Sewell & Donkin, St Anthony's Pottery – early inscriptions
To date, I've found only a very limited number of early inscriptions attributable to Sewell's St Anthony's Pottery, Newcastle, and most relate to Lambton and Powlett's election campaigns for Durham County, in either 1820 or 1826.
Sewell & Donkin are known to have made relief-moulded jugs. Note the grape-vine motif on the collar of the marked jug below, which also appears on the unmarked political items.
Sewell & Donkin are known to have made relief-moulded jugs. Note the grape-vine motif on the collar of the marked jug below, which also appears on the unmarked political items.
The jug above appears in Joseph Sewell's 'Book of Designs' (see Clarice and Harold Blakey, 1993), whereas those below, with what might be described as a 'figurehead' handle, do not. Thomas Fell, at the nearby St Peter's Pottery, is also known to have produced relief-moulded pottery with vine motifs.
Ian Holmes owns a fabulous Dixon, Austin jug with inscriptions for Lambton and Powlett in 1820, so it seems likely these jugs were made in 1820, for the earlier election. Note the 'L' in Powlett is crossed.
I'm less certain of a Sewell attribution for the the next three items. However, the distinctive lower case 'f' is very similar to the Lambton mug above, and the 'C' of 'Crawford' is a good match for the 'Cheviot' jug below. This shape of handle is known to have been used by Sewell and appears in his 'Book of Designs'. Note also the use of green enamel, which appears on many of the items on this page.
This jug pairs with the one above, but has a cottage on one side and a building with a flat roof on the other. Michael Gibson lists this pair of jugs as 'probably Staffordshire', but in my view they are certainly made in the North East.
Note that on this jug the lower case 'L' is not crossed, which is a cause of concern for a Sewell attribution. However, the capital 'C' is very similar to the items above. This jug has a wide spout similar to the Sewell-impressed jug at the start of this page.
Although these jugs don't have inscriptions, I've included them because of their cottage decoration. Note the handles match those on the Lambton jugs.
On this jug, the lower case 'L' is again crossed. Compare that to the later Sewell puzzle jugs below
The next two items have distinctive leaf and flower decoration. They are attributed to Sewell based on similarity of inscription to the jug above. Note the date format and the lower case 'L'. I'm indebted to Norman Lowe for the following information. Elizabeth Collin was born 4 January 1823 and baptised 13 January 1823 in Gateshead. The pot painter went on to make similar items for the Sheriff Hill Pottery in the late 1830s. Read more on that below.
Sewell & Donkin, St Anthony's Pottery – later inscriptions
Occasionally, a marked item comes along that causes an exciting shift in attributions. The 1833 jug below has a lovely impressed 'SEWELL.' mark within a raised beaded frame.
There is now no doubt in my mind that the Pringle jug and the two puzzle jugs below were all made at St Anthony's Pottery in Newcastle.
Previously, I'd attributed the puzzle jugs to Sheriff Hill on the basis of the items below. The Wesley plate has a 'J.&P' (Jackson and Patterson) impressed mark. Jackson & Patterson ran the Sheriff Hill Pottery from 1833. Read more about Sheriff Hill inscriptions here. The mug, although unmarked, has the same Wesley transfer and painted script. The crossed lower case 'L' is particularly distinctive. It also has very similar flower decoration and text to the Pringle mug above.
So the pot painter / enameller work at St Anthony's Pottery (Sewell & Donkin) until at least 1833. He then moved to Gateshead and started work for the Sheriff Hill Pottery at some time before 1839.
Pink lustre puzzle jugs with monograms and lustre garlands
The Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums catalogue attributes the jug below to Dawson's Low Ford Pottery. Although Dawson did make puzzle jugs (see here), they are smaller and less bulbous in form. The Museum catalogue states '19th century creamware puzzle jug given as wedding gift to John Burnop and Mary Douglas, 1828'. The elaborate initials are similar to those on the other pink-lustre items below. The mariners' compass transfer is also common to items on this page.
Sewell produced multiple versions of this transfer on tea wares, often found in canary yellow.