15/10/2026
Whilst many come to see our magnificent winding engine run, others are fascinated by the wonderful art nouveaux tiles decorating part of the winding house at the museum. This is the history of the company that produced them... it was an offshoot from the Clifton and Kearsley Colliery Company, which was owned by the PIlkington Family and they were responsible for opening the colliery at Astley Green in 1908.
Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles was a manufacturer of tiles, vases and bowls, based in Clifton, Greater Manchester, England. The company was established in 1892 at Clifton Junction, alongside Fletcher's Canal. The photograph shows the factory and kilns, adjacent to the canal.
In 1889 the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company sank a pair of pit shafts with the intention of working the coal seams lying adjacent to the geological feature known as the Pendleton Fault. However, the work became increasingly difficult due to the excessive quantity of water that was encountered. When it became clear that the work would not produce coal, the four Pilkington brothers decided to use the marl that had been encountered to make glazed bricks, however, the marl was found to be unsuitable for this purpose.
By chance, the secretary of the coal company knew William Burton, a chemist working for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons. Burton tested the marl and suggested that a more commercial venture would be to make tiles. Decorative tiles were at that time becoming quite fashionable and they were in high demand. The site of the proposed factory had many advantages—it was close to Clifton Junction railway station, it was adjacent to Fletcher's Canal and there was abundant coal nearby in the local Wet Earth Colliery, a short distance away along the same canal. William Burton joined them as Manager, and his brother Joseph as Assistant Manager. Production began in January 1893.
By 1903 the factory had developed an opalescent ceramic glaze called Lancastrian, named after the county of Lancashire where the factory was sited. It became popular in Pilkington's Lancastrian line of pottery. A later glaze took its name from Manchester, the Cunian glaze. Other famous glazes were used, e.g. sunstone, eggshell, fiery crystalline, aventurine, merged and curdled glazes. Glazes of different textures were also produced. These "fruit skin" glazes had surfaces like orange peel or apricot.
Who would have thought a waste product from the mining operation would be able to produce such wonderful decorative objects.
CREDIT : This article was written by the late Stephen Eckersley
