Below is a summary of the text of each of the display panels from the temporary exhibition "A Community Skill: the Story of Burton-in-Lonsdale's Potteries". A single PDF containing all panels is also available: pdf (3Mb) (all in one file);
Copyright in all text and illustrations on the following exhibition panels remains with the Museum of North Craven Life
The panel is available as PDF in the 2011 exhibition: 'Challenge and Change'
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
The earliest potteries in Burton-in-Lonsdale were established in the mid 18th Century. They grew into a thriving industry. Overall, there were between 12 and 14 potteries based in the village, making a wide variety of pots in large quantities.
The first potters moved to Burton to avoid the competition they faced in Staffordshire, where their traditional skills were under threat from new factory methods. When employers like Josiah Wedgwood began to use moulds, skilled throwers had to look for work further afield.
The potteries soon became the main employers in Burton. The largest pottery, Waterside, had as many as 40 workers. The industry also caused the population of the village to grow. A new church was built in the late 19th Century to accommodate the growing congregation.
Burton potters made many products for commercial and domestic use such as storage jars, spirit bottles and bread crocks. These were sold locally and as far afield as Cumbria, the Isle of Man and Ireland. Some customers from Lancashire cotton towns made special trips to the village to buy pots.
Some pottery workers also supplemented their wages by selling ornamental and
commemorative pots like money boxes and puzzle jugs. These were made in their
spare time or whilst watching the kilns overnight.
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Preparing the Clay
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Pottery Production
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Distributing the Pots
Working Conditions
The potters in Burton worked in difficult conditions. Their jobs were often dangerous.
The atmosphere in the potteries was often very uncomfortable. When the kilns were firing, the whole pottery would be extremely hot and smoky. The kilns were unpacked whilst they were still very hot. Workers could only bear to be at the top of the kiln for a couple of minutes at a time. Kiln packers also breathed in large amounts of flint dust. This caused silicosis which could be fatal.
There were other hazards too. The materials used in glazes were often poisonous
and handled without protection. Arthritis was common amongst throwers. Some
workers did escape unscathed though. Richard Bateson worked in the potteries
from the age of 13 and lived to be 98.
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Burton-in-Lonsdale's potteries began to suffer financial difficulties during the First World War and the 1920s. Competition increased as pots from Staffordshire became more affordable and easier to get hold of, while demand for many Burton products declined. The final Burton pottery closed in 1944.
Modern industrial techniques made mass produced wares cheaper. The railways brought these pots to Burton and customers began to turn their backs on locally made products. People did less home brewing and baking and many of the Burton potteries' products were no longer household essentials. There were also new substitutes for earthenware and stoneware. Glass bottles were cheaper and more hygienic as it was easier to see how dirty they were.
The potteries tried to rescue their businesses by experimenting with new products.
They introduced garden ware ranges and coloured glazes but it was not enough.
Between the wars, traditional potteries all across the country were struggling
and most had shut down by 1945. There were more than 100 earthenware potteries
in England at the start of the 20th Century. By the end of the Second World
War, fewer than 12 remained.
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
The last Burton potter ceased trading in 1944. Today, the nearest working potteries are at Bentham and Ingleton. Burton-in-Lonsdale still celebrates its potting heritage today.
Richard Timperley Bateson had been a highly skilled thrower from the age of
17, working for his father and uncle at Waterside pottery. When Waterside closed
in 1933, Bateson bought Bridge End pottery but struggled to make a living. In
1939, he leased back Waterside, renaming it Stockbridge. At Stockbridge, Bateson
produced plant pots for Woolworth's. This project also proved unsuccessful and
Stockbridge was forced to close. Pottery in Burton-in-Lonsdale had ended after
2 centuries.
Bateson went on to teach pottery in London and Ipswich before returning to Burton in the late 1970s. He passed on his extensive knowledge to the Cartledge family at their pottery in Bentham. Richard Bateson died in 1991, aged 98 but Lee Cartledge still runs the Bentham pottery today, ensuring that the Burton potteries' legacy survives.
