A Collection of Red Earthenware Kept at the 18th Century Ashley House in Sheffield, Massachusetts

According to the Trustees of the Reservations, "The Ashley House in Sheffield, Massachusetts was built in 1735 by John Ashley, a prominent local leader - the home was the center of social, economic and political life in Western Massachusetts in the eighteenth century. The famous Sheffield Resolves, a petition against British Tyranny and a manifesto for individual rights, was drafted in the upstairs study of the house and published in 1773. The cause for abolishing slavery in America was strengthened in the celebrated 1781 Massachusetts state court battle that freed the Ashley's slave, Elizabeth Freeman (nicknamed "Mumbet") under the new state constitution. This court case helped end slavery in Massachusetts.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the Ashley House exemplifies early eighteenth century architecture. House furnishings and items date from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries."

Among the collection of decorative objects kept at the Ashley House today is a terrific selection of New England-made red earthenware, which is partially represented in this photograph. The majority of the pottery shown in this image dates from the turn of the nineteenth century, with a number of objects that were made in southeastern Massachusetts at two major industries in Berkley and Somerset, Massachusetts - as well as a group of objects that were made in Essex County, Massachusetts in places, such as the industry in Peabody, Massachusetts and at the William Pecker Pottery (ca. 1790-1820) in Merrimacport, Massachusetts.

But there is also red earthenware shown that was made in Connecticut, and possibly examples from northern New England, which represents production in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. The light colored inkwells (bottom left) could possibly be from Vermont, where the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont attributes a similar example to the Farrar Pottery in Middlebury, Vermont, circa 1812-1850.

Archaeologist and author, Edwin Atlee Barber (1851-1916) published 'The Pottery and Porcelain of the United States' in 1893, where he briefly cited the production that took place in Middlebury: "Caleb Farrar established a pottery in Middlebury, Vermont, about 1812, for the manufacture of (red) earthenware and white tableware (?). About 1850 Farrar sold the works to James Mitchell, who continued the business until his death, after which the pottery was purchased by Nahum Parker."

Note: I truly believe that the production of red earthenware in Vermont is a subject that deserves more attention today. I feel that this state's production is often mistaken for other locations, but it could also be overshadowed by the important stoneware industry that garners national attention today. Although, I also feel that it is not totally understood how many red earthenware potter's actually operated in Vermont in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Here are links to a few red earthenware objects that are attributed to Vermont by the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont:

1) Caleb Farrar Pottery Attributed Red Earthenware Bottle, Middlebury, Vermont

2) Caleb Farrar Pottery Attributed Red Earthenware Mug, Middlebury, Vermont

3) Caleb Farrar Pottery Attributed Red Earthenware Mug, Middlebury, Vermont

4) Possibly Leander Fenton Pottery Red Earthenware Jug, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

5) John Norton Pottery Attributed Red Earthenware Jug, Bennington, Vermont
* I should note that I have heard the Norton attribution for this jug questioned - and, if this jug were not made by Norton then I feel it was still made in Vermont possibly at another potter's business. This style of slip is known on a small group of objects that survive today - those objects include this jug and a small group of jars in private collections.

Red Earthenware Kept at the Ashley House

18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Kept at the Ashley House in Sheffield, Mass.

The Majority of the Red Earthenware in this Photo is from Coastal Massachusetts

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The Ashley House - Sheffield, Mass.

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