seems that Ron was used in non-Test tour matches so that the leading batsmen could conserve energy for the Tests, as play was scheduled for six days a week. Along with Doug Ring, Hamence and McCool called themselves "ground staff" because of their scant playing duties in the major matches, and they often created and sang ironic songs about their lack of opportunities. Bradman was reluctant to risk the team's unbeaten record and as a result, Hamence did not receive many opportunities to bat high in the order, something that was the subject of criticism.” (Wikipedia)
Ron played in only three Tests during his career, with a top score of 30 not out. He also had the distinction of making a century in his first and last first-class matches for South Australia (Obituary ABC News)
Following Ron’s death at the age of 94 in an Adelaid nursing home his extensive collection of cricketing memorabilia was sold through auctioneers Leski of Armadale, Victoria, who have kindly given permission for me to use the loving cup image. Perhaps some of the others given to the team members have survived? If so I would be delighted to include the information on this website. Please get in touch via the contact page.
For information about Ron and the Invincibles Tour see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Hamence_with_the_Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-25/oldest-test-player-dies-aged-94/379410
Shape 1545
Shapes 1000 - 1987
I am delighted to announce the release of a new page showing images and outlines of shape numbers 1000 - 1987.
My thanks to Auction Houses and internet sellers worldwide who have published images from which the outlines could be produced. I will add to the page as more shape numbers can be identified.
John Robinson
December 2018
Brenda "Pip" Bentley
When Pip Bentley aged 14, took her first bus journey to Osmaston Road from the village of Melbourne in December 1946, little did she know that this was to be the start of a forty year career at Royal Crown Derby. Despite her aspirations to do secretarial work (she had managed to secure an offer of a job through school but it didn't start for two more months) her father, aware of the job difficulties at the time and anxious for her to find paid employment quickly, insisted that she should apply to Royal Crown Derby as an apprentice gilder. Following a successful interview she began work at the factory on the 2nd January 1947. She recalls her apprehension at arriving in Derby which to her was "a very big and frightening city", rather different from life in Melbourne. In the event Pip was placed in the enamellers department where Joan Midgley was in charge of training the apprentices.
This image shows Joan Midgley training the apprentice enamellers and was probably taken in about 1948. Pip is the furthest away of the two girls in the bottom right corner of the photograph. In an article in the Derby Telegraph of Monday 4 February 2013 Pip explains that "Although I wasn't particularly artistic, I was very precise and had an eye for detail". She didn't like the job at first because she "would come home covered in red paint (and smelling of turpentine). Once I got used to it I loved it. Some of the pieces had paint outlines which we filled in. We started in what was quite a small room with about 20 women. A few years later we moved into a really big room which had the enamellers and gilders working together."
Pip completed the training period painting with red enamel and then progressed to painting the roses on the Posie pattern. Her hours were 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 12.30pm Saturday. This meant catching a bus to work at 7.05am and then the bus home at 6.10pm - a long day for someone just out of school. In her account of her career in Royal Crown Derby (John Twitchett and Betty Bailey revised edition 1988) Pip recalls that "about 10am somewhat dubious beverages arrived in the work-room and were usually drunk through thirst rather than for pleasure. The mid-day break was mainly to eat our own sandwiches bought from home, although there was a contraption which would bake potatoes, and a small room served in place of a canteen."
Life was not all work and no play. As a dare aged just 15 and when Tom Allman was works manager she was encouraged to walk down the main works corridor with a lit candle singing Jesus Bids Us Shine! In the early years she looked forward to going to the Plaza ballroom on Saturday afternoons for dances. Pip recalls that prior to the works dance the girls "would sit with our hair in curlers, but our heads covered with scarves - a factory rule. These occasions were looked forward to and were held at the Midland Institute. Bus loads of soldiers would be invited to our function and usually we would be invited back to theirs. The Second World War provided no shortage of soldiers and a good deal of fun was had by all."
Above is a typical announcement; it appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph editions of Saturday 2nd and Monday 4th October 1948. Items of china were generally given as prizes and were very much sought after because of the trade restrictions which continued in the home market until 1952. Entertainment at some of the other events was provided by Freddy Sharratt & His Band - see Telegraph image at https://bygonesderby.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/210911freddysp.jpg
At the Christmas party of Christmas Eve 1947 the Telegraph reported that "Midnight carol singing by the male voice choir of the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Co Ltd" was a feature of the entertainment! Phillip Robinson or Fred Finney appear to have been given the task of Master of Ceremonies.
Linking arms at a Royal Crown Derby dance. From left Fred Bentley, Pip Bentley, Bill Corfield, Unknown, Cyril Thompson, Maurice Parnham, Unknown, Unknown.
Pip recalls that "as young girls our wages were not high, but we would save up and buy a brooch and earrings set of pastel colour and with our professional sense of colour and our painting talents we would cold-colour paint these sets each time a new colour was required to complement a new dress or outfit."
To alleviate some of the monotony of the work the girls would create their own entertainment. "We had a girl who sang solos and she would also entertain the gilders. Poems and descriptions of the latest film at the local cinema were given, this being the age of the Hollywood film star with all the glamour and escape it created." As some of the work was piecework - i.e. based on the number of roses painted, the other girls would make sure that the performers' work was kept up to prevent losses in wages.