The history of potting in Burton-in-Lonsdale has been kept alive since the
last pottery closed. The Museum of North Craven Life previously exhibited Burton
pots in 1977 and the University of Lancaster also celebrated the traditional
local craft in a 1985 display. Burton is still proud of its potters today and
Burton Heritage Group are hoping to develop a pottery trail.
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Most of the pots on display here were collected by Rose Pierce, who lived in Burton for almost 40 years.
Rose arrived in the village as a district nurse in 1959 and took an immediate interest in the legacy of the potteries. At that time, there were still people in Burton who had been personally involved in the work. Rose listened attentively to their stories and became fascinated with the raw materials, the potting process, and the pots themselves.
Rose began to collect pots and made it a rule that she would only acquire items from within a 3-mile radius of Burton. She wanted to share her collection with other people so she held a number of exhibitions in the barn adjacent to her house.
Rose wanted to ensure a permanent home for the pots and for the related photographs
and documents that she had also collected. She generously donated everything
to the Museum of North Craven Life a number of years ago. Rose had been a founding
member of the museum in 1977 and her pots are now one of our most highly-prized
collections.
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Town End c. 1740-1920
Established by the Gibsons and later run by 4 generations of the Bateson family
(Thomas, John, Thomas and Richard) between 1768 and 1855 when it was taken over
by William Parker and his successors.
Potter's Arms c. 1750-1900
Records show the pottery was being run by William Bateson in 1788. His widow
and sons, Thomas and Richard, took over after William's death, running the business
until 1860. James Fothergill was at the pottery in 1861.
Baggaley's (also known as Bridge End) c.1750-1945
There is a record of this pottery from as early as 1750. In 1754 Thomas Lawson
mortgaged the property. From the late 18th to mid 19th Century, 4 generations
of the Baggaley family ran the pottery. Thomas Coates bought the pottery in
1889 and Richard Bateson ran it in 1930s.
Burton Bridge End (also known as Bradshaw's) 1770-1886
Originally built by Joseph Bradshaw from Staffordshire before passing to Robert
and Joseph Bradshaw in 1812. Bought by John Bradshaw in 1840 and sold to Thomas
Coates in 1886. Coates closed the pottery down shortly after and converted it
cottages.
Waterside (formerly Blaeberry or Bleaberry, later Stockbridge) c.1840-1944
John Bateson of Townend Pottery built Blaeberry around 1840. His cousin, William,
and his sons bought the pottery in 1869. William Bateson and Sons Ltd also ran
Greta Bank pottery. Blaeberry was renamed Waterside when William died. Waterside
closed in 1933 but was used by Richard Bateson in 1940s before finally shutting
down in 1944.
Greta Bank (aka Barnawig) c.1850- ?
Founded by James Parker and then left to his widow and son in 1871. William
Bateson bought the pottery in 1887 and was run by him and his sons until its
closure.
Greta Pottery 1843-1918
Founded by William Bateson and taken over by James Kilburn in 1857. Greta was
bought by Thomas Coates after Kilburn's death in 1879 and then sold to Robert
Bateson in 1906. After Robert died, his brothers ran Greta until 1918 when the
pottery ceased trading.
The Burton potteries were usually family businesses.
Thomas Bateson set up Townend Pottery in 1740. The Bateson family continued to run potteries in Burton for nearly 200 years.
Several other Burton potteries were also run by multiple generations of the
same family, although many businesses changed names and owners quite frequently.
Map of Burton in Lonsdale
In the late 1990s Henry Bateson produced a map of Burton c1836 based on his own knowledge of the village's history. Henry was the son of Richard Bateson, the last Burton potter. His map shows the various potteries and other key locations such as willow beds and where the potters dug the clay
Photos included (for images please see pdf).
Temporary Exhibitions for other years may be found by clicking on the relevant links below:
