Newham Heritage Service
 Bow porcelain inkwell with underglaze blue painted decoration and the inscription 'Made at New Canton 1750'. Photograph copyright Michael Booth. |
Finds from excavations in the 1970s at the Cistercian Abbey of St Mary, Stratford Langthorne are stored here, alongside sherds from a number of small excavations that have uncovered production waste from the New Canton porcelain factory at Bow, one of the earliest manufacturers of porcelain in Britain. These are accompanied by a substantial number of complete pieces of Bow porcelain encompassing the full range of production at the factory, including blue and white and enamelled vessels and figurines.
There is also a fine collection of delftware wall tiles recovered from a house within the borough, and of complete nursery tile panels from the 1920s that were originally located in St Mary's Hospital. Other more recent acquisitions include crockery used on the London and North Eastern Railway, now held in the North Woolwich Old Station Museum, part of the Newham Heritage Service. Material at Stock Street is available for viewing by appointment only.
Highlights of the collection:
- Medieval pottery and other finds from Stratford Langthorne, the Abbey of St Mary
- Bow porcelain production waste and a significant collection of complete pieces of porcelain
- Delftware wall tiles
- Twentieth-century decorative wall tiles
Tel: 0208 472 4785
Email: susan.gosling@newham.gov.uk
Website: http://www.newham.gov.uk
Opening times: by appointment
Admission: by appointment; free to researchers.
Access: disabled access to lower two floors only. No toilet facilities for disabled visitors.
Publications:
Gabsewicz, A 2000, Made at New Canton. Bow porcelain from the collection at the London Borough of Newham, English Ceramic Circle
Barber, B, Chew, S, Dyson, T and White, B 2004, The Cistercian abbey of St Mary Stratford Langthorne, Essex, MoLAS Monograph 18
Links to Museum of London Ceramics and Glass website: