History of Arklow Pottery
Timeline
1934
1934 Turning the Sod
Negotiations to arrange a Deed of Exchange between Arklow Golf Club and the Harbour Commissioners begin in May 1934. Works on the 90,000 square feet Pottery site commence the following April – steelworks are carried out by Thompsons of Carlow and concrete works by McNally of Dublin. Construction of the factory is completed by mid-1935 and 15 young women sign up to participate in design classes at Arklow Technical Institute.
1935
1935: Official Opening
Arklow Pottery is formally opened on 29th July 1935 by Minister of Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass. It is hoped that Arklow Pottery will soon supply the total chinaware and pottery ware needs of the Irish Free State. 200 workers are hired, including 30 skilled staff from the Staffordshire Potteries who are brought in to pass on the techniques of ceramic production to their Irish colleagues. Mr. Percy Sargent, Decorating Manager, was one of these and some of the early designs attributed to him are ‘Indian Tree’, ‘Sugar Loaf’ and ‘Country Store’.
1938
1938: Government Protections
Arklow Pottery closes for 5 weeks due to lack of orders. This is due to the ‘dumping’ of earthenware onto the Irish market from overseas markets. In April 1938 the factory reopens with the aid of government tariffs following amendments to the Duties Act 1932. The Government had imposed a duty of up to 75% on some imported ware items aimed at giving further protection to Arklow Pottery. A showroom is built to facilitate customers to come and view pottery prior to ordering.
1939
1939: Kilns & Ovens
Three huge Bottle Kilns dominate the Arklow skyline – a fourth is added in 1939 aimed at increasing production by 6,000 dozen pieces of ware weekly. The Arklow Pottery factory has the largest Moore-Campbell electric kiln in the world, with capacity for 7,000 dozen pieces of ware per week. A Dressler Tunnel Oven, the 2nd largest in the world, has capacity to turn out 20,000 to 25,000 pieces per week and once lit, the fires would remain burning until the chambers had been burned out completely, within about seven years. Shipments of clay from the cliffs of Devon and stone..Read More
1939: The Emergency
During the years of World War 2 (1939 to 1946) and those that followed, significant challenges to Arklow Pottery’s fuel supply and production capacity are encountered. Importation restrictions on coal and coak used in the boilers leads to the use of substitute fuels like turf, slack and wood causing temperature instability manifesting as ‘crazing’ on the ware. Crazing is a network of hairline cracks that appear after firing when the thermal expansion of glaze is not high enough. Experts are brought in from Stoke-on-Trent to help develop methods of firing using small bottle-neck ovens.
1940
1940: Early Decoration Techniques
In the early decades of Arklow a combination of hand-painted and transfer techniques was used. Ware that was to be hand-painted would be passed to the highly skilled girls of the decorating department where they set to work, carefully and quickly free hand-painted patterns to each piece. The girls, often starting straight from school at aged 14, became specialised in their piece of the pattern – whether a flower, a leaf, a stem – before passing the piece on to be completed by colleagues. The ware was then fired again using the Moore Campbell electric kiln.
1944
1944
Fears of closure hang over Arklow Pottery with urgent challenges around sourcing adequate fuel supply – boilers are fired for a time using hay seed mixed with turf, freshly cut logs and even slurry. Oak trees are felled in Tinahely and Ballinglen for use in fires. Innovations and improvements continue to be made during the 1940’s including the addition of three drying stoves, a workshop for the engraver, additional engineering shop and forge, a mail crusher, two electricity-driven cup making machines and the reconstruction of a bisque oven. Output increased to 15,000 dozen pieces of ware per week, mainly consisting..Read More
1947
1947
451,000 dozen of ware is produced this year – the most since production began. However, due to the fuel supply issues and the use of wood as a substitute for coal, an estimated 500 dozen per oven per years is being lost. Equipment is now reaching the end of its life and modernisation is needed, so Arklow Pottery consults with potteries in Stoke-on-Trent. Arklow at this time runs low on accommodation and it’s proposed that Arklow Pottery build cottages to assist workers.
