Cambrian Pottery
The Cambrian Pottery was founded in 1764 by William Coles in
Initially "its main product was coarse redware for farm and domestic use, though creamware and lead-glazed earthenware were also made".[1] But Dillwyn, who also wrote naturalist books, was keen to move upmarket and employed the artist William Weston Young from 1806, and also Thomas Rothwell (1740-1807). Between 1814 and about 1822, the famous Swansea china or Swansea porcelain was made there.
Porcelain
After
Initially most pieces were still marked "Nantgarw", leading to great uncertainty as to where pieces were made. In 1817 Billingsley and his son-in-law Samuel Walker returned to Nantgarw. Dillwyn devised a new paste recipe, initially using ground flint and a higher proportion of
Floral painting, and often similar decoration in low relief, was the staple of the factory's output.[4] The Cambrian employed some notable artists for its porcelain, such as Thomas Baxter, who moved to Swansea for three years from 1816, Thomas Pardoe, and William Pollard. Many of the wares were sent "outside" to London for decoration.[5]
Later history
Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (Lewis Weston Dillwyn's son) ran the pottery from 1836. He bought out the neighbouring Glamorgan Pottery in 1838. Many of the redundant staff went on to help found the South Wales Pottery at Llanelli, the competition from which, played a part in the ultimate demise of the Cambrian Pottery in 1870.
The pottery closed in 1870, when the site was sold to Cory, Yeo & Co.
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Plate, painting attributed topearlware, c. 1810
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Porcelain soup plate from the Burdette-Coutts Service, c. 1815
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Porcelain plate painted by William Pollard, c. 1817
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Earthenwarecow creamer, 1820–40, "possibly Cambrian Pottery"
Notes
References
- Hallesy, Helen L. (1995). The Glamorgan Pottery, Swansea, 1814-38. Llandysul: Gomer. pp. 1–7. ISBN 1-85902-288-X.
- Honey, W.B., Old English Porcelain, 1977 (3rd edn.), Faber and Faber, ISBN 0571049028
- Hughes, Stephen (2000). Copperopolis: landscapes of the early industrial period in Swansea. Aberystwyth: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. pp. 11–16. ISBN 1-871184-17-7.
- E. Morton-Nance, The Pottery and Porcelain of Swansea and Nantgarw (1943)
Further reading
- Jimmy Jones and Sir Leslie Joseph, Swansea Porcelain Shapes and Decoration, (Cowbridge, 1988)
- W.D. John, Swansea Porcelain, (1958)