2004: Reproduction Tottenham Cole pots

  

Invitation

 

Invitation to participate in commissioning some reproduction Cole pots  -  20 May 2004

 

From Richard Cole

 

I am organising some replica / reproduction pots. I have found a local pottery which is willing to make the pots from their standard range, marked at no extra charge with

 

 * COLE * TOTTENHAM *

 

repeated round the edges, just like the originals.

 

The range is considerable and the pots would grace any position. They come in a variety of patterns and sizes, from 7¼ inches high at £9.50 right up to 23 inches high at £445. There are also 4 inch by 4 inch pots at £5.25 which would be suitable for windowsills or shelves. Delivery is £18 per order irrespective of the number or size of pots (or you can collect them from the pottery, or possibly through me, depending on where you live). A catalogue is available.

 

The initiative is of genealogical and horticultural interest, and I am not making any money out of it.

 

If you would like to consider ordering/purchasing a pot, please let me know.

The making of the inscription tool  -  19 June 2004

The production of the replica pots took a step forward with the making of the tool to inscribe

* COLE * TOTTENHAM *

round the edges. The font was based on Pat's original pot.

Pat and Neil visited P & S Engraving at Portslade in Sussex to view the tool being made and to video the process.

The partners Roy Pettitt and Brian Skilton could not have been more helpful, and by the end of the morning the tool was duly made. The photograph shows Roy and Brian with Pat holding the the finished product, which is called a roulette. 

 

Roy Pettitt and Brian Skilton with Pat Cryer holding the roulette which they have made for the marking the reproduction Cole pots. 

The reproduction pots are thrown -  9 July 2004
A group of Cole descendants and their partners visited Whichford Pottery where the reproduction pots were being made.

Liz Monk, Whichford's award-winning potter started things off by throwing a sample of pots for us.

Liz Monk, a potter at Whichford Pottery, working on a reproduction Cole pot

She used the roulette to mark them with the inscription and put them on racks to dry. Only once the pots are fired will the beautiful and well-known terracotta colour appear.

Reproduction pot showing the Tottenham Cole inscription Some reproduction Cole pots drying prior to being fired

Then she showed us round the pottery and told us about the processes involved. Very interesting discussions emerged on the differences between how things are done now and how they were done over the years of the family Potteries (1890s - 1950s).

The day finished with Whichford Pottery putting on tea and homemade cakes for us.

The Cole family at tea at Whichford Pottert

We very much appreciated the welcome that Whichford Pottery gave us and, in particular, the knowledge and helpfulness shown by Liz. Altogether we all had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Our thanks to Richard for organising it and to Whichford Pottery for hosting it.

The delivery of the pots
The response from the wider family to Richard's initiative was much greater than any of us had anticipated. Not only did in include younger members who one would not have expected to be into family history at that stage of their lives. It also included descendants of the pottery employees of more than a decade ago. The photograph shows Richard and his wife Sonja unpacking some pots with Pat and Neil.

The arrival of the reproduction Tottenham Cole pots

Today's descendants of the Cole family who ran the family's pottery in White Hart Lane, Tottenham/Wood Green very much wanted to own some Cole pots for themselves. However, since the pottery closed in the 1950s, this was no straightforward matter. So Richard Cole set about organising some reproduction ones. This page starts with his invitation to participate and then reports on the making of the tool to mark the pots, the throwing process and the delivery of the pots.