The Penn's Grove record., 1884-02-23
NUMBER %.
English Ceramics

tan,S found in England, Scotland and
ireland; the mOrtuary slabs and the
red Slmiau bowl of the Roman con-
quest, dating back to - b. c.; the R0-
mdn0-Britlsh earthen pots, the early
Saxon cups and water jugs introduced
4yg a. d., and mural tiles of the Nor
man medieval that came with the con-
quest In lU56, the lead-gIazed vessel of
the sixteenth century, and the rough
stUneWare Of about the same date; the
imperfect early work of the Stafford
Shire kilus, and the w~edgewoOd wares
that stand out alone, making a period
in English art life wholly distinct from
all That came before or is likely to come
after.
The OLD Roman kilns can be traced
for twenty miles along the gravel beds
and clay banks of Northamptonshire,
and works showing these were largely
exported at a very early period have
been found in France, Germany and all
along the ueighboring shores of the Ne
theIlauds. The early Saxon a is all
coarse, yellow and uugIazed. Slight
improvement is manifest till the Nor
man conquest. Then the independent
old saxon heart seemed so troubled in
-surrrpdcrfnq ms freedom and conform
ing his uucouth. though genial and
sincere. manner to suit the court life
Of the suave and polite invader that
there is little to show in the way Of
native pottery for several hundred
years.
As r~eIicsof the thirteenth century we
find queerly ornamented tiles used in
forming the floors Of churches and ca
thedrals. all showing ideas of dpcora-
lIaH and coforing borrowed from the
Eastern nations. brought back probably
by the few fortunate Crusaders whose
bodies were not left a prey to iackals
and hysnas nor bones to bleach before
the walls Of the holy city of Jerusalem.
The most perfect remains of this stage
of art history are found in Crudens, at
Ely. or Chertsey Abbeys in Surrey, or
more elaborated in Malmsbury Abbey
and Malvern.
After the rude earthen wares and
lead glazas that soon followed, Holland
sent to England in the seventeenth
century specimens of deli or delft
her most famous ware. Workmen
came. too. and settled about Lambeth
and Fulham These Stafordshire pot
%teries. comprising TuustalI, Busalem,
Cambridge, Shelton. Longport, Fenton,
Stoke-on-Trput. Lambeth, Surry,
DeIph. FuIham. Strusia, and a number
of other small villages connected by
their trade and CLAY banks for a distance
of ten miles, and the oldest in England.
IL. 1880 I. -r..- ,. 81 ,- 4, H., D,r,,,.
conquest.
OF the period when Holland manu-
f|aeturers were introduced there exists
a peculiar drinking cup called the Tyg.
These were labor saving vessels so far
as concerned dish-waShing, as well as
money-saving as far as regarded nun
bers. There was a convenience if not
a 1eCfssity in four handles, since these
Tlgs were meant to be alternately
slipped from bv at least four genial ale
loving Saxous.
Then, too. were made many posset
cups. preserved in such numbers to our
day from the rarity of using them.
The drink, or mess, called posSet was
never made except at Christmas, and
then of ''hOt ale, milk, sugar, spices,
slices of bread or Oat cake, " into which
was dropped a coin and the mother s
wedding ring. 1t was eaten with q
spoon, each member of the family help
ing himself in turn.
In 1860 the history Of English pottery
was made memorable by an accident to
a modern Martha an humble kitchen
girl. A coarse earthen pot, containing
BRINE. boiled over and dry, became even
red hot, while She possibly was enjoying
the Jokes of some admiring swain in
the back yard. A curious thing came
of 1.-THE vessel was found covered over
with a shining glaze; all this meant,
doubtless a reprimand to the needless
Martha: but 1t meant as well triumph
to the English fathers. The queer re-
suit of the accident wa told from house
to house, though the girls name seems
to have been forgotten till it reached
the Burslem kilns. Here many another
pot was allowed to boil over purpOsely,
and there was offered in England shortly
after that salt-glazed pottery, known i'll
the households from that day to this as
C~rouchwaTe.
About this time was made in England