London Salt-Glazed Stoneware
As one who thought nobody else shared my passion for old salt-glazed stoneware, I was overjoyed to meet Philip Mernick and be granted the opportunity to photograph these fine examples from his vast and historically-comprehensive collection which is greatly superior to my modest assembly.
In London, John Dwight of Fulham ascertained the method of the salt glaze process for rendering earthenware impermeable in 1671, thus breaking the German monopoly on Bellarmine jugs. Yet it was Henry Doulton in the nineteenth century who exploited the process on an industrial scale in Lambeth, especially in the profitable fields of bottle-making and drainpipes, before starting the manufacture of art pottery in 1870.
It is the utilitarian quality of this distinctive London pottery that appeals to me, lending itself to a popular style of decoration which approaches urban folk art. “I like it for its look,” Philip Mernick admitted , “but because nothing is marked until the late nineteenth century, it’s the mystery that appeals to me – trying to piece together who made what and when.”
Jug by Vauxhall Pottery 1810
Blacking bottles – Everett 1910 & Warren 1830
Gin Flagon, Fulham Pottery c. 1840
Spirit Flask in the shape of a boot by Deptford Stone Pottery c. 1840
Spirit flask in the shape of a pistol by Stephen Green and in the shape of a powder flask by Thomas Smith of Lambeth Pottery c. 1840
Reform flasks – Wiliam IV Reform flask by Doulton & Watts, eighteen- thirties, and Mrs Caudle flask by Brayne of Lambeth, eighteen-forties
Spirit flask of John Burns, Docks Union Leader, Doulton Pottery 1910
Nelson jug by Doulton & Watts 1830
Duke of Wellington jug by Stephen Green of Lambeth Pottery 1830
Mortlake Pottery Tankard, seventeen-nineties
Old Tom figure upon a Fulham Pottery Tankard c. 1830
Silenus jug by Stephen Green of Lambeth Pottery c. 1840
Victoria & Albert jug by Stephen Green of Lambeth Pottery 1840
Stag hunt jug by Doulton & Watts c. 1840
Mortlake Pottery jug, seventeen-nineties
Doulton jug hallmarked 1882
Jug by Thomas Smith of Lambeth Pottery 1840
Fulham Pottery jug c. 1830
Stiff Pottery jug c. 1850
Mortlake Pottery jug 1812
Figure of Toby Philpot on Mortlake jug
Deptford Pottery jug 1860
Stiff Pottery jug, with seller’s name in Limehouse 1860
Vauxhall Pottery jug with image of the pavilion at Vauxhall Gardens and believed to have been used there in the eighteen-thirties
Tobacco jug by Doulton & Watts, eighteen-forties
You may also like to read my earlier article
Oh no, you’re by no means alone in your appreciation of salt glazed stoneware. I’ve loved it since I first became aware of it maybe 40 years ago. I love its handsome, rugged quality, though I prefer it undecorated I think. My only pieces are Geraman, so it’s good to have the chance to see these more local wares. Love that gin flask. Thank you!
What a fantastic collection! (And what excellent photographs.)
Who was Mrs Caudle?
Champion croquet player of the 1840s?
Oozing with envy at the gems in Philip Mernicks’ beautiful collection. I would love to read of the stories of how some of the pieces were found and restored.
Thanks Melvyn m Karkur, Israel
Really some grand “no-name” artists!
ACHIM
The drainage and sewerage pipework of to-day consist mostly of polymer and spun clay; but when I was first introduced to the civil engineering profession, the below ground pipework then was nearly always salt glazeware (SWG as we called it). Incidentally, in the far off days of the fifties when I attended The Borough Beaufoy School (now defunct) in Black Prince Road, Lambeth, I passed by the Doulton plant, daily; completely oblivious to it’s function! I wish I had had the opportunity to visit the plant then- oh wasted youth.
Stunning! Why can’t we make anything like these nowadays!
Mlleparadis. I should imagine the reason pieces like this are no longer produced is that the demand stopped in the past and it became uneconomic for the manufacturers.
I noticed that many of pieces had the same or similar hounds and horsemen on the lower part part of the body. Was there a standard body of which they were a part and the decoration on the upper part of the body was added before firing?
Wonderful collection! And the Warrens blacking bottle probably from the same company that Charles Dickens worked for as a boy, though the factory he worked in was near what is now Hungerford Bridge.
I have a salt glaze jug with three men on one side, three cherubs and I think donkey on the other side. Are you interested
S Green Lambeth; on the bottom
Hi Helen Cain
A Salt Glaze jug made by Stephen Green, is, I believe, quite unusual, would love to see a photograph.
Another salt glazedstoneware appreciator
Came to it from Mudlarking
Of course also appreciate delftware staffordshire slipware and yes willoware and most pottery!