
Deritend ware is a distinctive style of medieval
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
produced in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. There are three types of Deritend ware; a fine to moderately sandy, micaceous orange to red ware (Glazed Deritend ware), used mainly for jugs, with some examples of bowls, dripping trays and aquamaniles, dating to the 13th to early 14th centuries; a black or, less frequently, grey ware with a brown core (Reduced Deritend ware), also micaceous, used mainly for cooking pots/jars and less commonly for large unglazed jugs and skillets/pipkins, dating from possibly the late 12th century to the early 14th century; and a sandy brown ware with grey core (Deritend cooking pot ware) used for cooking pots, dating from possibly the late 12th century to 13th century. Wasters i.e. pottery misfires have been found for all three wares in Birmingham.
Glazed Deritend ware jugs were decorated with white
slip
Slip or The Slip may refer to:
* Slip (clothing), an underdress or underskirt
Music
* The Slip (band), a rock band
* ''Slip'' (album), a 1993 album by the band Quicksand
* ''The Slip'' (album) (2008), a.k.a. Halo 27, the seventh studio al ...
(liquid clay) lines and applied white clay strips, often roller stamped, and white clay pads,
The more complex (and later) decorative schemes are in the North French style (c. AD 1275–1325); the decorated jugs closely resemble London-type ware and it is distinctly possible that the Deritend ware industry included migrant potters from the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
area in the thirteenth century.
Deritend Ware was produced in the
Digbeth
Digbeth is an area of central Birmingham, England. Following the remodelling of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is under ...
,
Deritend
Deritend is a historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.
History
Deritend was a crossing point of the River ...
and
Bull Ring areas of Birmingham
in kilns that were probably located in the back yards of houses.
The orange clay is the
Mercia Mudstone that underlies this area of Birmingham and would have been obtained locally, while the white clay would have been brought from further afield.
Evidence for the manufacture of Deritend ware in Birmingham was first discovered during the widening of High Street, Deritend in 1953, when misfired fragments of pottery were found to the south of the main road. Further evidence has since been found at the
Old Crown Inn, the
Custard Factory
The Custard Factory is a creative and digital business workspace complex, including independent shops, cafes and bars, on the site of what was the Bird's Custard factory off High Street, Deritend, in the Digbeth area of central Birmingham, Eng ...
and underneath the site of
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...
in the Bull Ring.
All three types of Deritend ware are found widely distributed in the West Midlands in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
and
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
.
References
Bibliography
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History of Birmingham, West Midlands
Ceramics of medieval England
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