|
The White Family |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rich's Buildings, Redcross Street This appears in the trade directories from 1829 to 1852. Joseph White was a tobacco pipe manufacturer until 1845. Between 1842-46 he also made yellow ware and black Egyptian. William White, a relative, continued the warehouse, also making black and Rockingham teapots, stone jugs, and fire clay chimney pots. J White appears to have been also retailing at Rich's Buldlings, Redcross Street (the pottery site) from 1830 to 1851, where he had a China and Staffordshire warehouse. The rate books show that Joseph White paid rates on the pottery from at least 1823, 1844 also lists James White as the owner. William White commenced paying rates in 1845 on what was now described as a house and pottery. 1851 shows the property as void. The Ellis Family took over the pottery in 1852, which was still in operation by 1877. In 1834 Joseph White insuranced a house, communicating with his business, in the tenure of a baker; two tenements in New Street; plus the "Rising Sun" in Wade Street. Joseph voted as a potter, from the Redcross Street pottery, in 1830, and he was aslo described as a freeholder in St Philip's parish (he appears to have owned the freehold of the Redcross Street site). 1835 shows Joseph White voting from New Street, St Philip. Millpond Street, Baptist Mills This was started by Joseph's sons, Joseph junior and James, in 1839. The sons were originally listed at Redcross Street from 1829 to 1939. The site in Millpond Street was originally a brass works and was started in 1702 by Abraham Darby, who later went on to pioneer improved iron making in Shropshire. It was later owned by the Bristol Brass Company, who abandoned manufacture in 1814, but continued to own the premises until the 1830s (a sale of some of the property was announced in the Bristol Gazette on 9th June 1831). The sons appear to have retired in 1855, other family members continuing the business until 1890. A James White was apprenticed to William White, a looking-glass frame maker, on 3rd June 1819. His father was described as James White of Baptist Mills, a brass founder. According to Pountney the sons left Redcross Street following a dispute with the landlord, who was also their father, and moved to Millpond Street. Pountney claimed that they invented a body to make the black Egyptian teapots, however this body (also known as basalt) was made in Staffordshire from at least 1762. It was also made by Wedgwood, at Eturia in the 1770s and subsequently by many other Staffordshire potters. It was also being made by the Bristol pottery by 1813, so Whites simply copied it. John Ellis also made black Egyptian ware in Bristol. They also made stoneware jugs, mugs, etc.; Rockingham teapots; mazarine blue ware; and for a short time lustre ware. They used the large water mill to make the "Bristol Stoneware Glaze" (copied from William Powell), which they supplied to potters in London, including Doulton and Stiff at Lambeth. Doulton would later develop their own clear glaze. An insurance policy of 1846 shows ownership of the Millpond Street site in the hands of Joseph White senior, with Joseph White Junior (born 1799, died 1870) as a tenant. In 1851 the pottery employed 95 persons. In 1890 the pottery produced earthenware coffee pots, teapots, mugs, pepper, mustard, salt, and cream pots, toy jugs, 'cullenders' and cake pans. The Corporation of Bristol later bought the mill and demolished it, because it was causing flooding of the river Froom. Whites also made clay pipes for tobacco smoking to c1862. This production was in a small workshop near the River Froome, close to their pottery works, it was probably supervised by James George Reynolds from c1855. Frederick Joseph White was the son of Joseph White and was born in 1838. He migrated to St John's, New Brunswick, in 1863. With James and Joseph dead he returned to Bristol in 1875 to run the Baptist Mills pottery. He returned to North America in 1893 and started a pottery in Denver, Colorado. Initially utilitarian items were produced, but after 14 years they started making artware pottery. Production continued until 1960. Frederick had a brother called James. A history of the pottery is given in a bundle of documents (BRO 01788), plus othe land (BRO 01789), which may be summarised as follows:
Fishponds and Yate Frederick James White is mentioned as a potter at Ridgeway Lane (probably now Fishpond's Road), Fishponds, in 1885, and a F J White had a pottery in Yate in 1889. The F J is Frederick James as he is listed as a subscriber to White's Yate Pottery limited in 1891, together with Robert Nathaniel Hooper, Joseph Rogers, William Cottrell, William Roberts, George Dyer and Framcis George White. By 1897 Frederick James was no longer listed as a share holder, although Francis George White and his wife Frances Northcote White were. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Additional Sources Baptist Mills - a desktop study, Mike Baker; Denver's White Pottery, Thomas G Turnquist; and Public Record Office - BT/31/4977/33266120182. Thanks to local historian Dave Hardwick for the latter two items. |