With none of the modern conveniences of air conditioning and a proper heating system, an uncomfortable working environment could be a particular issue. "Summer could bring its problems, but here again the practical Midland girls made large paper hats from the waste from the lithographers department and subsequently we looked more like nuns. The added heat came from the glass roof and windows as light is essential to decorating. To cool our feet we filled large tureens with cold water and then we had foot-baths! When winter came we had hot plates from the kiln discretely placed in our jumpers."
Factory visits, especially by celebrities, also provided some light relief and excitement. On the occasion of the visit of Princess Elizabeth in 1949 Pip was sent home to Melbourne by her Supervisor Joan Midgley to fetch roses from her garden to decorate the tables. Works visitors were often known to pick up items still wet and unfired which did result in a need for a fair amount of restorative work after they had departed!
Pip demonstrating her skills during a factory visit. Director Colin Osborne is on the left.
At the time Pip started at the factory, marriage very often meant the end of that girl's employment. An impending wedding was celebrated by decorating the benches using hoops from the barrels which were originally used to pack and transport the china. She recalls that it was the "custom to raise two shillings per head and to get a half tea set in white. I still have mine."
After the departure of Decorating Manager John Price in 1949 the enamellers began to sign off work on their own account. Both of the above pieces are signed by Pip. In hunting scenes it was her usual practice to paint her name along a blade of grass. Figurines and jewelry were usually initialled "B B" in whatever colour she was using at the time. Prior to 1949 her mark had been the letter "A".
A selection of figurines all painted by Pip with an image showing her mark. A bird figurine would need about four to five hours work to enamel, with a plate and tankard each taking about three hours. Two firings were normally required in respect of the enamelling, especially if red was needed, (as was invariably the case with the hunting scene plates), as this fired at a different temperature and was liable to turn brown if fired incorrectly.
A unique hand painted plaque painted by Mr H C G Jacob and presented to Pip by him in 1957. One of two brothers, H Jacob worked at the factory 1951-59. The underglaze factory mark on the reverse dates the body of the piece between 1887-90, so it had presumably been languishing in the glost warehouse for as long as sixty years before it was actually decorated! The image was taken from a portrait of the young princess in 1933 by artist Philip de László.
Pip's talent was such that she progressed from painting roses on Posie to the flowers on the figurine bases and on the brooches and other floral pieces. She went on to paint the birds and other figurines, and in the mid to late 1950's she was appointed enamelling Supervisor. Life was not always plain sailing. She recalls that on one occasion as Supervisor she "collected biscuit blue instead of the mauve enamel used in decorating colour "Aves" (Pattern A549). The result was a complete disaster the other colours gleaming, but oh dear! the substituted mauve was more akin to cement".
Pip remembers that production did not always run as smoothly as was hoped. If the ware was not stacked correctly it could shift and jam in the kiln which had to be turned off and allowed to cool before the truck could be removed. On one occasion where a problem occurred in one of the smaller kilns she describes the resultant molten mass of plates as "like a fountain".
A pair of Pip's palette knives. The lower one is well worn though use.
A design for a teapot. Phillip Robinson would present a sketch of a design to Pip and ask her to prepare a finished version so that a litho could be produced from it. A teapot of this design was manufactured but never went into production and Pip was given the trial piece. Pip drew some of the first designs to be lithographed.
Pip continued working at the factory long after the period covered by this website. She met and talked to several members of the Royal Family as well as other important visitors including the broadcaster Richard Dimbleby, Margaret Thatcher and Lord Snowdon. She also worked on Royal commissions including a plate she decorated for the Queen Mother in 1971. She was also entrusted with the task of delivering a special order of three plates to Buckingham Palace. Pip retired after a forty year career with Royal Crown Derby in 1987.
This blog has been prepared by reference to Pip's contribution to the revised edition of Royal Crown Derby (John Twitchett and Betty Bailey 1988), to articles which appeared in the Derby Telegraph Bygones section of February 4th and 11th 2013, and an interview with Pip in March 2017.
John and Val Robinson 2018.
A photograph of Betty taken in December 1936
Betty Wherry nee Bailey - Gilder - Museum Curator - Author
Betty started work at Royal Crown Derby as an apprentice gilder on June 4th 1934. In her excellent book “Gold in my Veins” Betty records her experience of working at the factory. At this time an Apprenticeship lasted for a period of 5 years. Previously the parents of an Apprentice had been required to pay for the Apprenticeship, but by this time the company met the cost, retaining a small percentage of the Apprentice’s total earnings by way of payment until the end of the 5 year term. The working day began at 8.00 a.m. She would collect a brass token from the Lodge and place it in a slot in the wall to record her attendance. She was taken to the apprentice gilding room to meet Miss Meakin, the head of the training department. She describes the training room as “Rectangular with six tall windows on one side and opposite were deep shelves of pens as they were known used for storage. Below each window was a long, scrubbed wooden table with three-legged wooden stools either side”. A typical class at this time consisted of twelve girls, two beginners and the rest older and at different stages of development.
She was given a white cup marked “workman’s use” and fitted for the correct height stool “as it was most important that we sat comfortably with the elbows just resting on the table.” Part of her training involved the use of the banding wheel, a very difficult skill to master. Apprentices were taught to mix colour – “best red” being used instead of gold during the training process. This had an iron ore component and was about the same weight in the brush as gold.
Betty “was given a 5 inch square tile with a large blob of “best red” in the middle. This colour had been ground and mixed by another fourteen year old whom I met for the first time that fateful Monday morning and who became a lifelong friend. The weekly grinding of colour became all part of our apprenticeship and what a mess we made of it sometimes!”
