Dudley Westkopp — The Pottery Manufacture in Ireland. 9 



the manufacturers having not been able to make use of coal without 

 discolouring, and consequently greatly depreciating the value of their goods ; 

 and that the petitioner has discovered a method of firing kilns of a particular 

 construction (and which may be built for the same expense as the kilns now 

 made use of) which perfectly burn and glaze all kinds of whiteware with coal 

 in less time, and in larger quantities than the method now practised by 

 burning with wood, and at one third part of the expense ; and alleging that 

 as coal is much cheaper in this Kingdom than any sort of fuel whatever is in 

 any other country, this discovery if made public would enable our manu- 

 facturers to produce the said wares at a much cheaper rate than they could be 

 made abroad, and that thereby their branch of trade, by reason of a more 

 plentiful and cheap supply of fuel, would be always enjoyed by this Kingdom 

 without a rival ; and further setting forth that the kilns invented by the 

 petitioner having been proved before the Dublin Society, he was recommended 

 by them to the House of Commons of Ireland, who granted him £1,000, to 

 be given to him for his encouragement, and to enable him more effectually to 

 carry on the said manufacture, and that the petitioner has expended in making 

 experiments and in perfecting his discovery a much larger sum than hath been 

 granted by the Parliament of Ireland, and that as an undertaking of this 

 kind cannot be carried on to so great an extent, and with so much advantage 

 to both Kingdoms, and particularly to this, as if the invention was made 

 public, the petitioner is willing to discover the same, upon such compensation 

 for his expense, trouble and loss of time as shall be thought proper ; and as the 

 utility and merit of his discovery, upon experiment and trial, shall appear 

 to deserve, and therefore praying the House to take the premises into 

 consideration." 



This petition was ordered to be referred to the consideration of a 

 committee, but nothing appears to have been done in the matter, probably on 

 account of the following letters from Delaniain transcribed from Chaffer's 

 " Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain," by kind permission of 

 Mr. Frederick Litchfield. 



These letters were written from Liverpool and London to his wife and to 

 William Stringfellow, who appears to have been Delamain's manager at the 

 factory, or perhaps one of the -'knowing persons" in the old factory. The first 

 is dated from Liverpool, December 18th, 1753, and is as follows : — 



My dear Poll, 



Enclosed I send you a letter to Mr. Stringfellow. The purport of it is to desire 

 him by all means to answer some letter that will be wrote to him this night from 

 Liverpoole to know how our large kiln has turned out ; send for him on receipt of this, 

 and right or wrong beg of him to write it was burned twice before I left Ireland and once 

 since, and that it succeeds so well that not a bit of ware was smoked, and that it glazed 



K.I.A. PROC,. VOL. XXXII., SECT. C. [2] 



