Albion  Pottery,  New  Whittington

                        Owners: Senior, then Green & Turner, then Stephen & Wallace Green.

The Pottery was established c1876, next to the Brick Works, by George Senior, who also owned the brickworks.




    The earliest reports I've found are for the brick works.



George Senior decided to build the Albion Pottery.


The Derbyshire Courier, Saturday 6th June 1874


 "TENDERS WANTED for a THIRD YARD CHIMNEY, and a seven-chambered BRICK KILN - for plans and specifications,  apply at the Station Road Brickworks, Whittington, Chesterfield.

  And to be Sold, a Seven Feet CLAYMILL, of the very best construction. It may be seen daily at the aforesaid Brickworks."

Senior:

George Senior was a business man born c1819 in Dodsworth, Yks., the son of a weaver. He married Sarah Gillott in Ecclesfield in 1840 & they were living in Barnsley in 1851 with their 2 sons John Gillott & Joe Senior. George was a schoolmaster then, but became an architect by the 1861 census, living in Dodsworth Yks. They'd had a daughter Elizabeth Fox c1859 & their son John Gillott Senior was an architect's clerk. The family were still living in Dodsworth in 1871 but now George is a colliery owner & his son Joe a solicitor. His son John has married Mary Ann Wilcock & they are living with her family in Barnsley: John is a book keeper.


By 1875 George Senior is the owner of the Brick Works off Pottery Lane, (which later became Station Lane), New Whittington. The pottery was established in c1876. George's brother Edward was overall manager with Isaac Hardy being the manager.
Derbyshire Times Wednesday 18th April 1877
"ALBION PATENT
BRICKWORKS,
NEW WHITTINGTON, 
NEAR CHESTERFIELD.
 The ALBION FACING BRICK is waterproof, being made of the celebrated Whittington earthenware clay, which is first ground to a powder, then subjected to great pressure in the moulds, and afterwards well burnt in patent kilns. It preserves its bright colour in all situations, neither becoming defaced by green incrustations nor disfigured by effusion of salts on its surface, and it requires neither paint nor any other coating matter for its preservation.
 The Albion Facing Brick is specially adapted for the best class of work, and should be used by all builders who want their property to retain its value, and their tenants to enjoy the comfort and health which a dry house generally promotes.
Size of Brick 9 in. by 4½ in. by 3½ in.
Free on Rails at New Whittington, at 35/- per 1000 selected. Do do. 28/- not selected

N.B.- All kinds of Floor and Roofing Tiles, and Red and Blue Ornamental Bricks kept in stock or made to order.
832 G. SENIOR, PROPRIETOR."
The cost of doing business.... or not ?      The case of a water bill in dispute - summarized

Derbyshire Times, Saturday 15th December 1877 
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY COURT.
(BEFORE W. F. WOODFORDE, Esq., Judge).
IMPORTANT WATER SUPPLY CASE.
THE CHESTERFIELD WATER WORKS AND GAS LIGHT CO. v. GEO. SENIOR.
  Mr. C. Black, barrister, appeared for the plaintiffs; & Mr. Busby, solicitor for the defendant. This was a case adjourned from the August court for the production of scientific evidence, in which the plaintiffs sought to recover the sum of £27 9s. 6d. for water alleged to have been supplied, by meter, to the defendant, Mr. Geo. Senior, resident at Barnsley, but the owner of some brick works at New Whittington, near Chesterfield. 
According to the statement of plaintiff's council, in April 1875 the Company entered into an agreement with the defendant, (Mr. Senior), to supply him with water for his works, by meter, at the rate of 6d. per 1,000 gallons, provided that the consumption amounted to £10 per quarter; but in the event of the consumption being of a less amount than £10, then the rate to be higher.
The supply had continued regularly and no dispute nor objection was raised until the quarter ending September 1876, when it was shown that 1,100,000 gallons had been consumed, or at any rate had passed the meter. This was a great deal in excess of the average quantity used, & Mr. C. E. Jones, the Company's engineer & Manager, was told about it. He then sent out another inspector to re-read the meter to see if a mistake had been made in the reading; but the second check corroborated the first reading. It was therefore contended that it was improbable that the reading was a mistake.
Since then the details of the case had been more fully investigated. The Company inspected Mr. Senior's premises & prepared it's case. It showed a plan of the pipes & where the meter had been placed & also said that the meter had been moved at one time without consultation of the Company.
The points for the plaintiffs were that the water had been consumed either by the works or leakage as the meter was working perfectly & there was no error in the reading of the meter. 

