Salopian Art Pottery
1880s – 1930s

James Edward Hartshorne (1841–1917)

Active at the Benthall Pottery Company: c.1887–c.1907

Born at Broseley in 1841, James Edward Hartshorne was the eldest son of Edward Hartshorne (a boot and shoemaker) and Hannah Hartshorne (a dressmaker). 

In October 1859, aged 18, James Edward was appointed “art pupil teacher” at the Coalbrookdale School of Art, and that November he was awarded a medal for a watercolour painting of flowers (Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 12 November 1859). Two years later, the 1861 census recorded that he was a “pupil teacher (school of art)”.

James Edward married Harriet Agnes Patten (1844–1916), of Benthall, in 1866. She was the daughter of John Patten (1798–1871), recorded on the 1861 census as a "lime burner, barge owner and Methodist preacher”.

James Edward's obituary says that he worked at the Royal China Works, Worcester (about 35 miles south of Broseley). As his first child, Alice, was born c.1868 in the village of Hallow, about two miles north of Worcester, it’s presumed he was working at the Worcester factory at this time, though in what capacity is unknown. 

At the time of the 1871 census, the Hartshorne’s were back in Shropshire, living at 181 Duke Street, Broseley. James Edward’s occupation was given as “china painter”, meaning he was by then employed at the nearby Coalport China Works. 

Evidently a talented artist, the Coalport Pattern Books record that c.1875 he was responsible for the company’s pattern 187, described as “full centre – four Japanese geese with sky and seashore”.

When the Coalport China Works went into receivership in 1876, due to debts, James Edward was out of work. By 1878 he was in Derby (about 60 miles north east of Broseley), where he is listed in a trade directory as a photographer and artist at 94 Douglas Street. Other than this mention, nothing further is known of him as a photographer. 

James Edward Hartshorne's work as an artist is better known, and he was soon working for the Derby Crown Porcelain Works, which had opened in 1877. In September 1878 he decorated a large Derby porcelain plaque with a painting of an eagle perched on a branch (see image, right). Handwritten on the reverse he wrote: 

At the time of the 1881 census the Hartshornes were living at 70 Byron Street, Derby, with their seven children (four boys and three girls), aged 13 years to 11 months. James Edward is recorded as “Foreman, Decorative Department of China Works, Teacher of Drawing and Painting”, referring to his position at the Derby factory. At Derby, Hartshorne was responsible for pattern 791, described in the company pattern books as “painted birds, fish and a dog”.

Returning to Broseley after his eighth and last child, Percy Ewart, was born in Derby, c.1883, he came into contact with the Benthall Pottery Company and its Salopian Art Pottery. 

In the catalogue of the International Health Exhibition, held in London in 1884, James Edward Hartshorne is included in the list of exhibitors from the Benthall Pottery Company, along with Francis Gibbons, Owen Gibbons and Henry Williams. While the catalogue records six pieces of ceramic work designed by the Gibbons brothers and Williams, no pieces are listed for Hartshorne – but it is the first clear evidence of his connection with the company.

Two examples of Salopian Art Pottery decorated by James Edward Hartshorne are known. The first is a vase decorated with birds of prey signed "J.E.Hartshorne, Benthall, 1887”. The second, a similar shaped vase decorated twenty years later with a crane, is signed and dated 1907 (this vase is in the collection of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum). 

Apart from these two signed vases, the extent of James Edward Hartshorne’s association with the Benthall Pottery Company is unclear. He was evidently well known to the company as he chaired a meeting in December 1894, at which a presentation was made to the proprietor’s son, William Beriah Allen, on the occasion of his twenty-first birthday. Furthermore, two of his sons, James Arthur and Percy Ewart, were to become employees of the firm.

Census records give some insight to Hartshorne's work after his return to Benthall. In 1891 he is recorded as a “Landscape Artist”, which suggests he was again employed as a china painter at the Coalport China Works, which was back in business. Ten years later, the 1901 census records him as a “School Art Master and Farmer” (he was an art teacher at Bridgnorth Grammar School until 1902), and in the 1911 census, aged 69, he was a “Coal Bearer and Caretaker, Liberal Club”.

James Edward Hartshorne died on 8 May 1917, aged 75. 

The Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 19 May 1917, records the mourners at his funeral. They included Charles Bruff, owner of the Coalport China Works, Richard Whitmore and other Benthall Pottery Company employees. William Beriah Allen, proprietor of the Benthall Pottery Company, sent a wreath.

Wanted – information on James Edward Hartshorne
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Selected sources

Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 12 November 1859

Wilkins & Ellis Directory of Derby (Derby, 1878), which records J.E.Hartshorne as a photographer and artist

Exhibition catalogue: International Health Exhibition, London, 1884, recording work by Francis Gibbons and Owen Gibbons, Henry Williams, students of the Coalbrookdale School of Art, Benthall Pottery Co., Maw & Co., and Craven Dunnill

Obituary: Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 19 May 1917