1951
1951
Arklow Pottery partners with Arklow Technical Institute to run a Pottery Decoration Class for girls wishing to work in the Decorating and Guilding departments of the factory. At this time demand for ware outstrips supply capability and Arklow Pottery is short about 15% of market demands. Further expansion takes place – the sliphouse is doubled in size, new ovens and kilns are installed, ten new drying stoves and two new making machines are added. Visits take place to Stoke-on-Trent and Northern Italy to research the most up to date potteries. The Bottle Kilns are demolished in the years following 1950..Read More
1952
1952
Development begins on a new earthenware which would eliminate the flint pebbles being imported from Normandy, which make up one quarter of the body of the clay. Instead, caolad flint silicate is shipped from Ballincurra, Co. Cork, and sand from Muckish Mountain, Co Donegal. The ware produced using these materials is almost as fine as chinaware but more resistant to crazing and chipping, and deemed especially well-suited to hotel ware. 617 workers, 12% of the population of Arklow are employed in Arklow Pottery. A benevolent scheme is operated by the workers giving generous benefits to colleagues who fall ill.
1954
1954
Crested ware, with family names like O’Sullivan, O ‘Donnell and O’Connor, is introduced and the first shipment of Arklow Pottery to the US market takes place. During St. Patrick’s Day 1954 celebrations, Mr. Robert Wagner, Mayor of New York is presented with a burnished black and gold china coffee set and an engraved crested McTague family crest, to celebrate is mother’s heritage. 21-piece crested china tea sets are manufactured for James J. Kavanagh of Erin Isle Import and Export Corporation, New York. Market trends move away from white ware and towards decorated sets, so more decorators are trained – a..Read More
1955
1955
The 21st year of trading sees a peak in both volume and value for Arklow Pottery, meeting demand for 14,000 dozen pieces of decorative ware per week. A new enamel electric kiln is introduced to add 5,000 dozen more and there are plans to employ 30 more decorators. As pottery production intensified, new markets and product lines were being identified all the time. In the 1950’s, lithography becomes a popular means of transferring photographic images to ware, and pieces depicting Irish scenes are produced for the tourist market. A major cost of operations is the large volume of stock being..Read More
1958
1958
Demand beings to slump. It is thought that due to the high quality of ware produced by Arklow Pottery in recent years has been so durable it has not needed replacement. There is capacity to supply the demand of the Irish market, leaving a balance for export. Semi-automatic machines are introduced aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing loss. Staff training is viewed as important to compete in the export market – a modeller returns from a year-long stint in Stoke-on-Trent and another is sent on an advanced ceramics designers course. The following year Ireland is hit with recession and some..Read More
1960
1960
Sales volumes plateau and market trend smove towards the use of metal, glass and plastic for tableware. Prospecting begins in Canada and America and there is some growth in exports to Britain. Soon Arklow Pottery begins to develop new shapes and decorations to stimulate the domestic market. The ‘Common Market’ is considered a threat, expected to bring increased overseas competition, and the gradual lifting of tariffs.
1961
1961
Kaj Franck, a Finnish ceramicist leads a delegation of 6 Scandinavian designers who have been commissioned by an Córas Tráchtála (CTC) to report on standards of design in Ireland. The CTC provide grant aid to Arklow Pottery to employ Mr. Franck as a consultant, who offers consultation on design and recommends the establishment of a separate studio pottery within the factory.
1962
1962
Arklow Studio Pottery is born in September 1962, under the direction of John ffrench as art director. His salary was £17 a week and by November ffrench had completed himself 200 pieces of hand-painted pottery, largely tableware and vessels. The first exhibition of this work takes place in November 1962 in Dublin where Joh McGuire of Brown Thomas buys the entire collection before it even opens.
1963
1963
Arklow Pottery displays at Blackpool Gift Fair and at the Irish Export Centre in London, generating over £10,000 in sales. More shows take place in Australia and Canada with a rise in demand of ware for promotional use. Some lines are in such demand that they are solely reserved for export. Profits reach the highest margin since 1956, however management notes that tariffs are being reduced incrementally in preparation for entering the Common Market. Chief Designer Liam O’Connor of Arklow Pottery travels to Helsinki to train for 5 months.
1965
1965
Arklow Pottery attends the International Hardware and Trade Fair in London, and orders are placed for wares for restaurants requiring a higher standard of tableware than normally found.
1966
1966
Following a drop in exports to Britain of 45% on the previous year, sales are hit again when a general depression takes hold. To compound matters, there is a stand-still order preventing price increases in place. The Sales Department is re-organised with a focus on export, especially of Studio Pottery, and a Marketing Executive is employed. ffrench has several assistants by now – Michael O’Connor, Dan Kavanagh, Anne English and Denis O’Connor – who decorated pieces including tableware, tiles, mobiles, murals and panels. Other designers of the studio pottery era were Don McDonagh and Patrick McElheron.
