Ditchling.
At Ditchling, in Sussex, pot-works are said to have existed for “several hundred years.” Be this as it may, some old pot-works for the coarsest brown ware, and bricks and tiles, were bought in 1870 by Messrs. H. Johnson & Co., in the belief that from the superior quality of the native red clay they would be able to produce architectural terra-cotta of a more than ordinarily durable quality. By them the Ditchling Works were much extended, and they have succeeded in making terra-cotta, both useful and ornamental, of an excellent bright red colour, and a fine hard, durable, and almost metallic surface. In this, with careful workmanship, they manufacture well-designed terminals, ridge crestings, crosses, panels, mouldings and all the usual varieties of architectural pottery, as well as moulded bricks, tiles, &c. Among public buildings where the Ditchling terra-cotta has been successfully used is the St. James’s Hall, Piccadilly, and the firm have received medals from the London International Exhibition and the Philadelphia Exhibition. In 1875 Messrs. H. Johnson & Co. opened extensive works on the same vein of clay at Keymer Junction. They are the largest works in Sussex.