"John Robinson, a pot painter, served his time at Pennington's, in Shaw's brow, and there painted this punch bowl." Mr. Robinson removed (after the breaking up of the Liverpool potteries) to Burslem, and presented the bowl to the Pottery Mechanics' Institution at Shelton; in Staffordshire, where it now is (1855). Another group of this make consists of large vases for flowers, ornamented with landscapes, birds, and flowers, the covers formed of lions sejant holding shields. The whole of the designs upon them are painted in blue. This group, as well as the bowls,

are all of earthenware of a good compact body, and good glaze.

Mr. Pennington was celebrated for making a very rich blue colour, for the recipe of which he was offered by a Staffordshire house 1000 guineas; but he refused the offer, as it was a source of great profit to him, being kept so secret that none ever mixed the colours but himself. But about twelve months after the offer was made to him, another manufacturer produced the same tint of colour. It was said that his brother James, having

persuaded him to tell the secret to him, and being a wild and extravagant young man, who had run through all his property, which he spent in dissipation, afterwards in a drunken fit divulged the secret to one of his pot companions, who immediately sold the recipe to the Staffordshire potter, and by this means the establishment of a rival in making their celebrated blue colour, destroyed the monopoly which he had created by his industry. After this disgraceful and thoughtless act, James Pennington and his family removed to Worcester, where one of his children painted a dinner service for the Duke of York, which at that time was considered to be a beautiful specimen of the art. It had a figure of Hope with un anchor upon each piece,

John Pennington, of Upper Islington, sold his bank to Mr. Wolf, who being a scientific man, made great improvements in the ware, but ultimately, finding it did not answer, as the Staffordshire potters were making such rapid strides towards monopolizing the whole trade, he gave up the manufacture, and the works were closed, never to be resumed.

One of the ovens of Pennington's works is still standing in a yard at the back of the houses, near the centre of Shaw's-brow, and is now used as a mill for grinding emery, being in the occupation of Messrs. Johnson, Brothers, chemists, of Church street.

In a recipe book of Mr. Sadler's is noticed

Pennington's Body, March 18, 1769.- Bone ashes, 601b.; lyme sand, 40 lb.; flint 35 fritt. To every 60 of the above 20 lbs. of clay.

SHMOLEAN

OXFORD

Mr. Pennington's private residence was the house numbered 79, on Shaw's-brow-now Dick's Temperance Coffee House; besides which he had a town house in Button-street, then a fashionable neighbourhood.

Higher up in Shaw's-brow was another potwork, belonging to Mr. Philip Christian, whose works were situated on the present site of Islingtonterrace, and whose residence was at the corner of Christian-street, from which circumstance the street took its name. Here Mr. Christian carried on an extensive manufactory of china, and after the death of Mr. Chaffers, he took the lead amongst the Liverpool potters, and produced many fine specimens of ware in dinner and dessert services, as well as tea and coffee sets, together with many very elegantly formed ornaments for the chimney piece, and the corner cupboard, which it was then the fashion to decorate with choice bits of china. It is said that when placed alongside the more costly oriental china, this porcelain showed with great effect by its brilliancy of colour and glaze-the body being very compact and transparent. In a memorandum book, formerly belonging to Mr. Sadler, I find noticed, January, 1769

Christian's China Body.-To 100 parts rock; flint, 24 parts; best flint glass, 6 parts; small glass, 6 parts; crown glass, 6 parts. To every 20 lb. of the above put 1 lb. of salts. Glaze.- china body (foreign); 16 flint glass; 3 white lead; 12 oz. pearl ashes.

Of Mr. Christian's ware there are some specimens which show a great perfection in the art.

Amongst other kinds of ware made here by Mr. Christian was the tortoise-shell ware, of which the large square bowl, and the octagon and round plates are specimens. They were presented to me by Mrs. Rockliffe, of Clare-terrace, Edge-hill, who is the granddaughter of Mr. Christian.

Zachariah Barnes was a native of Warrington, and brother to Dr. Barnes, of Manchester. He was born in 1743, and died September, 1820, being interred at the Baptist burial ground, Low-hill. He commenced business as a potter in the Old Haymarket, on the left side, going towards Byrom-street. He first made china, but afterwards gave up that class of ware, and confined himself to delft ware, of which he has left many good samples in jars and pots for the use of druggists, the labelling of which underwent three changes, from alterations in the pharmacopea during the time he was in business. Amongst other articles were very large round dishes, chiefly sent into Wales, where the simple habits of their forefathers remained unchanged long after their alteration in England; and the master of the house and his guests dipped their spoons into the mess and helped themselves from the dish placed in the middle of the table. Quantities of this ware were sent to the great border fairs, held at Chester, whither the inhabitants of the more remote and inaccessible parts of the mountain districts of Wales assembled, to buy their stores for the year. This continued until a very recent time, when, in consequence of the formation of good roads through the districts, and the introduction of railroads, the business of the great fairs held in the border city of the two countries has materially diminished. The quality of this ware was very coarse, without flint, with the usual delf-like thick tin glaze. But Barnes' principal forte lay in the manufacture of square tiles, then so much in vogue, and the use of which is now reviving. So excellent were they, that I believe there are none now made that can bear comparison with them in squareness and evenness, as well as in the superiority of the body and durability of the glaze. When these tiles were required to be printed, that part of the work was done by Messrs. Sadler and Green. So large was the sale of this article, that Mr. Barnes has been heard to say he made a profit of £300 per annum by his tiles alone, he having a monopoly of the trade; he also made large quantities of potting pots for Char, which were sent to the lakes. The ovens were fired with turf brought from the bogs at Kirkby, and on the night of firing the men were always allowed potatoes to roast at the kiln fires, and a certain quantity of ale to drink.

Several specimens, marked 16, 17, and 18, were presented to me by his daughter, Mrs. Wedgwood, now living at Bebbington, in Cheshire.

This was the last pottery of the old established locality carried on in Liverpool, of which that part of the premises, occupied as the showroom and warehouse, are still standing.

The Herculaneum pottery was situated on the south shore of the Mersey, near Liverpool. A pottery was first started on this site by Richard Abbey, in conjunction with a Scotchman named Graham, about the year 1794, where they carried on the business with good success for some time, but Mr. Abbey's love of rural life induced him to abandon the concern; and they sold it to a company.

Mr. Abbey had served his time as an engraver to Mr. Sadler, in Harringtonstreet, where he engraved, besides many other works, a copperplate for a large quart jug, having upon it the farmers' arms, and was considered very skilful in his art. He afterwards went to a pottery at Glasgow, to teach the art of engraving, and afterwards to a manufactory in France, for the same purpose. He was born at Aintree, and after selling his bank retired to his native place, and there died in 1801, at the age of 81, after breaking a blood vessel whilst singing in Melling Church, where, being a good musician, he used to lead the choir on a Sunday. He was buried at Walton.

After the retirement of Mr. Abbey, the works were taken by Messrs.