Volume 2 — CHAPTER VII. (continued 2)

In majolica, cheese stands, bread trays, dessert services, jugs, egg-holders, jardinières, flower-pots, tea-pots, ladies’ work-baskets, water-bottles, and an infinite variety of ornamental articles are made. Many of these are of a high degree of merit in design, and their production is faultlessly good. Notably among the dessert services in majolica is one with a rich chocolate-coloured ground, which throws out, with a strikingly beautiful and rich effect, a naturally arranged group of ivy, ferns, and anemones, which are slightly embossed, and are coloured true to nature; this is surrounded by an embossed “key” border and white enamel edge, and the handles are in keeping with the ornamentation. Another striking design in majolica is a jug. The ground of this is chocolate, and upon it are panels of rope in buff, enclosing thistle-leaves in green. The whole design, including the twisted rope handle, is novel and pleasing. Besides these, green glaze dessert services, and a large variety of other articles, both useful and ornamental, are made. The firm use no mark.

Castle Field Pottery.—These works were formerly carried on by Mr. Ball for the manufacture of ornamental bricks. Mr. Ball “distinguished himself as the first to bring out hollow and glazed bricks, and these he made for Prince Albert’s Model Cottages. They were from his works at Poole, in Dorsetshire, and matured here at Etruria.” In 1860 Messrs. Davenport & Banks established themselves at these works, and commenced the manufacture of fancy goods of various kinds, which they successfully carried on until 1873, when Mr. Banks retired, and was succeeded by Mr. Beck,—the firm now being “Davenport, Beck & Co.” The principal productions of the Castle Field Works are fancy antique goods, in which numberless articles are made; majolica in all its varieties; porous goods; terra-cotta water-bottles, &c.; jet ware; and the ordinary classes in which dinner, tea, dessert, toilet, trinket, and other services are made, both for home and foreign markets. The mark used is a castle, and the letters “D. B. & CO. ETRURIA” within an oval garter, bearing the words TRADE MARK.

Henry Venables, Etruria Road, established 1860, manufactured Etruscan-red porous goods, black basalt ware, jet glazed ware, and blue and other coloured jaspers. In these he produced a large variety of vases, as well as other ornamental and useful goods.