South East View of the Cast Iron Bridge – bridge 3
The Sunderland Pottery
Photo Ian Holmes
This transfer is an earlier incarnation of Baker's bridge 3, before the printed maker's mark, J Phillips, Hylton Pottery, was added (see below). On this early imprint, the motto 'Nil Desprandum Auspice Deo', from Sunderland's coat of arms, can more clearly be seen. It broadly translates as 'Don't despair in God we trust'.
This mug was likely made before 1815, when the North Hylton Pottery was bought by John Phillips from the Maling family. Therefore, I've attributed it to Phillip's other pottery, the Sunderland (or Garrison) Pottery. However, it is possible that Phillips acquired this transfer plate as part of the North Hylton Pottery sale, and that the mug was in fact made by Robert Maling. That seems less likely to me as these copper plates were very valuable, and there is no obvious reason why Robert Maling wouldn't have taken it to his new pottery at Ouseburn Bridge.
This mug was likely made before 1815, when the North Hylton Pottery was bought by John Phillips from the Maling family. Therefore, I've attributed it to Phillip's other pottery, the Sunderland (or Garrison) Pottery. However, it is possible that Phillips acquired this transfer plate as part of the North Hylton Pottery sale, and that the mug was in fact made by Robert Maling. That seems less likely to me as these copper plates were very valuable, and there is no obvious reason why Robert Maling wouldn't have taken it to his new pottery at Ouseburn Bridge.
J Phillips, Hylton Pottery
Below, two very similar creamware mugs with the re-engraved transfer with the added printed mark 'J Phillips' and 'Hylton Pottery' beneath it (see the large jug below for a crisper imprint of the re-engraved transfer). Unlike the earlier mug above, these items have a frog inside. They likely date from the 1820s.
Although this bridge transfer bears the printed mark 'J Phillips' and 'Hylton Pottery', it appears in conjunction with transfers marked 'Dixon & Co' and 'Dixon, Austin & Co'. The date of 1836 on the large inscribed jug below, places it towards the end of the Dixon, Austin & Co partnership (1818–1839).
Below, the transfer on a smaller jug with the very rare transfer 'Ancient Order of Druids'. Beneath that, two examples with a transfer commemorating 'Nelson'. Given the similarities of decoration, it seems likely that all these items are from the 1830s. Interestingly, the Nelson examples I have on file from the 1820s are paired with bridge 14.
