Pot Ware:
"Cadell's Pottery, 1750-1835, Kirk Street - In 1750, merchant
shipowner, local entrepreneur and landowner, William Cadell,
constructed a pottery at Kirk Street, Prestonpans. One of the
most successful potteries, at its heyday in 1792, Cadell's
employed 125 people, and, using Cadell's existing merchant
shipping lines exported wares to Scandinavia, Russia, North
America, Spain and Italy. Pottery operations began decline in
1786; in 1795, Gordon's took over Bankfoot, in 1796, Kirk
Street went to David Thomson & Co and ultimately Hamilton
Watson former manager at Gordon's and transfer printing
specialist and, in 1838 Kirk Street pottery ceased trading.
Cadell's can be credited with introducing Creamware pottery to
Scotland, for establishing an international market in
Prestonpans Pottery and for constructing the purpose-built
potteries, which allowed the pottery tradition to perpetuate."
Cadell's Creamware was produced at Morison's Haven (stained
with mineral oxides to produce a mottled 'tortoise-shell' effect)
together with glazed brownware and the white saltglazed stoneware which
Cadell had produced at Bankfoot, particularly to produce bottles used by
Fowler's Brewery in Prestonpans.
Pot Luck:
The eleven circular kiln foundations here at Prestongrange are all that
remain of the kilns and workshops which produced
bricks, chimney pots, drainage pipes, outdoor garden urns and fountains
for the building trade.
On the shore at Morison's Haven, where damaged and imperfect pieces were
discarded, remnants can still be found. These
include shards of domestic crockery - mainly bowls, cups, plates and
small jars; pieces of round earthenware saggars,
which held pottery in the kiln; and numerous three-legged clay stilts or
'craws' taes', which separated the pieces of ware in
the saggars.
In the early eighteenth century all the required resources for pottery
production were readily available: clay from Upper
Birslie Plantation; coal from Prestongrange and Elphinstone; water power
and a working harbour at Morison's Haven. The
harbour gave easy access to markets at a time when road transport was
slow, inefficient and expensive.
The favourable conditions did not last. The clay deposits ran out, and
clay became more expensive; silt accumulated in
Morison's Haven; and increased foreign competition meant reduced demand
for Scottish pottery.
In the nineteenth century, the main potteries of William Cadell &
Company, West Pans, R. & G. Gordon and Belfield &
Company were all in close proximity along the coastline between
Prestonpans and Musselburgh. The potteries were sited
away from residential areas because of atmospheric pollution from the
kilns.
From:
"http://www.elothian-museums.demon.co.uk/tranent/themes.htm".