She was given a squirrel hair brush about three quarters of an inch long with a very fine point. She explains that learning to control the brush was of utmost importance and “took quite a while”. The brush needed to be long to hold enough colour (later gold) to both maintain the intensity and complete the intricate strokes.
Miss Meakin gave Betty a white five inch plate, put the “brush into the colour and conditioned it, gently working it to a point. Sometimes these points were too long and needed trimming. A very steady hand and good sharp scissors were needed for this and it wasn’t something that I attempted for many years, especially as we had to buy our own brushes once we had reached piecework status. I had many strokes to practise and brushes to wear out before I became proficient.”
Miss Meakin “then painted a series of strokes about half an inch in length and quite close together all exactly the same length leaving a gap; she did a further set but graduating each stroke until the final one was half the length of the first one, she put a ring of small dots at the base of the shortest one and then it was my turn. My instructions were to fill up the plate trying to copy the set pattern and make the strokes as demonstrated. It may sound simple but on proffering the plate for inspection I was told to clean it off and do it again. I was to hear that phrase many many times during the next couple of years”
As she gradually controlled the long brush more intricate patterns were introduced together with the different shape plates and an extensive range of hollow ware items.
Chores included sweeping the stairs and cleaning the room. Two girls took it in turn each week to collect hot water in buckets from the plate makers' department. This had to be carried up two flights of stairs. White cotton waste collected from the maintenance department was washed and dried and then used for removing gold strokes which were not up to standard as well as cleaning gold from the gilders' fingers and all equipment and tables. This precious waste was then collected in the gold grinding room and sent off to the smelting company for recycling.
Betty worked a 54 hour week, 8.00 a.m. – 5.45 p.m. each day with an hour and a half lunch break. On Saturdays she worked 8.00 a.m. – 12 noon. Miss Meakin was prepared to leave the girls to their own devices from time to time, which resulted in some lighter moments amongst the gilders. She was considerate enough to make sufficient noise outside the room on her return to give them time to assume a focused composure!
The senior girls' finished work “was stored on the shelves or 'pens' as they were known until a firing day was approaching when it was carried out, something we were asked to help with and which was a little bit scary until we were used to it. The apprentice room was up two flights of steps, eight and twelve respectively with a metal handrail for safety. Flat-ware, plates and saucers of all sizes were fired on cranks, unusual three-legged stands made of stoneware covered in a thick treacly glaze which would not melt at the 780 degrees necessary to fire the gold and enamel. Each crank was hollowed to take the saucer or plate and the top of each crank leg was indented in order to stack them one upon the other. We carried them out six at a time, quite a weight if they were 10 inch plates and of course two hands were needed. Hollow ware was carried in wooden boxes. All the girls' work was checked and inspected by Miss Meakin and was taken straight to the kiln for firing.”
“Work from the Women gilders was taken to the same kiln but was placed into a room we called the 'receive' where it was checked for quality and for any marks which would then be cleaned off. Gilding being the final decorating process it was so easy to leave a tiny mark on the back of the plate or inside a cup which if it was fired on would need polishing off, a costly operation using a lathe which of course added to the eventual price”.
Another task was the collection of the “Mikado” ware for finishing. She describes it as follows:- “We crossed the cobbled yard in a slightly different direction and mounted what was almost a spiral staircase with an iron handrail to the Glost Warehouse, here was stored all the white ware and under glaze blue of all designs. Mikado was an all over pattern under the glaze which just needed the gold to finish it off. We applied it to the handles, footlines and edges, we sometimes collected twenty dozen pieces at a time, hollowware in boxes and flatware carried in piles of three to four dozen in each pile or 'bung' dependent on size. The idea being that you held your left hand under the bottom one and gently rested the 'bung' of plates or saucers up the arm. It was quite comfortable, but felt very heavy by the time we arrived back in our room. I well remember the occasion when I missed my footing while carrying a 'bung' of five inch plates and ended in a heap at the foot of the stairs. The warehouse manager’s head appeared over the banister as he yelled “how many have you broken?” – and he didn’t mean bones! – fortunately no real harm was done to me, lots of bruises and a scraped elbow was about the sum total.”
She describes the use of the banding wheel as follows: “The floor standing wheel was positioned to the left in order that the right arm could rest on the table as we turned towards the wheel holding the liner, a long wedge shaped brush, but before we actually got to using the liner we had to master the art of centring the plate, which means placing the plate on the wheel and turning it fairly quickly, gently tapping the edge until the plate appears to be standing still which means that it is exactly in the middle of the spinning wheel. We were learning to paint fine lines, sometimes two placed closely together, so it was therefore essential that the plate was centred correctly. It was also very easy to send the plate flying off that same spinning wheel – one or two ended up on the floor. The secret of lining and edging was having the ability to keep the wheel turning smoothly with the left hand whilst holding the liner in the right and applying a gentle pressure to the plate trying not to vary the pressure at all or the line would be of irregular width”. The banding wheel was so vital to the process that Apprentices who could not master it were reassigned to the enamellers' department.
A further chore involved the acid etching process which was generally used for narrow border patterns. “Firstly prints were made using a tar like substance which would withstand the acid. These were then applied and when all were completed the china was passed to the male painters where someone, whoever was available… would completely cover each piece back and front with the same tar like substance. It was most important that this was completed with great care because the next step was total immersion in the acid and any white speck no matter how small would be affected by the acid and would result in rejection when it arrived in the warehouse.”
