A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



and Catherine of Braganza, others of James II 

 and his queen Mary, full-length figures of Flora 

 and Minerva, a sportsman in the costume of 

 the reign of Charles II, a girl holding flowers 

 with two lambs by her side, and five stone- 

 ware statuettes (in imitation of bronze) of 

 Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Meleager, and Saturn. 

 Speaking of the above collection of pieces, 

 Mr. Burton remarks 18 : 'It is still more 

 remarkable to find a series of figures displaying 

 such finished modelling, perfect proportion, 

 and breadth of treatment. Finer artistic work 

 than this, in clay, has never been produced in 

 this country, and the knowledge, taste, and 

 skill shown in their production fully entitle 

 Dwight to be reckoned among the great pot- 

 ters of Europe.' 



The characteristics of Dwight's pottery 

 have been described as follows 19 : 



The Fulham stone-ware, in imitation of that of 

 Cologne, is of exceedingly hard and close texture, 

 very compact and sonorous and usually of a grey 

 colour, ornamented with a brilliant blue enamel, 

 in bands, leaves, and flowers. The stalks have fre- 

 quently four or more lines running parallel, as 

 though drawn with a flat notched stick on the 

 moist clay ; the flowers, as well as the outlines, are 

 raised, and painted a purple or marone colour, 

 sometimes with small ornaments of flowers and 

 cherubs' heads, and medallions of kings and queens 

 of England in front, with Latin names and titles, 

 and initials of Charles II, William III, William and 

 Mary, Anne, and George I. The forms are mugs, 

 jugs, butterpots, cylindrical or barrel-shaped, &c. ; 

 the jugs are spherical, with straight narrow necks, 

 frequently mounted in pewter, and raised medallions 

 in front with the letters CR WR AR GR, &c. These 

 were in very common use, and superseded the 

 Bellarmines and longbeards of Cologne manufacture. 



The quality of hardness which distinguishes 

 stoneware from other kinds of pottery is im- 

 parted to it, says Professor Church, 20 partly 

 by the nature and proportions of the materials 

 used in making the body or paste, partly by 

 the temperature at which it is fired. The salt- 

 glaze employed for European stoneware is 

 formed on the ware itself and in part out of 

 its constituents. It is produced by throwing 

 into the kiln moist common salt towards the 

 end of the firing when the pieces have ac- 

 quired a very high temperature. The salt 

 's volatilized, and reacting with the water- 

 vapour present is decomposed into hydro- 



ls W. Burton, Hist, of Engl. Earthenware (1904), 

 43- 



''' W. Chaffers, Marks and Monograms on Pottery 

 and Porcelain (ed. 7, 1886), 805. 



M A. H. Church in Some Minor Arts as practised 

 In Engl. (1894), 33. 



chloric acid gas, which escapes, and into 

 soda, which attacking and combining with the 

 silica of the clay in the body, forms with it 

 a hard glass or glaze of silicate of soda, in 

 which a little alumina is also always present. 

 This was the two-fold secret which Dwight 

 at length succeeded in discovering. His 

 note-books 21 contain many curious recipes 

 for the composition of his various pastes or 

 ' cleys ' which were the results of his 

 numerous and laborious experiments. Large 

 extracts from these memoranda have been 

 published. 22 There is a tradition in the 

 family 23 that besides concealing the vessels 

 found in the bricked-up chamber, Dwight 

 buried all his models, tools, and moulds 

 connected with the finer branches of his 

 manufactory in some secret place on the 

 premises at Fulham, observing that the pro- 

 duction of such matters was expensive and 

 unremunerative ; and that his successors might 

 not be tempted to perpetuate this part of the 

 business he put it out of their power by con- 

 cealing the means. Search has often been made 

 for these hidden treasures, but hitherto without 

 success. 



For a long time after Dwight's death his 

 descendants I continued to manufacture the 

 same sort of jugs and mugs. In a private 

 collection there is a flip-can of historical 

 interest, which once belonged to the original 

 of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. It is inscribed 

 ' Alexander Silkirke. This is my one. 

 When you take me on bord of ship, Pray 

 fill me full of punch or flipp, Fulham.' It is 

 said to have been made for Selkirk in or 

 about 1703. In cottages along the Thames 

 bank have been found many large tankards 

 with the names of well-known public houses. 

 Some of the jugs have hunting scenes and 

 others bear decorations of a loyal or political 

 character. For example, a mug with a medal- 

 lion portrait of Queen Anne, supported by 

 two beefeaters, is inscribed round the top, 

 ' Drink to the pious memory of good Queen 

 Anne, 1729.' 



John Dwight had five sons, but it is not 

 known whether all of them survived him or 

 which was his successor in business. Some 

 writers say he was succeeded by his son 

 Dr. Samuel Dwight, who died in November 

 1737; the Gentleman's Magazine in his 



11 These were found by Lady Charlotte Schrei- 

 ber in 1 869 on a visit to the Fulham Potteries. 

 A manuscript copy made by her is in the British 

 Museum, but the original note-books have dis- 

 appeared. 



" Chaffers, op. cit. 808-9. 



83 Artjourn. 1862, p. 204. 



14 Gent. Mag. 1737, p. 702. 



