London's Delftware industry: the tin-glazed pottery industries of Southwark and Lambeth

Abstract

• Documentary and archaeological evidence is combined for five tin-glazed ware production sites on the south bank of the Thames – Montague Close, Pickleherring, Rotherhithe, Norfolk House and Glasshouse Street. Tin-glazed ware or ‘delftware’ manufacture began in London c 1570 and ceased at Glasshouse Street in 1846. The products of each manufactory are detailed in illustrated catalogues of vessel forms and styles, and tile designs. London’s tin glaze industry was remarkably homogeneous: the pothouses manufactured much the same range of products as each other, making provenance a key issue. Scientific analysis has demonstrated that each manufactory produced goods with a unique chemical fingerprint, making attribution to individual pothouses possible.