Anyone wishing to buy any of the publications should contact Roy Fallows. Prices given are for a printed copy and exclude any delivery costs. If no price is given the documents are now out of print but may be available on a ‘print on demand’ basis. A pdf version of most publications is available at half of the printed copy cost.
A History of Armitage Potbank Part 3: 1945 – 1980, by Richard Ewing £10.00
The house building boom which followed the Second World War presented tremendous opportunities for the Armitage potbank, but management had many challenges in the shape of a depleted workforce, outmoded equipment, dilapidated buildings, and insufficient housing in the village for more workers. There were also opportunities for expansion overseas.
Richard Ewing, in this final volume of his history of the potbank, describes how management and the workforce rose to meet these challenges, making Armitage Shanks the leading sanitary ware manufacturer in Britain. This history ends in 1980, when Blue Circle purchased Armitage Shanks and it ceased to be an independent company.
We have travelled from the era of bottle kilns and hand-made osier packing cases taken to Armitage rail station by horse-cart to that of tunnel kilns and robotic pressers, via the rage for a certain colour named Avocado. In this final volume, Richard Ewing also focusses on the men who worked 50 years or more at the company, and contributed so much to the business and the vibrant community in which they lived.
A History of Armitage Potbank Part 2; 1900 – 1945, by Richard Ewing £10.00
The potbank has been at the heart of Armitage-with-Handsacre village life since its origins in 1809. Volume 1 of Richard Ewing’s comprehensive history covered the rise of the pottery and development under Edward Johns, when it became an internationally recognised brand for sanitary ware. Volume 2 begins with the acquisition of the pottery by the Corn brothers, and continues through two world wars to the death of Edmund Corn in 1945. During this time the Edward Johns branding was changed to Armitage Ware, labour relations became an important issue and industrial diseases like silicosis were recognised. The pottery expanded hugely, acquiring land and housing for its workers.
The story of the potbank is also the story of Armitage-with-Handsacre. Richard Ewing has incorporated much material demonstrating the social life of the village during this period, bringing to life the workers and management, the men who went off to fight in the wars, the houses they lived in, the pubs they drank in and the close-knit families who worked at the pottery generation after generation.
Friends in Arms: Colonel Lewis Chadwick and Colonel Simon Rugeley in the English Civil War 1642-48, by Mark Eades. £8.00
Lewis Chadwick and Simon Rugeley were friends from childhood, growing up at Ridware Hall and Hawkesyard respectively. They would have lived quiet lives as country gentlemen, if the Civil War had not intervened, and propelled them into prominence in Staffordshire. Both fought for Parliament, and their letters to their commander, Lord Denbigh, reveal much about the fighting in and administration of the county. Mark Eades has researched and written the history of the conflict through their eyes, and provides a transcription of the letters to Lord Denbigh.
A History of Armitage Potbank, Part 1: 1809-1900, by Richard Ewing. £8.00
This excellent history of the Armitage pottery covers its troubled early history, and then its incredible rise under the leadership of Edward Johns as a producer of sanitary ware. Extensive research has gone into the development of its products and the daily lives of the men who worked there, providing a snapshot of life in a Victorian industrial village.
Ceramics in Armitage with Handsacre, by Heather Brown. £10.00
From clay pipe manufacturing to the design of Bunnykins china, and not forgetting Armitage Shanks toilets and washbasins, Armitage has a rich history of ceramics production. Illustrated with colour photographs.
A Tale of Two Staffordshire Women’s Institutes, by Meryl Mattey. £5.00
A history of Hamstall Ridware and Mavesyn Ridware Women’s Institutes, which are now combined to form The Ridwares Women’s Institute
Ridware Soldiers of the First World War, by Helen Sharp. £7.50
Individual studies of the men who fought in the First World War from the Ridwares, including those who survived.
Armitage with Handsacre Soldiers of the First World War, by Roy Fallows. £7.50
Individual studies of the men who were killed in the First World War and who appear on the village war memorial. Also information about some who survived.
