DUKE & NEPHEWS,  HILL POTTERY REVISITED

Jean-Pierre Dion   

June 7,  2024,  Revised June 17,  2025

This unmarked Camel jug, as indicated by Dick Henrywood, is from a design by Alcock at the Hill Pottery, Burslem; the camel jug sometimes has the J S H (J. S. Hill) mark, a feature of Duke and Nephews also noted by Godden. Discussing the Hill Pottery of Duke & Nephews, Henrywood (www.reynardine.co.uk) remarks that there is no specific mention of J. S. Hill in the directories of the time, although the latter is believed to be one of the Nephews.

I am happy to report that I found numerous notices from Newspapers connecting explicitly J. S. Hill to the Hill Pottery. He is indeed one of Sir James Duke Nephews whose full names are finally provided. In view of the various dates proposed for the operation of the Hill Pottery under Duke & Nephews, I take this opportunity to clarify the point. Some contemporary descriptions of their rich production are included in this report. 

Alcock & Co bankruptcy

First recall that Samuel Alcock and Thomas Alcock, of the Hill Pottery, in Burslem, went bankrupt in 1859. The Assignees continued for a while to execute orders and matching of patterns. In June of 1860, Georges Wittingham was charged with stealing from the Assignees 40 pounds of copper (The Staffordshire Sentinel, June 30, 1860). Throughout the text, the name Staffordshire Sentinel stands for The Staffordshire Sentinel and Commercial and General Advertiser.

        Ad from The Standard, Dec 14, 1859. This will be repeated in January of 1860.

Duke and Nephews finally identified

It is before January 23, 1861, that Alderman Sir James Duke and his nephews, James Duke Hill and John Sheriff Hill, purchased the Hill Works, formerly in the possession of Messrs. Alcock and Son.

       Notice from The Morning Chronicle, Jan 23, 1861, stating the full names of the recent owners             of the Hill Works.

However, Duke and Nephews may have purchased the Hill Pottery a few weeks earlier. John Sheriff Hill had prepared his venue to Burslem in the first days of January 1861, by dissolving first his association with Wood, Hughes and J. D. Hill as coal factors and then by looking for a place to rent or purchase, ‘’within 10 miles of the Pottery District’’. The ad from Jan 19,1861, refers explicitly to John S. Hill being already at the Hill Pottery.

Partnerships dissolved, as regards J.S. Hill, list published in The Morning Chronicle, Jan 2, 1861

         Ad fromThe Staffordshire Sentinel, Jan 19, 1861

There are several mentions of J. S. Hill as being in charge of the Hill Pottery (on behalf of Duke and Nephews) in 1861and 1862. The July 1861 notice, below, does state that J. Sheriff Hill is managing the Hill Pottery and goes on to describe a new product of the manufactory: a Modern Antique Pottery of ‘’Aphrodite embracing Eros’’.

The Birmingham Daily News, July 31, 1861

John Sheriff Hill, Esq., is identified as a donator for the North Staffordshire Infirmery, on behalf of the Hill Pottery (The Staffordshire Sentinel, Jan 25, 1862). He will again contribute, as chairman of the Royal Staffordshire Infirmery committee, to the cause in 1863 (Ibidem, May 9, 1863).

The Hill Pottery at the International Exhibition

In preparation for the International Exhibition of 1862, 33 establishments were visited including the Hill Pottery, and descriptions of the intended content of their stalls were given in the Staffordshire Sentinel of March 15, 1862.  The Morning Post of April 15, 1862, also provides a lengthy description of the various types of products of the Hill Pottery to be presented at this London International exhibition:  Parian statuary porcelain, Dessert service (each of the 24 plates has a different illustration), a large 3 feet high Grecian Vase, Majolica, Porcelain vases with Bisque ground and glazed, and Jet Ware… It is known, by the March 15 article, that the principal artist of the establishment is Mr. Eyre, responsible notably for the large Grecian Vase and the dessert service. Other artists are British, none of the artists or workmen at the Hill Pottery being foreigners.

                         The Morning Post, April 15, 1862

It is interesting to read this description while admiring the engravings of Etruscan pieces of the Hill Pottery as published in the 1862 Art-Journal Catalogue of the exhibition (p. 86). 

Illustrations of products presented by the Hill Pottery at the International Exhibition of 1862.