After immersion the china was cleaned of its protective coating. “This is where we juniors came in, for as there were no apprentice males it fell to females. The actual process was to wash each piece in a bath of turpentine and rub until all the tar disappeared. I don’t think rubber gloves had been invented, at least we didn’t have any provided but what we did have was home made treacle toffee provided by Mrs. Dean and French chalk to soothe our hands which became sore very quickly. It was a messy, smelly process but we gradually became used to it."
It was at least twelve months before Betty progressed sufficiently to be able to work with gold. When the day came she was “given a glass tile about 6 inches square and a new fine brush similar in size to the one I used on my first day.” From now on the “best red” which she had used to practise with would be used to identify her mark – in her case two small dots side by side placed to the left hand side of the trade mark and in the shadow of the foot rim, placing the pattern number above it where applicable. Apprentices were generally given the edges of the Posie pin trays to start with. They had to take care not to smudge the hand painted rose which appeared in the centre of each spray.
The aim was to progress as soon as possible to be able to work on a piece-work basis. By then they were “judged proficient enough to know how much gold we should use in a day and ask for one or two 'tots' accordingly when it was sent for. The amount of gold we used was counted against the amount of the work we produced, and anyone consistently using too much was asked to do a gold trial. There were many reasons why someone could be using too much gold without realising it, not just through carelessness. Applying the gold too thickly, too broad lines, too broad strokes in patterns for instance. If this was proved then the girl was usually transferred to another department. The gold trial consisted of being given an amount of Mikado to finish using just a penny-weight of gold”.
Betty recalls the challenge of working on replacement pieces and on the coronation ware produced for Edward VIII and George VI.
A cigarette box that on the reverse has Betty's characteristic two dot mark.
With the outbreak of War, as Betty had an Apprenticeship, she was initially allowed to remain at Royal Crown Derby until she had completed her two years as an improver. She was then directed into war work, working “in the L.M.S. railway aircraft wing, three wagon manufacture and repair sheds which had been turned over to making aircraft parts”.
Betty on her 21st Birthday
Early in 1945 Betty returned to Royal Crown Derby at the invitation of Phillip Robinson to start a training school for gilders. There was a staff shortage as many staff had been directed to join the forces and during the war no apprentices had been engaged. To encourage new apprentices to join the factory they were paid wages of £6.50 per week and relieved of some of the more tedious chores such a sweeping the stairs. The junior gilders room was relocated to the ground floor adjacent to an area where a new continuous firing electric tunnel kiln was to be installed. The new room had overhead windows and two large tables seating six girls at each. Post war improvements included new cloakrooms and a canteen providing snacks and a midday meal. Some of the old processes including acid etching had ended. Holiday entitlement at the time was one week per year in addition to Christmas and Easter.
The new electric kiln was in place in August 1946. “Production increased almost immediately because the trucks which conveyed the china through this continuous firing kiln had to be filled to capacity in order to maintain the temperature. The trucks were conveyed automatically therefore as one was filled and was placed into the kiln another one whose wares were now fired, came out the other end. This meant that it was much easier to fire a piece at each stage of the process. The hand painted roses on the Posie pattern could be fired before gilding and factory marks similarly to prevent smudging. The new kiln was not without its problems. If a stack of cranks toppled in the kiln a truck could be come stuck and the whole truck load destroyed.
At this time work started to be put out to out workers, especially gilders. Pre-war it was the practice that when any girl married they automatically left work. With no apprenticeships during the war the firm was left with just a few seniors and a workforce of predominantly junior gilders. Some of the retired employees were sought out who agreed to help and as by now the firm had its own van, the ware could be delivered and collected. Betty was responsible for settling the wages of the girls who were progressing towards piecework and therefore producing saleable ware.
Betty appears in the above photograph of the factory visit by Princess Elizabeth. She is sitting with her back to the Princess in the centre of the picture and is gilding a Vine plate. Four were allocated a place to sit at the table, specifically set up for the visit; to give everyone an opportunity, a sweepstake was held for the places. Two of the winners other than Betty. were gilders, the fourth a beginner who had only been at the factory for two weeks. Betty remembers other visits, particularly those by “Gert and Daisy” (Elsie and Doris Waters) and Petula Clarke.
Towards the end of 1949 family commitments forced Betty to relinquish her teaching post and work from home. Such was her skill and experience that she was asked to gild the more demanding pieces including the tall and low peacocks which had previously been the sole responsibility of the male gilders. She also worked on the ware produced for Kuwait including the 57 inch diameter huge rice bowls which were so large that the mould makers were unable to model the usual embossed edge and it therefore had to be drawn out by hand before it could be gilt.
Toward the end of 1959 Betty was able to return to work at the factory and started a new training school at the beginning of January 1960. This was located in a small room formerly used by the engravers, and six girls started all having left school at Christmas. With the addition of further school leavers she soon found that she was in charge of two groups, and the first progressed so rapidly that it was entrusted to gild a set of 24 dessert plates in pattern 2451 commissioned by the Governor General of Australia.
