Thomas Wood & Co

Thomas Wood & Sons






 

Location and period of operation:

Thomas Wood & Co

Burslem

1885

1896

Thomas Wood & Sons

Burslem

1896 (92?)

1897

 

Earthenware manufacturer at the Wedgwood Pottery and then (probably from 1886) at the Queen Street Potteries, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

  • Godden gives the operational dates for Thomas Wood & Co as 1885 to 1896 and Thomas Wood & Sons as 1896 to 1897, however Kelly & Keates list Thomas Wood & Sons(s) in their 1892 directories.  

  • In 1897 the business became Wood & Barker Ltd. 

 

Subsequently: Wood & Barker Ltd. 

 

 


Thomas Wood & Co
Wedgwood Pottery, Burslem, Staffordshire

Pottery Gazette,  January 1885 

 

Examples of Thomas Wood & Co ware:

 

 


plate in a typical Gaudy Welsh style pattern 
T.W. & Co 

The Registration Number indicates that the pattern was design was registered around 1889

 

 


platter in the Poppy pattern  		Thomas Wood & Co mark
T.W. & Co 

POPPY is the pattern name

 

 

 


the  MAY pattern 
 transferware pattern in the aesthetic style
T. W. & Co 

MAY is the pattern name

photos courtesy: Chris Burgess

 


the  MAY pattern with hand colouring 
a transferware pattern in the aesthetic style
T. W. & Co 

photos courtesy: Dan Rohde

 

 

 

Examples of Thomas Wood & Sons ware:

The patterns introduced by Thomas Wood & Co were continued
by Thomas Wood & Sons

 


the  MAY pattern 
 transferware pattern in the aesthetic style
T. W. & S 

MAY is the pattern name - first introduced by Thomas Wood & Co.

 

 

Initials & marks used as identification:

T. W. & CO

 

T. W. & S

 


T. W. & Co 

c. 1885-96 
T. W. & S 

c. 1896 (92?) - 1897

typical 'belt' mark used by Thomas Wood & Co and continued by 
Thomas Wood & Sons 

  

 

The impressed mark is a registration diamond - these have number/letter codes to show the date when a pattern/design was first registered to prevent it being copied.

However, here are no numbers/letters in the mark - this is because it is a faux mark, added to give the impression that it had registered protection. 

Thomas Wood & Co started production in 1885 and the use of the diamond mark finished in 1883 so this is not a proper registration diamond.

 

 

 


1879 map showing the location of the Queen Street Works

Queen Street was named after the pottery ware Wedgwood made for Queen Charlotte in 1765. 

The Queen Street Works were demolished around 1904 to provide the site for the Burslem School of Art. 

 

 

Questions, comments, contributions? email: Steve Birks