The Wedgwood Institute

The foundation stone of the Wedgwood Institute at Burslem, was laid on Oct 26, 1863, by the Right. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Chancellor of the Exchecker. This Institute was erected to provide a Free Library, a School of Art and a lasting monument to that eminent man, Josiah Wedgwood! J. S. Hill was Chairman of the Institute Committee; Mr. Gladstone and his party were met by him and proceeded to that gentleman’s house.

The Nottingham Daily Guardian, Oct  28, 1863.

From a creditor to the 1859 Alcock’s Bankrupt, we learn that the assignees are still working out the Bankruptcy in August of 1863, although the concern had passed into the hands of Duke and Nephews (See The Staffordshire Sentinel, Aug 15, 1863). Incidentally the creditor comment on the success of the Hill Pottery at the International exhibition, his work being recognized and duly decorated. The creditor also confirms that it has now been 2 ½ years since the sale of the concern…

In September 1863, Ralph Jackson, a turner at Hill Pottery is charged with neglect of works. J. S. Hill, on the bench with E. J. Ridgway, retires from it for this case.

Notice from the Staffordshire Sentinel, Sept 5, 1863.

The Hill Pottery for sale

In March 1864, the Hill Pottery, Burslem, still operated by Duke and Nephews, was advertised for sale.

      The Staffordshire Sentinel, March 5, 1864

Sale of Hill Pottery to Thomas and Charles Ford in 1864

The Hill Pottery was finally sold to Charles and Thomas Ford in April 1864 (and not in 1863 as generally reported). 

The Staffordshire Sentinel, April 9,  1864, p. 4,  reports the sale of the Hill Pottery to the Ford,   the contract  being signed on the previous day. Jewitt and many others claim Ford became owner in 1863. 

It seems that T. and C. Ford had no intention of operating the Pottery. A few months later, it is said that they disposed of the factory to a joint stock company (The Staffordshire Sentinel, June 25, 1864, p. 5)

Apparently Thomas Ford was for a short while  on the board of Directors of the new public Company. 

It is likely that J. S. Hill  leased the Pottery during the Ford management. He is described as a lessee in September 28, 1864 , according to the Birmingham Daily Post of December 10, 1867, Evidence shows that sometimes before the autumn of 1864, J. S. Hill terminated his connection with the Hill Pottery. On September 23, 1864, a dinner party was organized for J. S. Hill who was about to leave Burslem, the Hill Pottery having changed hands. The Staffordshire Sentinel of the next day reported at length on the dinner and its speeches, recalling Hill’s contribution to the Pottery but also to the Wedgwood institute and to the Burslem Police Court. Here are the opening sentences.

The Staffordshire Sentinel, Sept. 24, 1864.

The Hill Pottery Company Limited

The Hill Pottery will continue its operations in 1865 under a public company: The Hill Pottery Company (Limited). According to the Morning Post of June 3, 1865, the five directors (names provided) state that the management of the works is to be entrusted to George Alcock, while Mr. Diggory, who has been the potter’s foreman at the works for over 30 years, will retain the same appointment. Noteworthy is the remark about using Monsieur Macé’s patent for improvements in transferring colour in design, on and from paper and stone to china and earthenware, which is now being worked at the Hill Pottery.

              The Morning Post, June 3, 1865.

As a final note on the production of the Hill Pottery, the following lenghty description of its participation at the Dublin Exhibition of 1865 may be of interest.  It identifies several artists and designers and their specific products at this time. This note is from the Staffordshire Sentinel of April 22, 1865. 

Conclusion

The reader who has persevered going through this long text is now aware of the following facts about the Hill Pottery under the Duke and Nephews ownership. The monogram J. S. H. found on some earthenware of the Hill Pottery shows the initials of John Sheriff Hill. It has been firmly established for the first time that John Sheriff Hill is one of the nephews referred to in Duke and Nephews.

Duke and Nephews were owners of the Hill Pottery already in January 1861, (and probably a few weeks before), and until at least March of 1864, the Pottery being sold to T. and C. Ford only in April  1864.  J. S. Hill was the manager and the one responsible for the success of the Hill Pottery; he was also much involved in the Burslem community. Furthermore, this study revealed the rich diversity of the products of the Hill Pottery under the Duke and Nephews ownership, particularly at the time of the London International exhibition of 1862. 

The story of the Hill Pottery, before and after the Duke and Nephews' management, is well told in  the recent article by Jeneen Berry in WIN, June 2025, p. 4-11.