It would, perhaps, scarcely be expected that in such a busy, bustling, and gigantic place of enterprise and commercial activity as Liverpool—in the midst of shipping of every description, and surrounded by the most enormous and busy undertakings of one kind or other—we should successfully look for the full and perfect accomplishment of so quiet, so unostentatious, so peaceful, and so delicate an art as that of the potter. But thus it is; and Liverpool, which counts its docks by tens, its wharves and stores by hundreds, its shipping by thousands, and its wealth by millions—which can boast its half-million inhabitants, its overground and under-ground railways, and every appliance which skill and enterprise can give or trade and commerce possibly require—which has undertaken the accomplishment of some of the most wonderful and gigantic schemes the world ever knew, and has carried them out in that spirit of commendable and boundless energy that invariably characterises all its actions—has not been behindhand with its more inland and more modest neighbours in the manufacture of delicate porcelain, and of pottery of the most fragile nature.
It is more than probable that in mediæval times the coarse ware of the period—the pitchers, porringers, dishes, &c.—was made on the banks of the Mersey. The first mention of pottery, however, occurs in 1674, when the following items appear in the list of town dues:—
“For every cart-load of muggs (shipped) into foreign ports, 6d. For every cart-load of muggs along the coasts, 4d. For every crate of cupps or pipes into foreign ports, 2d. For every crate of cupps or pipes along the coast, 1d.”
A WEST PROSPECT OF GREAT CROSBY 1716
Fig. 1.
Shaw’s Delft Ware Works.—The earliest potwork of which there is any reliable information, appears to have been that of Alderman Shaw, situated at Shaw’s Brow, which afterwards became a complete nest of pot-works belonging to different individuals. At these works was most probably made the earliest known dated example of Liverpool delft ware. This is a large oblong-square plaque, unique in its size and decoration, which is preserved in the Mayer museum, and is shown on Fig. [1]. It is of fine delft ware, flat in surface, and measures 2 feet 7 inches in length, by 1 foot 8 inches in depth, and is nearly three quarters of an inch in thickness. The body is composed of the ordinary buff-coloured clay, smeared, like what are usually called “Dutch tiles,” on the face with a fine white clay, on which the design is drawn in blue, and then glazed. The plaque represents the village of Great Crosby as seen from the river Mersey, and bears the name and date, “A west prospect of Great Crosby, 1716,” on a ribbon at the top. In the foreground is the river Mersey, with ships and brigs, and a sloop and a schooner. The large ship in the centre of the picture has a boat attached to her stern, and another boat containing two men is seen rowing towards her, while on the water around them are a number of gulls and other sea-birds. On the sandy banks of the river are several figures, consisting of a woman with a basket on her arm, apparently looking across the river; another woman, also with a basket on her arm, walking with a long stick; a man also walking with a stick; a gentleman on horseback; and a man driving an ass before him. Beyond these figures rise the sandbanks, covered with long grass and heather, in which is a rabbit warren. The warren keeper’s house is shown, as are also numbers of rabbits. Beyond this again, in the open space, are a number of figures: men are seen galloping on horseback; women are carrying baskets; men are walking about, some with dogs, others without; and the intermediate space is pretty well studded with cattle, rabbits, and birds; a milkmaid milking one of the cows. Behind this, again, the ground is divided by hedgerows into fields, in which are cattle, people walking to and fro, and a milkmaid carrying a milkpail on her head. In the background is the town of Great Crosby, including the school-house and numerous other buildings, with long rows of trees, palings, gates, and other objects incidental to the scene. To the left of the spectator is Crosby windmill, still standing; and those who are best acquainted with the aspect of the place, as seen from the river at the present day, say that little alteration has taken place in the village; that this view, taken a hundred and fifty years ago, might well pass for one just executed.
Concordia Parua Res Crescunt
THIS SEAT WAS ERECTED BY
JOHN HARRISON AND
HENRY HARRISON OF
LEVERPOOLE 1722