By December 1819, Thomas Bond restarted his business post-bankruptcy, moving to Handsacre for a malting and brickyard operation. His fifth child, Edwin, was born around 1821, with two more children following. In 1830, Thomas leased land with a brickyard but no malthouse. By 1835, the Bond family operated three brickyards. Thomas relocated to Birmingham by 1841, with his sons taking various paths in brickmaking. Some sons suffered multiple bankruptcies, but his eldest son, John, succeeded, leaving £20,000 upon his death in 1880. His legacy includes stamped bricks, reflecting the mechanization of the industry.
Tag: Armitage Shanks
Thomas Bond Part 2 – maltster, brickmaker, potter and bankrupt
By September 1815, Thomas Bond was imprisoned for debt in Stafford gaol, a harsh reality for many in 19th-century England. After a period of uncertainty, he resumed his malting and brickmaking business while venturing into pottery. Despite efforts to expand, mounting financial troubles led to his bankruptcy in 1819.
The founding of Armitage potbank
In November 1817, Thomas Bond purchased land in Armitage, marking the start of his pottery venture. By 1819, multiple potteries operated in the area, with Bond’s business eventually facing bankruptcy. The legacy of Armitage potbank would later evolve into the global brand of Edward Johns Co. Ltd., later Armitage Ware and Armitage Shanks.
Thomas Bond Part 1 – maltster, brickmaker, potter and gaolbird
Thomas Bond, a maltster, brickmaker, and potter, is credited with founding Armitage’s first pottery. Before this, he ran brickworks and malting operations. Despite early ventures in pottery and partnerships, financial troubles led to bankruptcy. In 1815, his failed pottery venture resulted in imprisonment for debt.
Armitage Ware colour samples
In 1927 Edward Johns & Co., (later Armitage Ware and then Ideal Standard) produced the very first coloured sanitary ware in the world. Biscuit-fired ware was shipped to their sister company, Richards Tiles Ltd in Tunstall, who applied a mottled colour glaze and fired it again. Only four colours were created – Mottled Armitage Green,… Continue reading Armitage Ware colour samples
A shipwreck find
An email from John Bennett last week, giving me a link to a BBC news article on a new display at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, gave me an excuse to look again at one of my favourite characters from the history of Armitage potteries – Robert Hedderwick Penman. The picture above, courtesy of the Gladstone… Continue reading A shipwreck find
What’s in a name?
This advert appeared in the Staffordshire Sentinel and Commercial & General Advertiser on 2nd October 1869 and seemed very strange when I first came across it. The pottery advertised in the Stoke papers whenever they wanted to recruit a pottery specialist but I couldn’t figure out why they would want a table manufacturer. After quite… Continue reading What’s in a name?
The pottery pay dispute in 1914
In 1914 the pottery industry followed the same procedure for pay discussions that had been developed in the 1890s and it had a very set annual pay round – every company in the industry followed exactly the same routine. Prices that were to be paid to the potters for the following 12 months were set… Continue reading The pottery pay dispute in 1914
The origin of the word ‘loo’
If you are going to write about the history of Armitage potbank how can you resist looking up the origins of the word ‘loo’? The word itself first appeared in print in the 1922 book, Ulysses, by James Joyce so it was obviously already in popular use by that time. There’s all sorts of claims… Continue reading The origin of the word ‘loo’
Edward Johns
What sort of a person was Edward Johns?