In order to provide a safer working environment and introduce modern more efficient working practices, the internal layout of the factory was radically changed to create a large open plan room with conveyor belts to transport the ware around the building. Betty's junior groups were moved into the main factory to work alongside the enamellers, senior gilders and burnishers, and she was put in charge of all junior and senior gilders, with the specific aim of improving the quality of the senior gilders' work. It is fair to say that this change in working practices gave rise to some significant resentment among the workforce, particularly the gilders. It had been the custom for work to be divided equally for fairness. The introduction of a felt roller to apply the gold edges to plates and saucers in patterns such as Mikado meant that only the cups, which needed a great deal more time and skill, appeared on the conveyor. As the gilders were paid on a piece-work basis, this had an adverse effect on wages, at least initially. Betty also found that she had to adapt her management style to cope with a situation where two decorating departments with different supervisors were now working alongside each other. It is a credit to Betty and her colleagues that notwithstanding these issues the quality of the work improved. Betty and her senior colleagues devised procedures to check and adjust or revise the ware before it was fired.
Betty's career continued long after the period covered by this website. With the introduction of silk screening in the early 1960's the transfer printing process became obsolete. Betty was tasked with painting the Imari designs onto sheets of permatrace which could then be used to make the silk screen transfers. She realised that this would inevitably reduce the number of gilders required to do the finishing off of such work but "there was little I could do about it."
In 1972 she was asked to work in the factory Museum alongside John Twitchett, as assistant Curator, with an early task of listing and describing the patterns and shapes, research which was included in her book jointly written with John Twitchett first published in 1976. Her duties included holding Open Days and escorting Museum visitors. The same year she travelled to Chicago to demonstrate her gilding skills as the firm's representative at "British fortnight" an exhibition of all things British. In 1977 she completed a five week tour of Canada and America.
Betty retired in 1984 after working for fifty years for the business.
In 2008 Betty published an account of her time at Royal Crown Derby entitled "Gold in my Veins - my life as a Derby gilder." It is an invaluable resource not only for collectors, but also for social historians interested in the experiences of women in the workplace from 1934.
Published by Brewin Books Ltd, 56 Alcester Road, Studley, Warwickshire B80 7LG
ISBN: 98-1-85858-421-8
This blog has been prepared following an interview with Betty in March of this year and by reference to her autobiographical account
John and Val Robinson - November 2017
Arthur Shephard in 1936 (Photograph courtesy of John Shephard)
Dunkirk - Arthur Shephard, Gillingham's Good Samaritan
In the immediate aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940 Gillingham Tailor, Arthur Shephard pulled over in his Austin 10 to offer a lift to a bedraggled young soldier thumbing a lift to get back to his unit in Warminster. As a veteran of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign Arthur recognised a kindred spirit in desperate need of assistance.
The first image taken during the Gallipoli campaign shows British troops and their artillery guns being evacuated from Suvla Bay on rafts in daylight, December 1915. Covering aspects of the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation, the second shows three of the armada of 'little ships' which brought the men of the British Expeditionary Force from the shores in and around Dunkirk, to the safety of British warships and other vessels. The third photograph shows British soldiers wading out to a waiting destroyer off Dunkirk. Exposed and vulnerable, lines of queuing troops were bombed and strafed whilst waiting to be evacuated. The final picture depicts British troops crowding the deck of a Royal Navy destroyer at Dover, 31 May 1940. Images are Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. See http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205193298 and http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/7-photos-from-the-dunkirk-evacuations.
Arthur very kindly drove the soldier, who was soaked to the skin, to his shop in Gillingham and gave him a change of dry clothes before taking him on to Warminster, a round trip of of some 60 miles out of his way, acts of kindness notable at a time when both clothing and petrol were rationed. Arthur thought nothing more about the matter until some six months later when an unexpected parcel arrived together with an accompanying letter:-
It transpired that the young soldier was Harold Robinson's eldest son Eric, and it is clear from the letter that he was very appreciative of Arthur's kindness. Despite the spelling errors and lack of detail in the address, thanks to Royal Mail and the greatly reduced size of the population in Gillingham at the time the parcel still made it to the intended recipient.
The tea service in the Mikado pattern is pictured above (Images courtesy of John Shephard) and occupied pride of place in the drawing room of the family's house and business in Queen Street, Gillingham (see image above). It would have been regarded as a very significant gift at the time, as Board of Trade restrictions prevented the sale of decorated ware in the home market and this pattern was only produced for export. In a recent article by journalist Michael Streeter in the Gillingham News, Arthur's son John is quoted as saying that his father's action "was very much in character actually. My father was a quietly good man. My parents rather treasured the set, it was something they were very proud of. I would never part with the tea service, it means an awful lot to me."
Eric did not talk about his experience at Dunkirk, completing his war service and subsequently returning to Derby. There he worked in the family business, managing the "clay end" of the manufacturing process until he left to move to Uttoxeter in 1953.
If you would like to read the article by Michael Streeter in full see https://www.gillingham-news.co.uk/digital-editions/ September 2017 issue page 3
John and Valerie Robinson September 2017.
Study of a Chaffinch in flight signed by Reuben Hague and dated 1931
I am delighted to announce the addition of a new page "Shapes, Catalogues and Brochures" to provide further assistance to those wishing to identify patterns, and most particularly, shapes.
I have also begun to add representations of those patterns where pattern numbers are known but where pieces have not become available.
John Robinson
Joan Midgley
Joan Midgley who joined the company aged 14 in 1932 and who lived at 11 Ladygrove Cottages. She was put in charge of the enamelling department, a key responsibility as new staff were constantly needed to be trained to keep up with the demand for the product. She signed the Harold Taylor Robinson Birthday book in June 1947 and is in the staff photograph of 1949
Joan in charge of her department. Brenda “Pip” Bentley is situated to the right of the girl to the bottom right corner. The two girls to the centre on the left hand side are rose painting, the two nearest to Joan are painting the flowers on the lids of round covered boxes.
Joan at the time of the factory visit by Richard Dimbleby in 1950. Her son Martin recalls seeing a 78 recording of the broadcast but it has been lost. The BBC does not have one it its archive. If anyone is in possession of a copy I would very much like to hear from them.
Staff Dinner of unknown date and we are also unsure of the venue. We do know that it must have been taken prior to 1952. Joan appears in the top right hand corner.
Joan at a staff dinner which was probably held at the Traveller's Joy, Shelton Lock, (Now Golden Pheasant) which was owned and run at the time by Miss Francis and Royal Crown Derby artist Cuthbert Gresley.
A photograph apparently taken at the same event.
Joan’s name is included in the official list of mourners at Harold Robinson’s funeral service which took place at Littleover Parish Church on Tuesday January 24th 1953
We are still trying to establish her identifying mark, but during the period that she was in a training role she would not have needed to mark her work.
Joan left Royal Crown Derby to look after her son Martin Tanner in April/May 1956. She died in 1998.
Joan wrote an account of her experiences at Royal Crown Derby and this is set out below. It is unedited. As far as I can establish this is the first time this has been published:
"RECOLLECTIONS OF A DERBY APPRENTICE PAINTRESS
In August 1932 at the age of 14 I applied for a job as an apprentice paintress at the RCD. After a successful interview I was told to report on Monday at 7.45.
On reporting to the lodgeman I was taken to Mr Turvey who was the Decorating Manager. The buildings were just the same as when it was the Derby Workhouse. I was to train in one of the dormitories. Mr Turvey took me up two flights of spiral stairs, badly worn by the inmates.
The room was long and narrow white washed walls seven small windows each with bars. A bench under each window, and a pot stove in the middle. At one end of the room there was a screen, a chamber pot and a jug of water to wash your hands.
Mr Turvey took me to Miss Broughton she was the first woman apprentice at the RCD Osmaston Road and was over eighty years old then. She informed me of all the Do’s and Don’ts, we were not allowed to eat or drink in the work room, if we wished to go to the toilet we had to put our hand up for Miss Broughton’s permission and we had to go alone.
There was another girl starting that day her name was Edith Hill. Her family had come from the potteries, her father was to be the new Clay End Manager.
There were fourteen other women in the workroom, some quite old, they were all misses, as married women did not go to work in those days. Miss Broughton gave us a three legged stool and indicated at which bench we were to sit.
Our ‘tools’ a tile, turpentine, oil, paint, a fine brush and a white plate. We were told to take care of our brushes as in future we bought our own 11/2p for tracers 2p for shaders 1/2p increase according to size (old money).
Miss Broughton sat at the end of the middle table on a chair raised on a small platform. We stood at her side while she demonstrated some strokes on our white plate and then told to copy them. This we did time and time again, only to be told to wipe it off and do it again. The white plate was the only piece of china I worked on for three month.
As apprentices we had to empty the stove of ashes and take them down two flights of stairs and bring back two buckets of coal every day (no central heating then).
Friday was cleaning day, windows were cleaned, benches scrubbed, floors mopped and stairs washed. There was another thing we didn’t like on Friday, bones were brought from the Derby abattoir boiled, incinerated and then ground as one of the China’s ingredients. My wages for the first year were six shillings and threepence (32p in today’s money) per week.
After working on the white plate we progressed to working on miniatures again the procedure as the same, practice and practice until Miss Broughton considered us good enough to do work. First small pieces and then gradually larger and more intricate patterns. Every piece was closely examined before it was passed to the kilns for firing.
We got to know when orders from big American stores were expected hoping they were large enough to enable us to work full time. The American stores were Tiffany’s and Plummers had their own names printed under the RCD stamp.
The bottleneck kilns relied on coal for heat and the skill of the men who fired them. There were holes round the ovens for the men to draw out trials to check on the correct temperature.
In 1939 the war came and things changed. All women were released for war work with the exception of Miss Gerard, a Gilder and myself as the paintress. I was encouraged to learn from the men painters Mr Mosely, Mr Gregory, Mr Dean and Mr Gresley, Mr Haddock was the Gilder.
Mr Mosely wore knicker bockers and was quite a character. They all had one thing in common, perfection.
During the war we had to fire watch one night a week at the works. The team included Mr P Robinson Works Manager, Alec Wainwright Decorating Manager, Bill Morris Clay End Manager, Mr Ken Peake Works Secretary, Connie Polkey and my sister and I. We were as much afraid of the cockroaches as the German Bombers.
When the war ended we had parties to celebrate the victory.
I retired from the works at the age of 37, when my son was born. I worked from home for quite a few years after.
My father worked for the old North Staffs railway in Stoke and was moved to Derby when the LMS amalgamated. I suppose I have a feeling of nostalgia about china, as the old railway men have of steam trains.
Times change production methods change, but the RCD still produce beautiful china.
J Tanner, nee Midgley, nee Ravenscroft"
The photographs and Joan's recollections have very kindly been supplied by Martin Tanner from his family archive.
