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FLORENCE COURT TILE AND POTTERY WORKS — TERRA-COTTAS. [ClassXXYIL

than manufactures, do not properly enter into competi-tion, aiul others again, already noticed, have been moreremarkal.de for other more prominent, although perhapsnot more really important objects. We must, however,refer here to one exhibitor who has been adjudged worthyof Honourable Mention by the Jury, and whose productsare extremely remarkable for the unusual beauty andpurity of the material of which the pipes and tiles aremanufactured. We allude to the Earl of Enniskillen(Class I., 116, p. 133, and Class IX., 232, p. 395), andquote the following account of the Florence Court Tileand Pottery Works as forwarded to the Reporter:—

“ The raw material, of which these objects are manu-factured, consists of a patch of about 20 Irish acres, andis only a portion of a very extensive seam of clay, boundedon three sides by a very large extent of excellent peat, orturf bog, producing an incalculable supply of fuel to theworks at a cheap rate. The depth of the clay bedaverages about 13 feet, of which the upper strata burningred measures about four feet, and is workable to within afew inches of the surface, the other nine feet improves inpureness, and burns whiter as it reaches the bottom.

“ The qualities of this clay were partly discovered in1847, and the manufacture of tiles commenced in 1848.In 1850 it was found necessary to increase the works,and erect two new kilns on a larger scale, to enable themanager to turn out a fresh weekly supply of pipes.

“ The drying shed is 180 feet long, by 20 wide in theclear, and capable of containing in its drying compart-ments 50,000 two-inch pipes, with two wooden tramwaysrunning the whole length to accommodate the machinesto the shelves, with a wide crossing in centre, close to therear of which the pug-mill, worked by two horses, issituated. Another range of drying sheds is now beinglaid out for erection, and the demand from this manufac-tory extends from Cork to Belfast . A pottery on amoderate scale has been established here a few months,and promises fairly for flower-pots, milk-pans, butter-crocks, jars, black and brown tea-pots, Xe.”

It may be well to observe, that there is no other fuelthan peat used in any portion of this manufacture.

Mr. C. Phillips, of Weston-super-Mare (Outside ,West, 63, p. 117), has sent for exhibition a collection offlower-pots, of very admirable manufacture, and remark-able both for colour, smoothness, and style. The Juryhave considered Mr. Phillips worthy of Honourable Men-tion for these articles.

M. Terra-Cottas.

The manufacture of terra-cotta is an important andinteresting modification of common moulded brickwork,requiring a clay of great purity, resembling that used forpipe-making and potter’s-ware, containing but little iron,and made up with a quantity of crushed pottery andcalcined flints, the whole being well mixed and burnt toa very high heat. It thus approaches in its nature towhat is called stoneware, but the fusion of the materialsis not effected. There are several exhibitors of terra-cotta of very high merit, and we proceed to enumeratethem. It should be observed that the true terra-cotta ofthe ancients was a less baked and much less durablematerial than the modern kind, being, in fact, little morethan sun-baked clay of considerable purity.

Of English exhibitors of terra-cotta, the most remark-able in respect to the magnitude of the objects exhibitedare Messrs. E. P. Willock and Co., of the LadyshoreTerra-cotta Works, Manchester (8, p. 764, and Nave, West,223, p. 853', to whom a Prize Medal lias beeu awarded.A complete model of a decorated Gothic church, executedentirely in Ladyshore terra-cotta (the whole of the churchas well as the model being of this material), forms avery interesting and prominent portiou of the Exhibition,and besides this are shown a Corinthian capital, a chimney-piece painted in imitation of oak, with the slab in stone, aflower-stand, a piece of Gothic tracery, and other smallerarticles, all illustrating the uses and advantages of thematerial.

It is stated by the exhibitors that these objects aresupplied at a reduction of from 50 to 75 per cent, on theprice of carved stone or oak. The quality of the material

is good, and the style of manufacture careful and praise-worthy. The Jury recognise the importance of intro-ducing a material so useful and so economical in manycases, especially where the absence of durable stone inter-feres with the construction of public buildings. A well-made terra-cotta may be regarded as almost indestructibleby ordinary exposure, and although in colour it is gene-rally inferior to good stone, and the parts are liable towarp in burning, yet for some kinds of ornament, and formany practical purposes, the result is everything that isneeded.

A Prize Medal has also been awarded to Mr. Blanchard,of King Edward Street, Westminster Road, London (92,p. 771', for several objects in terra-cotta, exhibited byhim, including part of a Gothic pinnacle, a capital, andsome small articles. These are of very excellent colour,

, and the details of construction are admirable. Thematerial is described as a composition of the best whitepipe-clay, crushed pottery ware, calcined flint, flour-glass, and white sand, all well amalgamated and burnt ata high temperature. The tint is exactly that of thematerial as it leaves the kiln, without artificial colour,wash, paint, or stopping, and is extremely uniform. Itdoes not alter on exposure, and the works of this esta-blishment have stood the test of time.

Mr. Puliiam, of Broxbourne (108, p. 772, and ClassXXX., 216, p. 833), is the exhibitor of several objects inred terra-cotta, some adapted for construction and othersentirely ornamental. As far as material is concernedthese are considered by the Jury to he worthy of a PrizeMedal, while the artistic merit of the more ornamentalarticles is equally noticeable. The colour of some of thisterra-cotta is very dark rich red.

Messrs. Doulton and Watts, of Lambeth, are exhi-bitors of sundry objects in terra-cotta and fire-clay, someof them of considerable beauty, and they exhibit, togetherwith Messrs. Henry Doulton and Co., also of Lambeth,a number of excellent articles in stoneware (23, p. 765, and95, p. 771). Both these parties are proprietors of exten-sive works at Lambeth, where they carry on the manu-facture of stoneware on a large scale, to which they haverecently added that of terra-cotta, of which alone wcspeak in the present notice. The terra-cottas they exhibitinclude vases of large size, trusses, window-heads, andWard’s cases, the latter very beautifully and delicatelyconstructed, though of small size. They also include afull-sized figure of Time (by Messrs. Doulton and Watts),made in one single piece of clay and fired entire withoutjoint of any kind. The chief expense of such figuresis incurred in the first moulding, and should there be ademand they could afterwards be repeated at small cost,not exceeding in this case 10/. or 12/. They are abso-lutely imperishable by weather. A Prize Medal has beenawarded to Messrs. Doulton and Co., and Messrs. Doultonand Watts, jointly, for their combined exhibition ofterra-cotta and stoneware, the latter of which will bereferred to subsequently.

To Messrs. Ferguson, Miller, and Co. (93, p. 771),a Prize Medal has been awarded for sundry goods iuterra-cotta, manufactured by them of fire-clay, aud burntat a high heat. The fire-clays found in various partsof the coal measures are now much used for differentpurposes where refractory clay is required, and amongstthe rest for ornamental vases, and figures for outsidedecoration in gardens, for which they form a good arti-ficial stone, much superior to common stone. The con-traction that takes place in firing renders it somewhatdifficult to model them with sufficient accuracy toinsure a satisfactory result, and this is especially the casewhere the form required is complicated and cut up intodetail. The present exhibitors have prepared some vasesexpressly for the Exhibition, and they have showningenuity in adapting the design to the material.

The Grangemouth Coal Company (99, p. 772) ex-hibit a somewhat similar scries to those just described.All the articles forwarded were manufactured from afire-clay of remarkable purity, consisting of about 64 percent, silica, and 34^ per cent, alumina, with less than( 1-Jper cent, of iron, lime, and phosphates. The analysis ofthe claj's used by these exhibitors, as given by them to the