ALD. W. T. COPELAND, M.P.
1797-1868
William Taylor Copeland (1797-1868),[188] son of William Copeland, the partner of the second Spode, had become sole owner of the old Spode china factory at Stoke in 1833. He had been Lord Mayor of London in 1835, and from 1837 till 1865 was generally Conservative member for Stoke-on-Trent. With the help of his partner, Thomas Garrett, Lord Ingestre, Richard Cobden, and some London financiers, the North Staffordshire Railway was formed. Bills were passed through Parliament in 1846, and by the end of 1849 Stoke was connected up with Stafford, Derby, Crewe, and Manchester. They were forced by Parliament to buy out the Canal Company’s monopoly at a very high figure—£1,700,000—which large addition to the capital of the company has always been urged as an excuse for any exceptionally high transport rates on this railway.
We may add here that the loop line through Tunstall was finished in 1875; while the tramways with horse draft were commenced in 1861, turned into steam traction in 1895, and into the present electric system by the British Electric Traction Company in 1902.
The railway at first affected principally the passenger traffic, and it was only gradually that it came into use for the carrying trade of the district, as the following figures show:
Total weight of goods and minerals carried by N.S.R. in 1,000 tons
| Canal | Rail | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1370 | — | 1819 | |
| 1286 | — | 1840 | |
| 1356 | — | 1849 | |
| 1259 | 273 | 1850 | |
| 1595 | 1245 | 1860 | |
| 1563 | 2324 | 1870 | |
| 1244 | 3369 | 1880 | |
| 1076 | 4309 | 1890 | |
| 1168 | 5587 | 1900 | |
| 1130 | 6515 | 1906 | [189] |
The partnership between Copeland and Garrett was dissolved in 1847, and the firm took the title of “W. T. Copeland, late Spode.” This was again changed in 1867 when Alderman Copeland’s four sons were admitted into the business, and the name became “W. T. Copeland & Sons.” It was about 1846 that Messrs Copeland developed the “Parian” body, a hard white stoneware second only to marble as a material for statuettes and bas-reliefs. It is composed largely of feldspar, and figures in this material, modelled by some of the best artists of the last half century, still form a large part of Messrs Copeland’s productions.
Alderman Copeland, who was also a great patron of the Turf, died in 1868 and his son, Richard Pirie Copeland, then became sole owner of the works. Mr R. P. Copeland bought Kibblestone Hall, and served as High Sheriff for the county in 1902. His sons have now joined him in the management of the historic works at Stoke.