Tag: tobacco

The Burton new display – part two

I am excited to report that I have a published piece on the Burton at Bideford’s website about the North Devon Ceramics Trade and the American Connection.
This is a new addition to the website and is part of their Online Gallery. The web page features a summary of the key features of the trade between North Devon and the Eastern seaboard of the United States. This includes why North Devon, Bideford Potteries, Pottery exports, the tobacco trade, and American collections and Connections.

Jamestown Complex Floral design, Jamestown VA
Jamestown Complex Floral design, Jamestown VAJamestown Complex Floral design, sherds discovered made at Crocker's Pottery, Bideford late 17th C.
North Devon sherd from the Colonial Williamsburg collection, VA
North Devon sherd from the Colonial Williamsburg collection, VANorth Devon pottery sherd from the Colonial Williamsburg collection, Virginia, USA
North Devon Pottery
North Devon PotteryNorth Devon Pottery 17th C sherds at Jamestowne VA, Winston Churchill Fellowship research trip, 2010
North Devon Pottery
North Devon PotteryNorth Devon Pottery Sadie researching the Colonial Williamsburg collection, Winston Churchill Fellowship research trip, 2010
North Devon Pottery
North Devon PotteryNorth Devon Pottery 17th C pot sherd, Dpt of Human Resources, Richmond VA, Winston Churchill Fellowship research trip, 2010

 

You can view the webpage here – https://www.burtonartgallery.co.uk/exhibitions-activities/the-north-devon-ceramics-trade-and-the-american-connection/?portfolioCats=113

There is also a link to a downloadable PDF I produced, which gives more details about these categories of information.

https://www.burtonartgallery.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-North-Devon-Ceramics-trade-and-the-American-connection-compressed.pdf

I am bursting with pride and enthusiasm with this web page and pdf document as they bring together the contacts I have made and how much I have learnt. My Churchill Travel Fellowship research trip in 2010 literally started the journey for me, and I am so grateful for all the generosity from people I have met along the way and who have been willing to share their knowledge and collections with me.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes and closed doors, The Burton team are working on the new display cabinet. I know they have made a start but I have been unable to go inside the museum in person due to lockdown restrictions. I’m hoping that it will be finished soon, and I can have a sneaky preview ahead of the museum reopening to the public, whenever that is possible!

The Burton did post an image of work in progress on their Facebook page dash you can see it here:

https://www.facebook.com/burtonatbideford/photos/a.213857971959840/4088078691204396/

The Burton new display – part one

I got a phone call from Ian Danby, Director of the Burton Art Gallery and Museum (Burton at Bideford) in November 2020. He explained that the Burton wish to create a new display in the museum telling the stories of the relationship between Bideford and America, in particular the pottery and tobacco trade.

Replica Elizabethan ship, Jamestown VA
Replica Elizabethan ship, Jamestown VA
Bideford Bay Creatives ‘A Portrait of Bideford’ Project

Inspired by a talk I gave for the Burton in the summer, as part of their ‘Good Afternoons’ in the park series, Ian invited me to contribute by sharing my research and findings from the last 9 years together with some of my 17th century sherd collection that I have built up from finds at the beach.

Of course, I leapt at the chance, eager to share my research. It also enabled me to spend time refining my notes and to ultimately produce a coherent set of information for both the physical display, associated page on the website and a deeper and more detailed downloadable document for visitors to access should they choose to learn more. This was also an opportunity for me to re-visit my photos and to make some editing decisions about which of these best helps to tell this exciting and fascinating story.

Pot sherd from Instow beach
Pot sherd from Instow beach

I also agreed to be recorded/filmed by Burton staff, talking about my sherding on the beach, my sherd collection and its importance as it provides tangible evidence of Bideford’s pottery production and trade. This will be screened in the museum alongside the display.

……….And so the new display about ceramics, tobacco, Bideford and the Americas – the ‘Relationship between Bideford and America through the exportation of ceramics to the colonies’ was born!

Tobacco jar from the Burton collection
Tobacco jar from the Burton collection

During November and December I exchanged ideas and had a couple of meetings with Nicole. Museum Assistant, as she was tasked to co-ordinate the creation of the new display cabinet. We managed one physical meet up and then England was put under another lockdown so Nicole and I had a virtual meeting and exchanged a few emails!
We adapted the original brief to reflect our evolving ideas for content and scope. We soon realised that this is such a massive theme and there is a wealth of information that can be included, that it would be better to initially have a smaller display as a starting point. This will be smaller, focussing on an introduction to:

  • why Bideford was an important centre for pottery production
  • who were the potters
  • why pottery was exported and where
  • the relationship with the tobacco trade
  • evidence of pottery found in American collections

The aspiration then to produce a much bigger display in the museum in the future to include broader and deeper information. Sir Richard Grenville will have to wait until later!