West View B10 (Dawson)

West View of the Cast Iron Bridge – bridge 10

Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

This view shows the Lord Duncan, the largest ship built in Sunderland at that time, passing under the bridge. The ship was launched in 1798, just a couple of years after the bridge opened. But any real acquaintance with the bridge would have been short lived, as she was blown up in 1807 by an explosion in San Domingo. However, images of the ship passing under the bridge continued to be used by Dawson, North Shields and Moore & Co into the 1840s and 50s.

Dawson, Low Ford Pottery – plate 1

Photo Lacy, Scott & Knight

This is an earlier (1805) incarnation of the transfer below. Note that the oval shapes to the far left and right of the title are blank. They would later be engraved 'J Dawson & Co' and 'Low Ford Pottery'. The Bridge is paired with 'Lord Nelson engaging the Toulon Fleet of the Mouths of the Nile', The Battle of the Nile was fought in 1798.

The jug below is from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, again with the Battle of the Nile transfer. The plate has been reengraved with the name James Howe on either side of the transfer. Nick Dolan has identified a 'glass & earthenware dealer' of Sunderland Street in Parson & White's 1827 directory for Houghton le Spring (Northern Ceramic Society Journal Volume 9, 1992).

A jug of similar age and shape to the one above, decorated with hand-painted flowers consistent with those found on Dawson items.

New Bedford Whaling Museum

This jug combines May Peace & Plenty transfer marked Dawson & Co Low Ford with what appears to be the version of the bridge marked JAMES HOWE.

An early imprint from the same copper plate painted with similar enamels over the transfer to the jug above. The mug has no frog. Note the blank cartouche on the far right, on which you can just make out the letter 'E' from the word 'HOWE' which has been partly erased.

Another ovoid jug likely made before 1820, showing the launch of a ship on the reverse, and the verse 'May Carpenters Flourish'.

Dawson, Low Ford Pottery – plate 2

The consistency of enamelling supports all the items on this page being made by Dawson, but there are at least 2 transfer plates. It appears that sometime c1820, Dawson's created a new transfer plate with 'J Dawson & Co' 'Low Ford Pottery' where the name 'James Howe' had been. This is Baker's bridge 10 transfer.

An exceptionally crisp later imprint with bright over-enamels. As with all the transfers on this page, the name of the ship, the 'Lord Duncan' can be seen on the ship's stern (see left). The ship was the biggest built in Sunderland at that time, so another source of local pride passing under the bridge.

The second larger mug below is from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection.

Dawson also produced these items without enamels over the transfer. This mug, like the others on this page, does not have a frog inside.

Two canary yellow mugs with the transfer, and distinctive handles used by Dawson, again likely from the 1820s.

It appears that the copper plate was taken out of retirement in the 1840s. Below, a large and exceptionally well decorated marriage jug with the transfer, and an inscription for 1846.

The jug has a couple of hidden features, not immediately obvious. Firstly, there's an all-seeing eye under the lip of the spout, looking down on the married couple. Secondly, as spotted by my friend, Ian Holmes, it has a 'John Wesley' acrostic. Each line spells out a letter from his name. Click on the images to enlarge.

The transfer remained in use on slip-cast jugs into the 1850s.

Photo Keith Cockerill