Ticknall Pots and Potters

The first comprehensive account of the potteries of Ticknall, near Derby, and the people who worked them.

Ticknall ware has long been used as a dating horizon and the results of in-depth research now available shows that the timelines previously used are in some instances inaccurate.

This book includes many distribution plans, photographs of surviving remnants of ware, and many other illustrations.

The text extends to over 80 000 words. Much of the material is new and will be of interest to professional archaeologists and local residents.

A pioneering study of the extensive but neglected pottery industry in Ticknall, showing its importance over four centuries.

Janet Spavold & Sue Brown have spent many years carefully researching this, the first comprehensive account of the potteries of Ticknall and the people who worked in them.

Ticknall was a major producer of Cistercian as well as basic household wares.

Distributed by specialist pot sellers, it was sold from Cheshire across to Lincolnshire and Lancashire down to Oxfordshire. Ticknall ware is universally known for its design simplicity and dates back many hundreds of years, it is considered so reliable that it has been used as a dating horizon by archaeologists.

However, as a result of this extensive research it appears that some of the time lines are in fact inaccurate.

The book is well illustrated with maps, graphs, drawings, and photographs, the latter revealing the hitherto unrecognised skill of the early potters.

This book is a must for all those with an interest in local history and certainly archaeologists at all levels.