The Biscuit Printers Shop 1940-1945
Peggy Fox Later Mrs Laura Guertin
Left hand side, front to rear – Doris Wood, Gwen Smith, Peggy Fox/Laura Guertin, Barbara Elton, Margaret Gadsby, Margaret Millinger, Jack, printer. Right hand side, front to rear – Edna Pountain, Joyce Evans, Mary Adams, Edna Jessop, Violet Branbury, Mrs E L Braine, Lucy Barker, Pat Chittendon, E Beer, Beatrice Smith. Rear centre on right, Raymond Russell printer, to his left Eddie Barker (husband of Lucy), printer.
This photograph was taken to record the development of the new Biscuit Printers Workshop and dates from about 1941 when Laura was 15. Laura, a pupil of Reginald Street High School, joined Royal Crown Derby soon after war broke out at the age of 14 as a Transferer’s Apprentice. It was the practice for local schools to arrange tours of the factory with a view to future employment. The photograph was staged: normally work was carried out at four separate benches in teams of four, two apprentices, a transferer and a printer. Only half of the room is shown in the photograph. Typical of the time, without lockers, coats were hung up along the back wall. Initially, in her team the printer was called Frank, a first world war veteran. Frank retired to be replaced by Raymond Russell who appears in the photograph above. Printing took place behind the part-glazed partition at the rear of the picture. The printer's colour was warmed on a stove and applied to the copper plate engraving by the printer using a spatula which forced the colour into the engraving whilst removing the surplus. The plate was then covered with dampened tissue paper and passed between the felt-covered rollers of a press which removed the moisture from the paper forcing the pattern onto it. It is just possible to see one of the presses in the background. Clearly throughout this era there were specific designated roles for female and male members of staff.
Laura was taught to carry a dozen cups on one arm and piles of plates and saucers, the ferrying of ware to and from the warehouses forming a significant part of her duties. The ware had to be dusted before the transfer prints were put on subsequently rubbed down firmly using a special tool with a black end. When the pattern was secure the tissue backing papers were soaked off in vats of water before being placed on a draining board to dry. One of the first tasks Laura learnt was applying factory marks which came as printed sheets, the marks cut out and centrally positioned using a template. Sheets with a different date cipher were used at the beginning of each year. Apprentices were also given the unpleasant task of removing any spots on the pattern with a pumice stone dipped in turpentine, flaws caused by nicks in the copper engraving plates used to print the patterns. As well as obligatory tea making duties, Laura was also tasked with cleaning the engraving plates, kept on the second floor next to the Engraver’s shop. This required her to carry buckets of water up two floors, a particularly detested chore. Harry Short was the engraver at the time. Later she was promoted and tasked with applying the printed pattern to the ware, requiring considerable skill to ensure it was an exact fit.
She recalls her firewatch duties which were organised on a six week rota. Her group of four ladies took over Phillip Robinson’s office setting up camp beds around the fire. They were instructed on how to extinguish an incendiary bomb using either a stirrup pump or bucket of sand. When the sirens sounded they were required to put on their tin hats and carry out their duties. Understandably nervous as a novice, her watch stood in a group at the Employee’s entrance by the Ladygrove Cottages hoping nothing would happen, until an Air Raid warden cycled by demanding to know what they were doing. They replied “Firewatching the Royal Crown Derby” to which he responded “Well disperse - do you think Jerry’s coming up the Grove?” This broke the tension and they patrolled in pairs.
Laura’s sister Betty Fox (later Crawford) worked in the Lithographers department together with her best friend Betty Smith (later Linnell). She still keeps in touch with Beattie Bates and Doris Wood. Doris appears in the photograph above.
She regarded Fred Finney, manager of the best warehouse, with special affection. One day aged 14, as she was carrying a box of china which was a special order she slipped on a step and dropped the box. As she sat down on a step in tears, Fred came along, saw what had happened and said “Don’t cry there’s worst accidents at sea right now.” He replaced the broken pieces without any fuss. She has never forgotten his kindness.
Just before the start of work at 8 a.m. on the morning of July 27 1942 a Dornier bomber flew at low level close to the factory. It had avoided the radar and the sirens did not sound. She recalls someone shouting “Under the benches everyone” but it happened so fast there was no time to react. Osmaston Road was machine gunned and a bomb was dropped on Rolls Royce, inflicting casualties.
She recalls the visits of the American Soldiers whose “Understanding the English” tours resulted in gifts of gum and chocolate. She particularly remembers a visit by Dame Anna Neagle. She recollects that a young man named Ernie Browning painted dogs on ashtrays during this period. (See an example of his work under “Country Pursuits”).
Most of Laura’s work was centred around the production of the Blue Mikado and Avesbury ware produced in considerable quantities for export under the US Government Lease Lend Act. When aged seventeen and a half and wishing to experience life outside the confines of a factory and escape the all-pervading smell of turpentine she applied to join the Land Army. She was stunned to learn that she could not as she was already in a reserved occupation, her work at Crown Derby essential to the war effort.
Laura left Royal Crown Derby soon afterwards at the end of the war to take up a residential nanny position in Duffield. Emigrating to Canada in 1951 she returned to England in 1996, now living near Derby.
Laura has written down her experiences at Royal Crown Derby and this blog is based on her account but edited for the sake of chronology.
John and Valerie Robinson - April 2017
Photograph of Thomas taken in 1947
Thomas Allman Works Manager
Thomas (Tom) Allman was factory manager from 1945 to c1950. Born in 1894 Thomas’ exceptional abilities were recognised by Harold Robinson: at 18 he was appointed as works manager at Cauldon in 1912.
