Hawker of pots/earthenware

[jean Sandra]

Hi,
does anyone know exactly what a hawker of pots would have done?
Does it mean the person sold pots at markets and fairs? Or does it mean they travelled from door to door selling pots?
Would the person have sold from a catalogue or would they have had to carry pots around with them?
Would the hawker have worked directly for a manufacturer or would they have sold earthenware from different sources.
Ancestors of mine were hawkers of pots for at least 2 generations in the early to late 19th century. They originated in Staffordshire but were later found in Hyde, Hazel Grove, Furness Vale and other areas of Cheshire.
The areas concerned were close to canals and railways would this have been important?
I'm just curious.
Regards,
Jean Sandra

[casalguidi]

Hi Jean

In general, hawkers (as opposed to pedlars) had transport ie. a horse and, possibly, a cart of some description.  They generally worked from door to door and often had regular rounds/routes that they followed.  It's possible that they did attend fairs etc. but this would only have been from Easter (Whitsun even) to late September.

It is interesting that yours were specifically recorded as pot hawkers - obviously selling wares from the potteries.  I don't know but would perhaps hazard a guess at the areas being close to the canals and railways giving a more lucrative trade with more people around?  Or maybe they even arranged delivery of their wares via these transport methods?  I am not local to that area so somebody else with more local history knowledge than myself may come up with some other information.

Best wishes

Casalguidi

[jean Sandra]

Hi,
many thanks for the prompt reply.
I really hadn't distinguished between hawkers and pedlars and was a bit confused.
Many thanks again.
Regards
Jean Sandra

[Boongie Pam]

Hiya,

I have many Hawker's of Pots and Earthenware dealers in my tree.  I've collected census material from all over the north of England whenever I have seen the occupation listed and many of the families are related.  I'd be interested to hear the surnames of yours.

Mine are Lowther, Stewart, Miller, Robinson, Brough, Hall, Harrison.  MAny of these families intermarried.  Area wise they are primarily Cumderland & Lancashire.

I haven't been able to find much written information about the trade from a sales point of view but "potters" are well know in the Cumberland area as travelling dealers in glass and ceramics.

There is a book called

Charnley, Robert. - The summer of '89 : being the photographic record of a Scottish highland summer...

Maclean Press (in association with) Dualchas, 1991. - 0951602217

The lady on the front below is a hawker of pots - her picture below.  She is called a tinker woman as she hawked tin ware but the potters of Cumberland were the same.
They travelled around villages selling glass, pots, crockery an important source when people were in general less mobile.

My ancestor Thomas Robinson owned a warehouse outside Carlisle in a place called Brunstock in the early 1800s.  On the 1871 census after Thomas's death it still appears on the census as Robinsons Earthenware in 1841 the census shows other hawker families living at the place (Millhouse) I believe these were people stocking up to take pots up to Scotland - their name was McGregor.

It is an occupation I am fascinated by and would love to know the names of the people.

All the best,
Pam
 

[jean Sandra]

Hi,

this is fascinating.
My anxestors were called Challenor and from Staffordshire where there was a large pottery industry. That was probably their source but later they moved north into Cheshire where thay called themselves Earthenware dealers or hawkersof pots/ earthenware. I have visions of their carrying these items around the area but it must have taken some doing!
My husband's family come from the Whitehaven area of Cumberland but they were mariners. The Lowther family name of your ancestors is quite an important one in that area.
Regards
Jean Sandra

[Dolgellau]

Four of my 3x great grandparents were hawkers of pots in the mid 1800’s they all lived in mid-Wales but appear to have travelled throughout most of Wales and the border counties plying their trade. I have one for example born in Ruthin in the north east, living in Llwyngwril in the middle of Wales but giving birth to one child in Pembrokeshire in the south west.

I am told that hawkers had to be licensed by the local magistrates to ply their trade, unfortunately none of the records for the grant of licences have survived for my area, but it might be worth checking in the local RO to see if the grants have survived for your own area.