Mavesyn Ridware Schools 1887 – 1995: Extracts from the Log, by Helen Sharp. £10.00
The log books for the Mavesyn Ridware schools recorded significant events that occurred in the school. Helen Sharp, a former teacher at Henry Chadwick School and a member of the Ridware Study Group, had the opportunity to review the log books before they were sent to Staffordshire Record Office. This publication includes extracts from the log books which give an insight into local, social and educational history.
The Embellishment of the Trinity Aisle at St Nicholas Church, Mavesyn Ridware, 1810 – 1816, by Mark Eades. £7.50
In the early years of the 19th century, Charles Chadwick undertook extensive work on the Trinity Aisle at the Parish Church of St Nicholas to convert it into a mortuary chapel for his Mavesyn and Cawarden ancestors. This fully illustrated publication complements existing guidebooks to the Church by providing the historical context and intention behind its conception.
Mavesyn v Handsacre: The Skirmish by the River Trent, by Ridware Study Group. £5.00
There is a local legend that on the eve of the Battle of Shrewsbury in July 1403, Sir Robert Mavesyn, a supporter of the King, and Sir William Handsacre, a supporter of Hotspur, met and fought on the banks of the Trent. Handsacre was killed and Mavesyn continued to Shrewsbury, where he too was killed. Members of the Ridware Study Group researched the facts behind the legend and report their findings.
The Lords of the Manor of Mavesyn Ridware 1797-1897, by Mark Eades. £5.00
The story of the Chadwick family was begun by the Rev Stebbing Shaw in The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, published in the late 18th century. Mark Eades concludes the story of the Chadwick family from the profligacy of the late 18th century through to bankruptcy at the end of the following century.
The Derrys of Hill Ridware: Men of Many Parts, by Ridware Study Group. £5.00
The Derrys worked in many capacities throughout the Ridwares in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were handymen, builders, farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters and undertakers. They kept meticulous records of their activities and Ridware Study Group have analysed these records and documented the history of the family and their many activities.
The High Bridges: Crossing the River Trent between Handsacre and Ridwares, by Ridware Study Group. £5.00
There has been a crossing of the River Trent between Mavesyn Ridware and Handsacre since earliest times. Originally, the crossing was a ford across the river and this was subsequently replaced by a series of bridges. This publication explains the history of the series of bridges over the River Trent and their significance to the local developing communities, the economy and to the travelling public.
The Ridwares – A Brief History for the Millennium, by Ruth Rowley. £5.00
Published to celebrate the beginning of the third millennium, this document gives a brief illustrated history of each the four Ridwares. Also included are the personal reminiscences of a number of residents, whose memories stretch back to the First World War.
Not so Dusty – Well Brushed, by Ken Hammond. £5.00
Ken Hammond grew up at Priory Farm in Blithbury in the 1930s. This publication is his memoir of growing up between the two world wars. There are many anecdotes, such as the farmer riding a boar, or the donkey that disgraced itself at the local hunt. There are contemporary photographs.
The final page is a fascinating reproduction of an article from a 1931 edition of the Staffordshire Advertiser describing ‘A Picturesque Farm – Blithbury Priory’.
This publication will delight anyone with an interest in a vanished way of rural life.
A Survey of the Parish of Mavesyn Ridware 1832
This booklet provides a comprehensive record of 612 separate plots of land that constituted the 2,318 acres of the Parish in 1832. Each plot is named and its area is recorded in acres, roods and perches. The owner and occupier of each plot is also shown.
Mavesyn Ridware Field Names
This booklet follows on from the 1832 Survey and using a document ‘Agreement for the Commutation of Tithes for the Parish of Mavesyn Ridware – 1838’ charts the agricultural development of the Parish. Included is a glossary of field names (a fascinating insight into the derivation of today’s names), and a number of detailed maps illustrating the development.
Ridware Enclosures
A study of the enclosure of agricultural land in the parishes of Hamstall Ridware and Mavesyn Ridware with particular reference to the Inclosure Acts of 1806 and 1815.
Notes for a History of Blithbury Priory
This small booklet contains a transcript of a summary of the history of Blithbury Priory produced in 1924 by the Reverend D R S Holmes, Rector of Colton.
The Priory at Blithbury – a Brief History
This booklet was produced in 1991 and is a companion to the above produced by the Reverend D R S Holmes.