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Retroselect note: the following is a word-for-word transcription of the document. POTTING THE STORY OF POOLE POTTERY The famous beds of Dorset ball clay that were to become the foundation of the modern pottery industry at Poole and which are situated near Wareham at the head of Poole Harbour (the second largest natural harbour in the world) were first worked some centuries ago, although the exact date is not known. Before the clay came to be used in Poole itself it was in great demand among potters in the south of England. The pottery on the East Quay at Poole was first established about 100 years ago, and in 1873 it passed into the hands of Carter & Co. Ltd., the well known manufacturers of all kinds of tiles and faience, who are the parent company of Poole Pottery Ltd., the present makers of Poole Pottery [retroselect note: in 1964, Carter and Co. were taken over by Pilkington's Tiles]. When this Company was founded in 1921 it shared the East Quay pottery with the tile works but as the business developed it gradually took over the whole of the pottery and Carter & Company eventually transferred their tile manufacturing to their new works at Hamworthy on the opposite quay. With the launching of Poole Pottery in 1921 it was decided to make an experiment which has proved highly successful. This was the creation of pottery, both useful and ornamental, in a style which is contemporary, yet in the best traditions of potting.
The first ware to be made comprised vases, and a little later, tableware fancies, all thrown on the wheel and hand painted by the Delft or in-glaze technique in bold brush patterns with predominant tones of blue, green and purple. This is the type of ware that has become known as "Traditional Poole", and which achieved a very high level of appreciation both in Great Britain before the war, and more recently in many overseas markets. A further development in the 1930's was the production of fine tableware in two-tone eggshell glazes which was to become as popular as the painted ware. The most successful post-war innovation was the introduction of the coloured slip ground technique for tableware. The latest development at Poole is the introduction of oven-to-table ware in the same technique [retroselect note: Jefferson's oven-to-table ware was introduced in 1961]. Fine design and craftsmanship have been and are the basis of Poole Pottery and today it can be said that more hand craft goes into the making of this pottery than of any other earthenware produced on a commercial scale in England. SCIENCE & CRAFTSMANSHIP The complete rebuilding of 1946/48 made Poole Pottery the most up-to-date factory of its size in England, but by 1958, just 10 years later, it had become obvious that the existing building and firing capacity at Poole, even with the subsequent additions, had become inadequate to meet the world demand for the famous products, increasing each year. So it was decided that Poole Pottery should be enlarged and re-equipped in such a way as to make possible the introduction of an oven-to-table ware range as well as an increased output of the existing wares. Views of the enlarged factory and the latest equipment are shown on the following pages. Production has been planned on the modern flow-line system and skilled craftsmanship is never sacrificed at any stage where it is needed to produce the finest detail and finish. The quality of the finished product is the chief end which is kept in view all through the works. The artistry and craftsmanship of the Poole potters are backed by the work of the scientists. The enlarged laboratory is equipped with the most up-to-date appliances and research is carried out on every aspect of glazes, colours, slips and body materials, with a view to maintaining continually the highest possible standards of quality, for which Poole Pottery is so well known.
MAKING PROCESSES Following the production processes of the 'clay end' by going through the works from east to west along the quay frontage, the Slip House is situated at the east end of the building on the ground floor and is equipped in accordance with the latest practice for the production of both clay body for throwing and jolleying, and also of casting slip. From the Slip House the plastic clay goes up by mangle conveyor to the Making Shop and the slip is pumped up to the casting shop, one end of which is situated immediately above. The main Making Shop, which occupies the entire first floor level on the quay frontage, is 27 ft. wide and has now been extended to a total length of 300 ft. The Casting Shop occupies the east end of this area. It is planned on the most up-to-date lines with modern casting plant, including a dead-weight pump situated immediately over the Slip House for the return of all surplus slip. The Mould Making shop is adjacent to the casting section, on the north side. This important section provides all the moulds which are continuously required to be renewed, both for the cast ware as well as for all the hollow and flat tableware pieces that are made on jolleys. Proceeding westwards from the casting section, we come to the main clay making section. On the north side of this is the throwing and turning shop where skilled craftsmen are at work on hand thrown ware - a craft which has changed so little in thousands of years. For the higher degree of precision essential for tablewares, mechanised throwing, or jolleying, is the process used. Most of the remainder of the Making Shop is occupied with various types of plate and cup jolleys, together with their drying stoves, and including the revolutionary new roller plate-making machines. The Greenhouse -the last stage at which the ware is 'green', that is to say unfired, leads off the Making Shop on the north side. Here everything is checked and loaded on to the overhead conveyor which takes it to the kiln placing area.
THE FIRST FIRING The new gas-fired tunnel kiln, 119 ft. long, is one of the most important recent additions on the works. It is a multi-burner type with 72 burners available and it works off boosted high pressure gas. The kiln has a very even firing section, is open flame and fully instrumented. The placing of the clay ware on the kiln trucks is an art in itself involving not only the maximum utilisation of the valuable space on the truck, but also placing the different types of ware, hollow and flat, so as to give an even density in the kiln. The temperature in the firing zone in the biscuit tunnel is approximately 1175° centigrade, one of the factors contributing to the exceptional toughness of the semi-vitrified Poole body.
DECORATING The semi-reflective glazes for which Poole is famous are applied by spray gun to obtain the well known two-tone effects. This is another highly skilled craft. The skills of glaze pouring and glaze dipping are also used, but to a lesser degree. The well loved Poole Traditional decorations are hand painted by the Delft or in-glaze technique on the unfired glaze. This is a highly skilled and difficult method of decoration but it gives a quality not obtainable by any other means, since the decoration and the glaze are fired together and fuse into each other. This also gives complete permanence. The glazes and decorations of Poole Pottery cannot be affected by modern detergents, dish washers, condiments or acids, as is the case with many on-glaze decorations.
THE SECOND FIRING The twin electric tunnel kiln is about 100 ft. long with trucks moving in opposite directions in each tunnel. The temperature in the firing zones of this kiln is approximately 10500 centigrade. There are some 60 elements in each tunnel and the kiln is so designed that the elements can be let down through the crown of the tunnel so that they may be more easily removed for replacement during firing, During the glost fire the glaze fuses and melts so each piece must be kept separate from the next. A very important process is the placing of various pieces of ware in different parts of the truck according to the degree of heat required by the glazes.
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