Author Topic: Pear Tree Pottery Info Needed. (Read 18789 times)

ChimpMad · « **on:** February 13, 2009, 01:41:12 PM »

Hello all, I've just come across this site and hope that it will be my salvation!
Does anybody have any information on the Pear Tree Pottery, which I believe was situated on the Notts. / Derbys. border? I have several pieces of their work collected over the last few years yet despite intensive searching on t'internet, in books etc. can find no info whatsoever on the actual studio / potters. I feel that I have been

so any info would be most welcome.
Many thanks,
ChimpFan.
ps. I have a massive collection of studio pottery, much of it still unidentified, so the chances are I will be picking your brains on a regular basis.

Anne · « **Reply #1 on:** February 13, 2009, 04:13:59 PM »

Hi and welcome to the board, and we'll look forward to seeing your studio pottery.

Re Pear Tree Pottery, I found a mention of it here:
http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=4571278
where one of the replies said

Quote

There used to be this place called "Pear Tree Pottery", out in Derbyshire (sorry i cant remember exactly) It was fantastic! It is in a lovely little village and you could go for the whole day and there were classes you could take for throwing clay and making your own peices. And from what i can remember a great little cafe next door. I have not been in about 15 years so have no idea if it is still there.

There is also a mention of a Pear Tree Pottery here as well:
http://www.laughton.com/laughton/seek/guestbook.html

Quote

Pear Tree Pottery
Firbeck Lane
Laughton-en-le-Morthen
Rotherham

but no indication of the date of that info on the webpage. Beyond that we need someone with some local knowledge who may be able to add more.

antiquerose123 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2009, 05:06:42 PM »

I am not sure, but is the same one???

http://www.lewes.co.uk/Business/Pear_Tree_Pottery

quote from site/link:

Pear Tree Pottery | Pottery
The Old Chapel, High Street; East Hoathly Lewes
tel: 01825 840307

If this is wrong, please ignore - as I was just trying to help, not knowing what I was actually looking for $:-\$

ChimpMad · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2009, 05:47:39 PM »

Thanks to you both for helping in my search. All that I know is that the pottery was in the village of Pear Tree in Notts, very close to the Derbys. border. The village has now been swallowed up by the growth of Nottingham and I think is now vitually surrounded by industrial estates and housing estates.
I would assume that they did offer classes as a lot of small potteries do, but I am sure that the pieces I have were made by the resident potter(s), as they certainly made by a profficient potter and all have the same incised mark on the bases. The mark is a long vertical stroke with a semi-circle at the top making an elongated 'P'. The vertical is then bisected by a short horizontal stroke about a third of the way down, then another semi-circle two thirds down, forming a 'P' on top of a 'T' on top of a 'P' (PTP). I will take some pics and post them up if anybody is interested.

Lustrousstone · « **Reply #4 on:** February 13, 2009, 08:46:09 PM »

Yes please, we're always interested in marks, especially identified ones

Anne · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2009, 12:19:18 AM »

Hiya Rose, that's a different pottery. Lewes is way down on the south coast of England, whereas the other one is in the Midlands. It's be interesting to know if there's a connection though... maybe the potter moved like Bob Parkes did from Scotland to Cumbria.

ChimpMad · « **Reply #6 on:** February 14, 2009, 12:31:15 AM »

It would be nice to see a piece of the Lewes PTP to compare styles and marks, so thats yet another avenue to explore.
I feel my breakdown creeping ever closer

antiquerose123 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 15, 2009, 05:01:22 AM »

Quote from: Anne on February 14, 2009, 12:19:18 AM

Hiya Rose, that's a different pottery. Lewes is way down on the south coast of England, whereas the other one is in the Midlands. It's be interesting to know if there's a connection though... maybe the potter moved like Bob Parkes did from Scotland to Cumbria.

Whoops, was not sure. Can I be excused for that mistake - after all - I am a long way away from there - but still trying to help. Better learn my locations.

Anne · « **Reply #8 on:** February 15, 2009, 10:08:02 AM »

Awwww Rose, not a mistake at all.

Some potters did migrate and use the same name elsewhere so could well be a connection.

ChimpMad · « **Reply #9 on:** February 19, 2009, 12:35:31 PM »

At last and as promised, here are four of my favourite pieces of PearTree Pottery + incised mark. I will add them to the Studio Pottery Marks site in a while. The largest piece here is the bottle vase with flattened top which stands 9". I just love the depth of colour and the free blending of glazes. The pics aren't blurred, this is an effect of the glaze.
Anybody else see the beauty of them?

antiquerose123 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2009, 04:26:30 AM »

Oh, they are very NICE.

When were these made?

ChimpMad · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2009, 12:45:49 PM »

Therein lies the problem, I have no idea of the operating dates of this pottery so it's all a mystery

Anne · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2009, 02:41:16 PM »

A bit of sideways thinking brings up this site: http://www.dinningtonhistory.co.uk/products/talks_and_presentations/ where they list a talk about the pottery! They have a Contact form here: http://www.dinningtonhistory.co.uk/contact/ - definitely worth contacting them - especially as the Chairman is Roy Newman, who the Guestbook link below states occupied the Pottery at some time!

I also found a map of Laughton showing the location of the pottery here: http://www.laughton.com/laughton/seek/town_map.gif and a mention of the pottery in the Guestbook (scroll almost to the bottom) here: http://www.laughton.com/laughton/seek/guestbook.html

ChimpMad · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2009, 03:26:47 PM »

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to help me with this one, it is really appreciated. Unfortunately we are still no closer $:-\$ as this pottery was definitely in Pear Tree (or Peartree) village, Notts. I do have one piece stored away in a box somewhere that has a paper label and I remember that it says 'Pear Tree, Nottingham (or Nottinghamshire), along with a 3-digit phone number, so probably pre-1970s.

Anne · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2009, 04:38:03 PM »

I've searched the gazetteer for a Pear Tree village and can't find one in Notts, but there is a Plum Tree village in Notts but I can't find a pottery there!

ChimpMad · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2009, 05:02:55 PM »

The village was swallowed up by the spread of Nottingham and lost its individual identity. There are still a few reminders of its past, such as a Pear Tree doctors surgery and a Pear Tree pub still in the area, but the village itself has disappeared from the map, although it may show on older maps.

Anne · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2009, 05:38:15 PM »

Ahhhh that probably explains why I found those refs but no place.

ChimpMad · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2009, 12:50:06 AM »

An interesting (to my mind anyway) aside to this topic;
Pre-indutrialisation, much of Nottinghamshire was covered by the once huge Sherwoood Forest and many of the villages and settlements were named after whatever species of tree surrounded them, hence there are, or were, places such as Peartree, Appletree, Birchwood, Oaktree, Greenwood, Maplebeck, Oakham, etc around this area.

Anne · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2009, 12:54:33 AM »

Ahhhhh I see, that makes sense. I've come across Oakham before but not the other places. (A bit further south than my usual haunts!)

ChimpMad · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2009, 01:28:39 AM »

So I guess that you're in South Yorkshire (Gods' own Country) or thereabouts?