Joshua Twyford (sometimes shown as Josiah Twyford; 1640–1729) was a manufacturer of pottery in the

Staffordshire Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of c ...

, England.

Life

He was born probably in

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...

near Stoke-on-Trent, and baptized on 6 December 1640, son of William Twyford and his wife Margaret. Little is known of his life; Twyford is known essentially as an important producer of fine

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

and

stoneware Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non- refractory fire clay. Whether ...

, and as an ancestor of the pottery manufacturers Thomas Twyford (1827–1872) and

Thomas William Twyford Thomas William Twyford (1849–1921) was a pottery manufacturer in England. He invented the single piece, ceramic flush toilet. At the time of Twyford's death he was recognised as a leading pioneer in the application of principles of hygiene to sa ...

(1849–1921).

Legend

According to ''The History of the Staffordshire Potteries'' (1829), by Simeon Shaw, Twyford obtained employment at the pottery at Bradwell Wood of

John Philip Elers John Philip Elers (7 September 1664 – 1738) and his brother David Elers were Dutch silversmiths who came to England in the 1680s and turned into potters. The Elers brothers were important innovators in English pottery, bringing redware or ungla ...

and his brother David. They made red stoneware and

salt-glazed Salt-glaze or salt glaze pottery is pottery, usually stoneware, with a glaze of glossy, translucent and slightly orange-peel-like texture which was formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the firing pro ...

stoneware; wanting their methods to remain secret, they employed only people of low intelligence. Twyford, and another future manufacturer of pottery

John Astbury John Astbury (1688–1743)"Astbury, John" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 649. was an English potter credited with innovations and improvements in earthenware associa ...

(or Joshua Astbury), pretended to be indifferent to the manufacturing operations. After leaving the Elers factory, Twyford set up his own factory at Shelton, using the processes he had learnt there. This story is thought to be doubtful.

References

External links

Milestones in the history of Twyford
thepotteries.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Twyford, Joshua 1640 births 1729 deaths People from Shelton, Staffordshire Staffordshire pottery English potters