| Summary: | Crocker's Old Pottery was established in Potters Lane, now North Road, in 1688. Some fire holes and other remains of it can still be seen. Sherds are numerous around the area, beneath ground surface and mixed into local cob. This evidence suggests possibility of local pottery at an even earlier date. A speciality was the oven, and an example, made in about 1650, is in Bideford Museum. A good example of one is still in situ on Long Island, USA. Trade with aAmerica was extensive and rivalled, for a time, that of the Staffordshire potteries. From the end of the seventeenth century decorative ware was made, in particular the harvest pitcher. Also domestic earthenware. Decorative floor tiles, to be seen in many churches in North Devon, were made in both Barnstaple and Bideford. In 1823 there were eight potteries in the town, five in the PottersLane/Strand area. |
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