* The meter reading was accurate:
The meter was visited every month by William Doe, & when he realised the increased amount of usage, at the time in question, he sent another inspector, William Hinchley to check the reading – although no-one said when this second reading took place. 
William Doe testified he had been with the Company for 7 years & had never made a mistake in reading a meter. In the quarter in dispute, July, August & September the consumption was 232,000, 350,000 & 518,000. Total 1,100,000. The figures had been recorded in a book for that purpose.
William Hinchley testified he had checked the meter reading of William Doe & recorded it in a book, but as the figures concurred he destroyed his book.

* The meter was working properly:
Mr. Richard Chimes, the meter manufactuer that the Company used, explained the mechanism of the meters; & said that he had manufactured 78,000 of the Company's meters over 25 years & was supplying 6 -7 thousand a year: They were all tested before being sent out. Mr. Bowskill, manager to Mr. Chimes, deposed to having tested the meter, that had been on the premises & returned to them, & found it to be 1% in favour of the consumer.

* Leakage & waste:
Mr. J. W. Fearn, architect, was next on the stand for the plaintiff's, & he said he'd examined the ground of the premises thoroughly & he thought a large amount of water might've escaped from the pipes or overflow from the tub without it being discovered. He said it was quite possible there was leakage from the pipes after they had been used for some time, & the wrong type of tap had been used: A block tap had been used instead of a ball tap. He added that he did not think any leakage would have necessitated stoppage to the works.

Points for the defence:
First there was the regularity in which the water was supplied in all the quarters with this exception. If there was a leak then it was up to the Company to find it as they were supposed to have inspectors for that job. The Company did not inform Mr. Senior of the steep rise in consumption until months later; & then Mr. Senior had contacted the Company to try to sort the issue out. 
The point was also made that during the 3 months in question, it was slow season in the trade, so work had been suspended for at least 24 days; but the consumption was 11 times more than of a similar period. The average supply up to June 1876 was from 150 gallons per quarter.

The water, which passed through the meter, discharged into a tank to supply the boilers; & that tank had a ball tap. Any leakage or overflow would've been detected. Any overflow would have got into the pit & to the mill where the clay was ground, & if so much as a gallon had run in there it would've caused a stoppage. Having a million gallons of waste water leaking was impossible without it being observed.
Edward Senior who managed the works & Isaac Hardy, resident manager, both corroborated the points made.
Mr. W. Robinson, for many years manager of the Barnsley Waterworks, also appeared for the defence: He said he had inspected Mr. Senior's works & formed a tolerably accurate opinion that the quantity of water used there would be 150 gallons a day & would never consume the amount the Company had stated. He'd examined the pipes, which had been bared from the tank to the boiler, & found them in perfect order & he also knew how to read the meters. His opinion was an error in the reading of the meter as he had known had happened in the business.

Summing up:
The judge went through all the points & found there wasn't an intentional, but an accidental error when the inspectors read the meter. When the plaintiffs saw the irregularity of the reading compared to previous & later readings they should've contacted Mr. Senior straight away, not wait until months later. They should have investigated & come to the conclusion that an error had been made.
His verdict would be for the defendant, Mr. Senior.
Mr. Busby, acting for Mr. Senior, asked for costs, which Mr. Black, acting for the Company, opposed, on the ground that the complainants had been misled by their employees.
The Judge wasn't happy with the conduct of the plaintiffs though & said that not only would he consent to costs but would instruct the registrar to set them at the highest level he could.




Whites directory of 1879 gives George to be the owner of Albion Potteries & Brick Works, with Edward as manager: George is also owner of the Highfield Colliery, Stonegravels. 

