Hand-painted wares from the Alnwick election (1826)

An enterprising Tyneside Pottery made hand-painted mugs for the followers of political candidates of all persuasion during the Alnwick election of 1826. They share elements of decoration with items I've attributed to Robert Maling, however, the block text is harder to reconcile with Maling items from the 1820s.  On the other hand, the text has some similarities with 1830s items from North Shields.  But the enamel decoration much less so.  I'm open to the possibility that they came from another Tyneside pottery altogether, but haven't yet found a good match.  We know that the Newcastle Pottery made political items.

Bottom left is a plaque marked C, C & Co, for Cornfoot, Carr & Co, North Shields, and bottom right is a plaque marked Maling, from Ouseburn Bridge, Newcastle.  

---

The case for and against Maling

Robert Maling certainly produced items with red roses combined with blue and green enamels around the time of the Alnwick election (see the firmly attributed Maling jug, above and below), and at first glance they appear to be a strong match.  However, the Maling formula for painting roses remains pretty consistent throughout the late 1820s, and I haven't yet found a perfect match for the flowers on the mugs, which are of a consistently different formation.

Maling items with large block text are harder to pin down. The first two Maling items below share the same pronounced hat on the capital 'F' as the Alnwick mugs.  However, the formation of the lower case letters, where the signature of the enameller is more evident, is very different – the lower case 'a' in particular. The 'Forman' inscription from 1833 below is a much closer match for the 'Marshall' jug above than anything else on this page.  On the plus side, the lower case 't' on the 'Morrow' (1835) jug below is similar to that on the Alnwick 'Beaumont' mug, albeit it was painted some 9 years after the event.

---

The case against and for North Shields

Not a great deal is known about the output of North Shields in the 1820s.  The reliably attributed North Shields jug below shows that they too were producing items with red flowers in the 1820s.  However, I'm yet to positively identify any 1820s' items with similar borders of green enamels to the Alnwick items.  So Maling does seem a better match for the enamel decoration.

On the other hand, to my mind, the script on North Shields items (top row) has some strong similarities with the Alnwick items (bottom row), particularly the lower case 'a', 't' and the crossed 'L'.  There's nothing conclusive there and, for now at least, Robert Maling remains the stronger overall match.

---

Items recorded to date

---

Thomas Wentworth Beaumont, Tory
MP Northumberland 1818–1826, MP Stafford 1826–1830, Northumberland 1830–1832, South Northumberland 1832–1837

---

Matthew Bell, Tory 
​MP Northumberland 1826–1831 & South Northumberland 1832–52

---

Henry Liddell, Independent
​MP Northumberland 1826–1830, North Durham 1837–1847, Liverpool 1853–1855

---

Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey and Viscount Howick, Whig

---