Local Potteries

When visitors to the museum hear that Purbeck Ball Clay was used for making fine china, they immediately think of Poole Pottery, and miss the fact that the supply of Purbeck Ball Clay for ceramics was an international business.

The vast majority of Purbeck clay went to Staffordshire and to all the famous Potteries in that area. The Ball clay also made its way to overseas Potteries including Delft. 

Poole Pottery which was founded in 1873 to produce architectural ceramic products, began to produce domestic products in 1921. These products did use Purbeck Ball Clay purchased from Pikes up to the 1960's, when they started buying ready prepared clay body in to save having to mix their own. 

 Apart from Poole Pottery, there were over the years many other less famous local potteries. Several are mentioned below.

Purbeck Pottery (not to be confused with the existing one) on the Quay in Poole bought its clay from Pikes.

Dorset Crown Art Pottery 21 -23 Green Road Poole, bought their clay from Fayles. 
On October 4th 1915, Fayles supplied 6 tons of Arfleet clay @ 13/- + loading charges of 9d, Total £4-2-6.  They also sent free of charge a bag of yellow clay.  Presumably the yellow sample burnt satisfactorily.
On 29th February 1916, Fayles supplied 6 tons of Yellow clay (Arfleet.) @ 9/- + loading, Total £2-18-6.   On 31st March they sent a further 10 tons of Yellow plus loading, Total £4-17-6.
On 18th April 1917, 20 tons of Yellow were sent @ 12/- + loading, Total £12-15-0.
For more information on the pottery click here (and then click the Crown Dorset tab on left)

In Sandford there were 3 Potteries of different sizes.

The Main one (built 1856 by the great Victorian Builders - Lucas Brothers) was first known as Victoria Works and made bricks, some of which were used in the building of Crystal Palace. In 1863 it was sold and 3 Staffordshire potters were brought in, but the clay in Sandford was found to be unsuitable, and imported clay was used. The Pottery was then known as "Sandford Pottery". 

In 1886 the works were converted to extract oil from Kimmeridge shale and the name changed to the Sandford Wareham & Kimmeridge Oil & Carbon Co. Ltd. However this enterprise was not successful and the factory was sold again in 1892 to trade under the name Coalville, Sandford & Alston Ltd. making Salt Glazed Pipes and fittings. In 1920 the name changed again to "Sandford Pottery Co. Ltd." The Factory closed in 1966 and was demolished in 1979. (No evidence of Purbeck Ball Clay being used in their products)  

The next pottery was known as The Keysworth Pottery. This was established in a brickyard off Keysworth Drive in 1910 by Amy Baker. She proposed to make a ceramic product called "Dorset Marble" from white clay with iron staining. It was to be tongued and grooved hollow bricks and tiles that would enable cheaper building costs. Purbeck Ball clay was to be the main ingredient. The Pottery also produced ordinary bricks and art pottery, but closed in 1930.

The final Sandford Pottery was the Sibley Pottery. The original buildings and kiln are listed and can be seen next to the A351 on the south side close to Pooles Bridge. 

The kiln in November 2010 © John Rowley

It was established by Rachel Bennet in the early 1920's. Lawrence of Arabia commissioned a black tea service to be sent to a friend in the desert, with edges of the plates, curved inwards to prevent sand from getting into the food. The service was made from Purbeck Ball Clay based mixture. Later Lawrence ordered another tea service for himself and this can be seen at Clouds Hill. Thomas Hardy's Widow ordered one having seen the one used by Lawrence. The Pottery closed in 1939.

This list is by no means complete, but is just a start to a more comprehensive investigation in the local use of Ball Clay to be undertaken at a much later date. It can be seen from the above that the extraction did provide local work not just for the clayworkers and those involved in it's transportation.

Other Potteries with Local connections

Pountney & Co ( Bristol Pottery)

Joseph Willis was Benjamin Fayle's agent at Norden. He named his daughter (who was born in Norden House) after her Godmother - Benjamin's daughter Charlotte. Charlotte Fayle Willis married John Decimus Pountney in Corfe Castle in 1844 and was his second wife following the death of his first wife. John Decimus owned Pountney & Co. Ltd., and was known as a fine potter. He was Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1847. He died in 1852 and Charlotte took over the running of the pottery for 20 years. She died on 4th July 1872. The pottery continued trading as Pountney an Co and in 1900 was rebuilt on a new site in Bristol called Fishponds. Bristol Pottery was one of the most up-to-date in the world. Pountney & Co finally ceased trading in 1969 after an unbroken span of 308 years. The Pottery could trace its history back to Robert Collins who was making pottery at St. Anne’s, Brislington, in 1652.