A Jabez Brown of New Whittington is a house agent & agent for Albion Potteries.

            



            The Works' products are still being advertised in the1880's.



Although he owns the pottery & brick works in Whittington, Derbyshire, George & his family are still living in Dodsworth, Yks. in 1881. 

His son John G. lives next door to him, with his wife & family, & is a commercial clerk for earthenware; so it seems he's started in the trade. Joe is still in Barnsley as a solicitor. 


Edward Senior, George's brother, had worked on the railway as a goods porter, clerk & station master before becoming pottery manager for his brother c1875. He'd travelled all over but was on Station Lane, New Whittington on the 1881 census with his wife & family. Edward was born c1825 in Dodsworth, Yks. He married Ann Witham in 1847 & they'd had 5 chilldren. Edward died before 1902 & his widow Ann & daughter Emma were living in Seaworth, Liverpool on later census'.
Staffordshire Daily Sentinel Wednesday 1st June 1881
 
       WANTED, a TRANSFERER, at the Albion Potteries, New Whittington, Chesterfield; also a PRACTICAL PARTNER.

By 1886 it looks like George is rearranging his business affairs. In 1881 he'd bought the Barker Pottery, with partner George Shaw, from Henry Briddon.

Derbyshire Times Wednesday 10th November 1886 
 
       TO BE LET the NEW WHITTINGTON POTTERIES.- Apply to Mr. Senior, Old Whittington.

He has no 'takers' though as he's still an earthenware manufacturer on the 1891 Census. George, his wife Sarah, daughter Elizabeth & granddaughter Sarah Hannah Senior are living at 'Devonshire Villas', Whittington.

George Senior died 8th August 1897 at Ashgate Rd., Brampton, aged 80yrs. His wife, Sarah's, death was registered in the March ¼ of 1897, a few months earlier. 

George left a Will dated 14th June 1897; that was probated 14th June 1898; it being granted to his daughter, Elizabeth Fox Senior, and William Mason of Brampton, foreman of the Barker Pottery, Brampton,  Executors. 

George's Will:

George's son John Gillott Senior was to get £100 & one third share of the money obtained by selling everything off. On the 1901 census he was in Hallam, Sheffield, Yks. & was working for himself as a Grocer & Postmaster. 


George's daughter in law, Lydia Ann Senior, [nee Rhodes], of Brampton, widow of George's son Joe, was to receive one third share. If she married again then that third share was to be divided into 2 & one part will go to Lydia & one part will go to Lydia & Joe's 5 children. Joe had died in 1884 aged 35yrs, in Whittington, Dbys.


All of George's household furniture and personal possessions were to go to his daughter Elizabeth Fox Senior.

Elizabeth was also to get one third share of the money & dividends after everything is sold. 


Elizabeth never married & lived on Ashgate Road until her tragic death in 1929. 
The Sale:

Derbyshire Times Saturday 28th August 1897
VALUABLE  FREEHOLD  AND  LEASEHOLD
PROPERTY  SITUATE  AT  NEW  WHITTINGTON, 
NEAR  CHESTERFIELD. 
  To be sold by  AUCTION  by  MESSRS  LANCASTER  AND  SONS, at the CROWN  INN, New Whittington, on 
MONDAY,  the  6th  day of  SEPTEMBER, 1897. 
  At Five o'clock in the Afternoon, in the following or such other Lots as may be determined upon at the time of Sale and subject to the General Conditions of Sale of the Sheffield Incorporated Law Society and the Special Conditions to be then and there produced.
LOT 1
  All those FIFTEEN FREEHOLD STONE BUILT DWELLING HOUSES, situate in or adjoining High Street, New Whittington aforesaid, together with the large Gardens in the rear thereof, and as the same are now in the occupations of Messrs Baggaley, Lennon[?], Eccles, Carter, Winter, Morley, Sims, Collins, and others, at an aggregate annual rental of £129 2s 8d, the landlord paying the rates.
The site of this Lot contains 1 acre 2 roods 28 perches or thereabouts.
LOT 2
  All that Large Piece of FREEHOLD LAND, containing 1 acre and 29 perches or thereabouts, adjoining to and on the East side of the Property comprised in Lot 1, and being at the rear of Property situate in London Street, and now let off as Garden Allotments, at aggregate rentals of £8 4s 0d per annum.
This Lot has a right of way for all purposes leading into London Street aforesaid.
LOT 3
  All those TWO FIELDS or CLOSES of FREEHOLD LAND, situate at the rear of London Street, New Whittington aforesaid, and adjoining to the South side of Lots 1 and 2, and 3 acres 1 rood and 14 perches or thereabouts, and as the same is now in the occupation of Mr James Pickering at the yearly rental of £12 7s 6d.
This Lot has a right of way for all purposes into London Street.
LOT 4
   All that POTTERY, with the WORKSHOP, and PREMISES belonging, situate near to Old Station Road, New Whittington, aforesaid, and also all that DWELLING HOUSE and PREMISES adjoining; and also the CLAY PIT and VACANT LAND thereto adjoining; and also the small FIELD of LAND, situate in the rear thereof, all of which premises are now in the occupation of Mr Thomas Turner, at a rent of £52 per annum, and contain an area of 2 acres and 2 roods thereabouts. The Pottery premises contain Engine-house, Clay Shed, three Kilns, Workroom, three Drying Rooms, two Warehouses, Brick Kiln, and Stables.
   A right of way of the width of 14 feet will be given from this Lot over the intervening land into Old Station Road as now used in connection therewith.
  The Works on this Lot are capable of very considerable extensions.There is an almost inexhaustible supply of good Clay, and the Earthenware produced is of first-class quality. The works are within a few minutes' walk of the Midland Railway Sidings, and are within a short distance of the new line of the M.S. and L. Railway, and offer a good opportunity to anyone seeking to invest capital.
LOT 5
  All those THREE MESSUAGES or DWELLING HOUSES, situate and being Nos. 127, 129 and 131 in High Street, New Whittington aforesaid, with the Gardens in the rear thereof, the site whereof contains 28 perches or thereabouts as the same are now in the occupation os Messrs. Beeley, Woodhead, and Cummings.
  These premises are held for the residue of a term of 99 years, commencing on the 25th day of March, 1857, and the Property is sold free of any rent under the original lease, the same being now charged upon other Property therein comprised.
  The site of this Property is one of the best positions in New Whittington, and offers a capital opportunity for the erection of first-class shop premises.
LOT 6
  All that large piece of FREEHOLD LAND, containing 1 acre 3 roods 6 perches or thereabouts, adjoining Lots 3 and 4, abutting upon a Back Lane situate at the rear of South Street, New Whittington aforesaid, land as the same is now let out[?] as Allotment Gardens, at aggregate rentals amounting to £11 or thereabouts per annum.
  All the Property is very well situated, is within a distance of about one mile from the large works of the Staveley Coal and Iron Company, Ltd., and affords good opportunities for safe and lucrative investments.
  For further particulars apply to the Auctioneers, Barnsley; to Messrs. James Kirk and Son, New Whittington; to Messrs. Stanton and Walker, Solicitors, Chesterfield (where a plan of the property can be seen); or to 
                         NEWMAN and BOND, 
                                                      solicitors, 
3321                                                       Barnsley
Green and Turner:
Thomas William Green was renting & running the pottery 1894 / 1895, at £52 a year, & later bought it. The 1899 & 1900 directories give him as the owner; although by 1904 he was trading with his half-brother, Albert Edward Turner, as the 'Green Brothers'.
Thomas William Green (sometimes Turner) was born c1872 in South Normanton to Ellen Green. Although I found his father is William Green, I didn't find a marriage for his parents; his mother's maiden name being Green, & she having been born in South Normanton. Ellen Green did marry Thomas Turner in 1879; & sometimes Thomas Wm. would use his step father's surname. 
Thomas & Ellen [nee Green] Turner had 12 children by the 1911 census but only 6 were alive by then, Albert Edward Turner being one of them. Thomas Turner was Innkeeper of the Devonshire Hotel, Newbold in 1911 having previously been a coal miner.
Thomas William Green married Ednor Ellen Sharples in 1895 at St. Bartholomews, Whittington. Ednor had 6 siblings, one of whom, Bertha, married Thomas' half-brother Albert Edward Turner in 1899.