The question of “where did they get their pots?” is one that never occurred to me. I had just assumed that they made their own, but the suggestion that they bought them from the potteries makes more sense. I hadn’t considered that the pots might be “pots and pans” as the lady in the picture is carrying either, I had just thought about earthenware pots. These are avenues that I will have to explore further– thanks for the suggestions.

[casalguidi]

They may well have made any metal pots.  Tinsmith being another travelling occupation for those that made and repaired pots & pans.  I believe that the word "tinker" derives from the same. 

Casalguidi

[Boongie Pam]

My family tree at my website hasn't got all the interesting bits of info yet just the BMD I need to find the time to flesh it out. 

I'm slowly collecting a lot of info on the Cumberland potters just because of my fascination of how a group of people who are considered "low" were actually really important folk in years past. (Tinker & potter are often used as insults)

Some interesting snippets...
The parish records in Wigton Cumberland have my ancestor John LOWTHER (bn ~1760 d 1843) as a brazier for a number of the baptisms.  This was a person who carried a fire in a bucket who mended spoons and tin pots or other metalware.

Later baptisms have him as a "potter" the colloquial term for earthenware dealer.  His son Henry is listed in Pigot's in Wigton as a glass and earthenware dealer.  This to me shows a connection between travelling folk and the pot hawkers, I saw the same change in occupation with what I think is John's brother James.

There are also connections with families who have traditional "gypsy" names such as Sewell and Lovell.  I'm trying to find out whether my Lowther's are originally from a gypsy family.  It is believed that travelling people sometimes settled and took the name of the local landowner - in Northern Cumberland that is most likely to be Lowther.

I found a great census entry you may be interested in as well.

1851
Whitehaven Preston Quarter

Pottery Lodge   
Charles Lowther/60 /Travelling Potter/   NK/M/Head
Margaret Lowther/58 /Travelling Potter/NK/M/Wife
William Lowther/27 /Travelling Potter/NK/U/Son

Pottery Lodge
John Lowther /24 /Travelling Potter/ NK/M/Head
Jane Lowther/ 18/Travelling Potter/NK/M/Wife

NK = Not Known for place of birth

Pottery lodge seems to be associated with the Trousdale pottery manufacturers.  I imagine these are outhouses that families stayed in while they bought new merchandise.

In 1841 there is a Hall family - with all the kids, can you imagine how hard it was to travel with a full family!?

1851
Whitehaven Preston Quarter

Pottery
Sarah Trousdale   60   Earthenware m.   Y
Ralph Hall   35   potter   Y
Mary Hall   35      Y
Eliza Hall   14      Y
Sarah Hall   12      Y
Catherine Hall   8      Y
Ralph Hall   6      Y
Mary Hall   3      Y
Wm Hall          1      Y

So it is a good idea to find out where the local potteries where - you never know you may find your stray ancestors.

And sometimes they travelled mob handed!

1841
Calthwaite
            
William Stewart   65   Potter   Y
Isabella Stewart 65      Y
John Lowther   45   Potter   Y
Jane Lowther   45      Y
Mary Steward   35   Potter   Y
William Stewart   25      Y
Ann Stewart   25      Y
Jane Lowther   10      Y
Charles Steward   10      Y
William Stewart   5      Y
Edward Steward   5      Y
Edward Stewart   4      Y
John Stewart   2      Y
Isabella Stewart 1m      Y

If anyone is interested in the census material I have collected please PM me and I'll send you an excel file.  It isn't brilliant in that I don't have folio numbers etc it's just a notes file for my own use.

Sorry for the ramble - but this one is my favourite subject!!!

Pam
 

[jean Sandra]

Hi,

yes, I know what you mean about them being mob handed.

My Challenor family had father William, sons Enoch and William, and their families, all hawkers of pots and living close together in Hyde Cheshire in 1841. Son Richard was also a hawker of pots. I wonder if working in groups helped the carrying of their wares much easier? Perhaps they could carry a larger range if there was a few of them.
how interesting that there was a 'Pottery Lodge' in Whitehaven. I've done a bit of research in Whitehaven for my husband's family but not looked at it from the point of view of hawkers before.
Thanks for the information it's fascinating.
Regards
Jean Sandra