| _BIOG_EN_L |
Swansea Pottery - Cambrian, Dillwyn and Glamorgan - is not to be confused with Swansea China which was a high quality porcelain of great value and collectability.=, but for many years, its production in the Strand on the banks of the River Tawe, ran alongside that of the pottery.
Cambrian Pottery had been made on that site from about 1760. In 1802, it was acquired by William Dillwyn, an American born Quaker and entrepreneur, who had settled back in Britain - mainly London - as a career interest for his 24 year old son, Lewis Weston Dillwyn, who married the wealthy daughter of Colonel John Llewellyn of Penllergaer. They settled in Swansea and he ran the pottery alongside other industrial and gentlemanly interests. Incidentally, the Dillwyn-Llewellyn family still own the Penllergaer Estate on the outskirts of Swansea, and their famous gardens with lakes and waterfalls are being restored.
In addition to running the pottery, the Dillwyns operated a number of metal works. They were horticulturalists, botanists, great travellers, and, perhaps, most important of all, pioneers in photography with their friend, Fox Talbot of Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. Some of the earliest examples of photography were made at Penllergaer House and at my friends, the Methuen-Campbells place, Penrice Castle in Gower.
By 1850, the Dillwyns had lost their enthusiasm for the business and they sold it to their manager, DAVID EVANS, and their west country agent, Glasson. After Glasson died, David Evans junior joined his father, eventually taking it over completely. His daughter, MARY, married a DAVID HOPKINS. He too had worked in the pottery and after it closed he ran a pub in Landore - The Middle Compass, opposite Cwmfelin Steel Works (Richard Thomas & Baldwin). It was their son, JOHN (JACK) HOPKINS who married MAM, a history teacher and headmistress of Hafod School.
In 1870 the potteries were closed, being disposed of to Messrs. Cory, Yeo & Company for a Patent Fuel Works and Coal Wharf. Tthe exact date of the transfer is 24th June, 1870. Thus ended the famous old " Cambrian " pottery of Swansea,
after a checkered career of a little over a century.
David J. Evans. He was the eldest son of David Evans, who leased the " Cambrian " from Dillwyn. He became sole proprietor after his father retired from the business. He was invited by his uncle—who was wealthy—to go to New York and join him. As the lease of the pottery was nearly out, and good terms were offered by Cory, Yeo & Co. to make the site a Patent Fuel Works, he decided to close it and go to New York.
The pottery was pretty inferior stuff, manufactured for the mass market. Mostly transfer printed table ware. The only time I [John Isaac] remember anyone referring to this family connection was sometime in the 1950s when Mam’s [Mary [Hopkins]] sister’s daughter, Ceridwen, came to stay in Grosvenor Road. She was a grande dame from Beverley Hills, and a rather troublesome houseguest. No one liked her and Rene [Michael Griffiths’ mother elder sister = Renée] especially loathed her. During her visit she managed to buy a lot of Swansea Pottery which the rest of the family considered tawdry. On her departure, she instructed Rene [=Renée] to pack it and ship it to California, and as a parting shot presented Rene [=Renée] with a jar of pickled onions in return for the lavish hospitality she had received during her stay. As soon as she had gone, Rene [=Renée] put the china in the bin and outside for the dustmen!!!! That bit I [John Isaac] remember clearly as everyone had a good laugh about it. I [John Isaac] imagine that Ceridwen, a spinster, was also closely related to that other cousin, Francis, whom you met in San Francisco. [2, 3, 4] |
1832 - 
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