Coalville.
In 1859 the attention of Mr. George Smith (who has made himself a name, and earned the thanks of his country for his philanthropic exertions in improving the condition of the brick-yard children and those of the canal population) was accidentally drawn to the clays of the neighbourhood of Coalville and Whitwick, and he procured some for the purpose of experiments. These trials proving eminently satisfactory, Mr. Smith entered into an arrangement with Mr. Joseph Whetstone and others by which he undertook to establish the manufacture of terra cotta on the spot and to develop the clay resources of the place. The works were therefore established in connection with the Whitwick Colliery Company, at Coalville and Ibstock; they are now worked by the Midland Brick and Terra Cotta Company. Three kinds of terra cotta are here produced, viz., red, white or light buff, and yellow or cream colour. These varieties, each distinct from the other, are thus described for me by Mr. Smith:—
“First, the red. This is made out of the surface clay, of a greyish tint, and varies in thickness from four to thirty feet, and does not shrink much in burning; it burns a beautiful bright red colour and will stand the severest weather and keep its colour. Occasionally a little white scum may be seen on the surface: this is the result of making, drying, and burning too quickly; but this will disappear after it has been in use a winter or so. Second, the light buff or glypto terra cotta. The clay out of which this is made underlies the red terra cotta clay and varies in thickness from six to twenty feet; it is very hard and difficult to be ground to a proper fineness. This terra cotta when burnt resembles very much Bath stone in colour, and may, if it be kept dry from the time it is burnt to the time it is used, be cut and carved with much ease, and it is very suitable for head-stones, &c. But this peculiar speciality disappears after it has been exposed to the weather for a little time, when it gets hard, and turns the edge of the tools. Third, the yellow or cream-coloured terra cotta. The clay for this kind of terra cotta is got out of the coal-pits in the neighbourhood, and lies at a depth of about a hundred and twenty yards from the surface. It averages about five feet in thickness, and is a kind of clay between a pot-clay and a fire-clay. It is very fine, strong, free from iron, and will stand a great heat, but shrinks a deal in burning—about one-eighth. The kind of goods this clay is most suitable for are the following:—Sewage-pipes, chimney-pots, vases, flower-boxes, tiles, and pottery. The goods produced in architectural enrichments are bases and capitals; cornices, corbels, and brackets; arch moulds, vaulting-ribs, and balustrades; diapers, finials, and ridge-tiles, and other articles. Garden and conservatory, as well as table vases—some of which, especially a tripod vase, are of excellent design—are also made of various sizes.”