A photograph taken at the Ridgways (Bedford Works) Ltd in the period 1929-32. Thomas is on the front row sitting next to "Flossie", Harold Taylor Robinson's secretary. Eric Robinson is on the left hand end of the top row, with Phillip Robinson on the top row above "Flossie".
Thomas eventually left the Cauldon empire to become works manager at Arklow Pottery in the Republic of Ireland, a factory which started production in 1934. Although the Republic of Ireland remained neutral during the war, Thomas faced considerable difficulties in securing the raw materials to keep Arklow operating. Two ships sent to secure china clay and coal were lost at sea. Upon the death of his wife, Thomas was persuaded to return to England by Harold Robinson and take up the post of General Manager at Royal Crown Derby in 1945.
In a letter dated 30th March 1945 asking Thomas to join him at Royal Crown Derby Harold provided some significant and persuasive information: “Orders are positively rolling in, and during the past week they amount to approx. £7,000 from Canada and the U.S.A. The total on the books is over £80,000. Some orders considering we make nothing but fine china! A satisfactory feature is that a large proportion of them are for new lines introduced since we came to Derby and broadened Derby’s hold on the market, apart from any exceptional temporary demand due to trade booms. I think it fairly certain that we shall gradually rise from our present weekly packing figure of £1,100 to £2,500, which would be more than Cauldon and Coalport did together. Their joint packing in 1930 was about £75,000 per annum, but of course prices have risen 50% since then.” As a result Thomas accepted the offer of General Manager.
Thomas’s signature is included in the Birthday Book of the 9th June 1947.
He remarried on the 19th April 1948 and the event with photograph was recorded in the Derby Evening Telegraph. He was afforded the rare if not unique opportunity to hold the wedding reception in the Company Showroom.
Taken at the wedding reception. From left to right - Thomas Allman, Harold Robinson, Unknown, Mrs Eileen Jones, Mr Peake and Mrs Peake
Thomas left Royal Crown Derby around 1950 to become General Manager at Wedgwood and Co., Tunstall. He returned to Derby and ran an Off Licence in Drury Lane. He died in the Derwent Hospital in 1964.
Constance Clark - Gilder
Constance Clark, later Connie Davies, worked as a gilder from 1945 until late 1957 when she left the factory to take care of a relative. When Constance started at Royal Crown Derby aged 14, Mrs Ellis was the forewomen of the department. She worked on the very ornate services produced for the middle eastern market and recalls signing her name in the Harold Taylor Robinson Birthday book in 1947.
Constance is here in the 1949 staff photograph. There is some debate regarding the venue, some of the opinion that this photo was taken at the Railway Institute.
A service plate in the "Edale" shape gilded by Constance with her identifying mark in derby red.
Constance demonstrates her gilding skills to visitors on a factory tour. Although unsure of the date she believes that this photo was taken in the mid 1950’s. Does anyone recognise the visitors? If so please get in touch via the contact page.
Conway (Conwy) Castle, watercolour by Donald Birbeck
Following Jane Goddard's wonderful centre page article in the Derby Telegraph's Bygone's section highlighting the contribution of Royal Crown Derby and its staff during and immediately after World War Two, I have been delighted by the response. As a result I have been privileged to interview a number of those who made contact. Arising from this and with their full permission I shall post brief staff histories. These will include memories of their time at the factory as well as how they literally made their mark on the product for example gilder and enameller identification marks. This will be a first, their work from now on identifiable and afforded due credit. Indeed most women started as young as fourteen from the mid 1930's learning and honing their highly-skilled craft.
Betty Wherry has advised that embossed ware required a higher standard of expertise: whilst it reduced time taken to set out as the pattern did not have to be drawn on the piece by hand, it was more difficult to gild over the uneven surface. Accordingly I have amended an earlier posting.
I am indebted to Barrie Sheard who has kindly supplied photographs of his Royal Crown Derby rowing cup won in 1953 which features on the "Presentation Pieces" page.
New features also include all the pages of the Harold Robinson 70th Birthday Book, four photographs a factory visit of which the details are unknown, and a page on the Royal Crown Derby cricket team, 1947-58. It enjoyed variable fortune.
John Robinson
Release of archive material - Monday 27th February 2017
A study of pheasants by Donald Birbeck.
I am thrilled to announce that I shall be releasing a 1947 list with 267 named staff/employees together with previously unpublished archive photographs on Monday 27th February. This is to coincide with an article by Jane Goddard in the "Bygones" section of the Derby Telegraph.
John Robinson
A view of Allestree Lake by Dean
Thank you to all who have emailed in response to this website.. I have responded to points raised and added to the content, particularly regarding the pattern pages. I recommend recent additions to “Presentation Pieces”.
Please note that I do not give advice on value.
It is great to note how ebay sellers are increasingly including pattern numbers and names when listing. As this website is freely available to all it should enable buyers to find the piece(s) they need. Such accuracy also has the advantage of finding relevant comparable transactions in the “sold listings”. This can be accessed using the advanced search option to provide a useful indication of what you might expect your item to sell for.
I shall be adding a photographic archive shortly to include photographs of the workforce during the period. I believe that some images have not previously been published. Should anyone wish to submit photographs to be uploaded on this website with details of the department worked in and approximate dates I would be delighted to include them. I shall include more information relating to the history of the business. Identifying the numerous tableware shapes is extremely difficult, and I look forward to adding Information that should be of assistance.
John Robinson