The 1901 census tells us that Thomas is living at 25 Station Road, New Whittington [Albion Pottery], with his wife Ednor & sons Wallace, Stephen & Joseph. He is a Blackware Manufacturer – Employer.
Also in the household is his half-brother Albert E. Turner, a Thrower-Earthenware, & his wife Bertha, [nee Sharples], & son Thomas W.; & the widowed father of Ednor & Bertha, John Sharples. Ednor's niece by her deceased sister Mary, Isabel Heywood, is acting as a domestic servant.


On the 1911 cenus, Thomas, his wife Ednor, & his 6 children were still living at the pottery & Thomas is a Pot manufacturer. His son Wallace is now a wheel hand in the family business.

Albert Edward Turner has moved to 4 Cross Wellington Street, New Whittington, with his wife & 3 children. He'd had 5 children but only these 3 were still alive at the time of the census. He is still a Potter but now an employer too. Living with him is his wife's brother in law Thomas Heywood – widower to her sister Mary [nee Sharples] Heywood; & 2 of their children Henry & Bertha Heywood.
There was a drop in trade in the early 1920's which caused problems with many potteries.

The Times October 24th 1925
The Bankruptcy Act, 1914.
Receiving Orders
In the Country
Green, T. W., and Turner, A. E., trading as Green Brothers, The Albion Pottery, New Whittington, Derby, residing and carrying on business at the Albion Pottery, New Whittington, potters. Court – Chesterfield.

Following the bankruptcy Albert E. Turner works for his brother Thomas at the Brushes Pottery & later buys it. Unfortunately he ends up in the bankruptcy courts again.


The Brushes [Victoria Pottery]


Wallace & Stephen Green:  (sons of Thomas William Green)


Ronald Brown – Journal of the Northern Ceramic Society 1994:

“From 1930, two sons, Wallace & Stephen Green, carried on the business, and after the death of Stephen Green, Wallace continued until the early 1940's, when the pottery closed.”


“Wares: Only coarse wares were made there: garden pots, treee pots, pancheons, and bread crocks. No mark is known.”
From Notes taken during an interview with Mr L. Bradley, 241 Handley Rd., by R. Shelley. 30th June 1993. Green's Pottery, New Whittington. Local Studies Dept. Chesterfield Library.

“ There was a quarry at the back. A hand-operated railway tub ran down to this, to be filled with clay. This returned to be plunged into the plunge pan (which broke up the clay using chains). The clay was then decanted into filter beds, and spread out very thinly over an area of approx. 20 by 30 feet. These beds were heated by a 'Roman' type method of under-floor heating, where water was boiled off (rendered), and the clay made semi-malleable.

The clay was then thrown into a 4ft. high mound, and kneaded by foot! It then stood for one day and was chopped into blocks – a process continued in the pug-mill, which produced blocks 1ft. Square. Then loaded into open-sided barrows and taken to the throwing shop – different size balls of clay were cut for different purposes.

The pots were thrown, placed onto runners and taken to the drying kiln (an open shed). This was again heated underneath, and the biscuit dried to a certain consistency. It was then taken upstairs (to the kilns?).
Power was supplied by two gas engines, working overhead lines.

Red lead glaze was obtained from Stokes (white lead glaze was also used) – a glass phial with a weight was used to test the density of the glaze.

The pottery had two beehive kilns, pancheons were fired in one, bread pots in the other. Saggars were used, also rings (wooden dyes) (?) for different pots. There were 8-10 inlets in the kiln. It was loaded to the top then the front was bricked up. It was coal-fired, this coming from Lees pits, Handley (the same was always used, this being a known substance). Firing lasted for 2 nights, and this was the responsibility of one of the sons.”
 
End
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