FERRYBRIDGE AND KNOTTINGLEY POTTERY. 
33 
called the “ Australian Pottery.” The proprietors of the joint 
works, the “ Ferrybridge and Australian Potteries,” were Lewis, 
Sidney, and Henry Woolf, who traded under the style of “ Lewis 
Woolf and Sons.” Sidney Woolf, the head of the firm was M.P. 
for Pontefract from 1880 to 1885. In 1873, ^ ie Lock Pottery, 
Mexborough, was purchased by Messrs. Sidney Woolf and Co., 
but in 1883 they came to grief and severed their connection both 
with the Ferrybridge and the Mexborough Pottery. 
Ferrybridge still continues to make a good deal of pottery. A 
group of three potteries lie all together on the west side of the road 
to Knottingley. The first of the group is the W r est Riding Pottery, 
founded about thirty years ago by Poulson Brothers, who employ 
300 hands, of whom more than 100 are women. They make no 
brown ware, only printed ware. The same firm once carried on 
the original Ferrybridge Pottery, which is now in the hands of 
Messrs. Sefton and Brown, but the pottery as it was worked by 
Lewis Woolf is now divided into two parts, the Australian 
Pottery—the one built about 1857 by Mr. Woolf for his sons 
being now carried on by Mr. Joseph Horn. 
These works besides a very large local and coasting trade, had 
extensive transactions with several foreign ports, and from their 
first establishment to the time of the issuing of the famous Berlin 
decree by Napoleon, did a large and lucrative trade with Russia. 
The decree cut short the trade with the continent, a blow which 
was severely felt by the Yorkshire potters, but shortly afterwards, 
when the River Plate was opened up, one of the partners proceeded 
there and opened an establishment, and afterwards went on to 
Rio de Janeiro. 
The wares principally produced were cream and cane-coloured, 
green-glazed ware, black basalt or Egyptian ware, printed ware, 
etc. 
Marked examples are by no means common, though a fair 
number are to be found in public and private collections. We 
have a fine series, and so has Mr. Hurst. 
Three interesting pieces in our Collection are a teapot and sugar 
basin in cane coloured ware, both having a blue medallion on 
each side containing the profile of a head in black, made in Ralph 
Wedgwood's time, and marked impressed on the bottom, 
WEDGWOOD & Co. 
and a white plate with the “grass edge ” pattern in dark blue all 
C 
