class="botbor" valign="top">Maryland

BARNSTAPLE & BIDEFORD 1694[24]

Another source shows that the Eagle of Bideford arrived at Boston from her home port on October 11, 1688, with a cargo consisting entirely of 9,000 parcels of earthenware, while on July 28, 1689, the Freindship (sic) of Bideford landed 7,200 parcels of earthenware and one hogshead of malt. On August 24 of the same year the Delight brought a cargo of “9,000 parcels of earthenware and 2 fardells of dry goods” from Bideford.[25]

It will be noted that there was a close relationship between vessel, shipmaster, and factor, suggesting that there may have been an equally close connection between all of them and the owners of the potteries. The Exchange, for instance, seems to have been regularly employed in the transport of earthenware. In 1665, according to the listings, she sailed to New England under command of William Titherly. By 1681 Titherly had become a Maryland factor to whom the Exchange’s earthenware was consigned then and in 1682. In the same way Bartholomew Shapton in 1681 sailed as master on the Sea Faire with earthenware to New England, becoming in the following year the factor for earthenware sent on the same ship under command of John Titherly.

The proportion of earthenware cargo to the carrying capacity of the usual 17th-century ocean-going ship, which ranged from about 30 to 50 tons, is difficult to estimate. A ton and a half of milk pans nested in stacks would be compact and would occupy only a small amount of space. A similar weight of ovens might require a much larger space. When earthenware shipments are recorded in terms of parcels, we are again left in doubt, since the sizes of the parcels are not indicated. We know, however, that the Eagle, which was a 50-ton ship, carried 9,000 parcels of earthenware as her sole cargo in 1688, in contrast to the much smaller amounts shown in the sample listings where the parcel standard is used. Yet even a typical shipment of 1,500 parcels, with each parcel containing an indeterminate number of pots, must have filled the needs of many kitchens when delivered in Virginia in 1681. Certainly a shipment such as this suggests a vigorous rate of production and an active trade.

The export of earthenware from North Devon was not solely to America. As early as 1601 there were shipped from Barnstaple to “Dublyn—100 dozen Earthen Pottes of all sorts.” In later years, selected at random, we find the following shipments to Ireland from Barnstaple listed in the Public Record Office Port Books: 1617, 290 dozen; 1618, 320 dozen; 1619, 322 dozen; 1620, 508 dozen; 1632, 260 dozen; 1635, 300 dozen; 1636, 480 dozen; 1639, 660 dozen. Typical of the destinations were Kinsale, Youghal, Limerick, Cork, Galway, Coleraine, and Waterford. As the century advanced, this trade increased enormously. In 1694, 17 separate earthenware shipments totaling 50,400 parcels were made from Barnstaple and Bideford to Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford.[26] It is possible that some of these cargoes were shipped to America, since it was necessary to list only the first port of entry. However, the rapid turnaround of many of the ships shows this was not usually the case.

Besides Ireland, Bristol and Exeter were destinations in a busy coastwise trade. In 1681, for example, large quantities of earthenware, tobacco pipes, and pipe clay were sent to these places.[27] Bristol merchants probably re-exported some of the earthenware to America.

The coastwise trade appears to have diminished very little as time passed. In 1755, The Gentlemen’s Magazine carried an account of Bideford, stating:[28]

John Watkins, in 1792, wrote:[29]

Figure 6.—Gravel-tempered oven of the 17th or early 18th century, acquired in Bideford. (USNM 394505.)		Figure 7.—Gravel-tempered oven from 17th-century