1968
1968
Profits at Arklow Pottery bounce back with the highest ever to date, attributed to the re-organisation of management, improved machinery and equipment and improved design. Domestic market sales are stable despite tariff reductions and an increase of 56% in imported earthenware. Arklow Pottery requests that imports are marked with the country of origin and ‘anti-dumping’ legislation be considered. The possibility of new over-to-table ware is being explored, and a new cup-making line is installed.
1970
1970
Exports are now reaching substantial amounts with IR£55,000 worth of firm orders placed from Australian, New Zealand and African markets. The most popular exported ware includes ‘Tree of Life’, ‘Brendan Erinstone’ and ‘Shamrock Irish Stone’.
1976
1976
World-famous porcelain producer Noritake of Nagoya, Japan undertakes the building of a new 160,000 square ft. factory, at an investment of £10 million. The IDA investment is £3.5 million. Noritake Arklow Pottery is formally opened by Minister for Industry and Commerce Justin Keating in April 1977. The Japanese company is expected to bring new technology and approaches to design, as well as access to a global distribution network. It is expected that 90% of Noritake ware will be exported to international markets – two thirds to America and one third to Europe.
1981
1981
The worldwide depression is blamed when Arklow Pottery closes for two months at the end of June. A workforce of almost 1,000 are laid off temporarily.
1984
1984
Arklow Pottery celebrates its Jubilee. The resilience of the organisation is celebrated on the 50th anniversary of its establishment. Past and present employees receive a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. Celebrations continue into the night at a dance in the Royal Hotel where Alice Farrell is crowned ‘Pottery Queen’ and is presented with a handbag courtesy of Sheila Bentley.
1985
1985
Following sustained losses for a number of years at Arklow Pottery, a ‘make or break’ plan is proposed to workers. Japanese management launch a survival plan labelled ‘Arklow Pottery Fights Back’. It is estimated that efficiency needs to increase by 18% within the year to match competitors. Noritake propose brining in ‘white ware’ to decorate in Arklow to help improve efficiency and retain employees.
1987
1987
Trading starts to pick, although the break-even goal has not yet been achieved. Losses were £215,000 this year, on top of cumulative losses of £4 million. Despite this management commits to invest £100,000 in casting automation to improve efficiency.
1989
1989
Productions managers Paddy Lafferty and Patsy Breen, each with over 40 years’ experience in Arklow Pottery, take a two week trip to Japan to observe first-hand how Noritake porcelain factories operate. This is the first time Irish workers have visited their Japanese counterparts. Media reports that Nortiake are in talks with an international mergers and acquisitions team about launching a take-over of Waterford Glass. Former Arklow Pottery workers Jim Keogh and Willy O’Farrell establish Wicklow Vale Ceramics serving the gift-ware market.
1991
1991
It is reported in local newspapers that the break-even goal being sought at Arklow Pottery has been achieved for the third year running. However, looming large is the threat of recession which has already begun to impact on North America and the UK, though not yet on the order books at Arklow.
1994
1994
Sixty years of Arklow Pottery is celebrated. 180 people are now employed in the factory making high quality earthenware dinnerware of which 80% is exported to the US, Canada, UK and Germany.
1995
1995
Arklow Pottery attends the RDS Craft Fair in January 1995, launching a tourist-orientated range of ware featuring traditional shamrocks and tara broach designs. Reports are optimistic after several years of recession. However, by the end of this year market difficulties in North America result in a slowdown in orders of 15% and redundancies bring the total workforce to 117 people.
1996
1996
Continued market fluctuations and challenges matching supply and demand sees the factory close for the month of September. The IDA express concerns for the long-term viability of operations at Arklow Pottery.
1998
1998
After 63 years, Arklow Pottery closes its doors in April 1998, with 140 redundancies. The announcement by owners Noritake came following losses of £7.5 million, over a 20-year period – they cited an increase in competition from overseas and declining demand for pottery ware as factors in the decision. Many workers are left saddened – some had been employed in the pottery for over 50 years. At the peak of operations in the 1980’s Arklow Pottery had employed a workforce of almost 1,000 people.
Special thanks goes to Dr. Audrey Whitty, Deputy Director/Head of Collections and Learning at The National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin 7, for kindly sharing her research paper into Arklow Pottery (2004) including her primary and secondary research, which greatly assisted in shaping this historical timeline.
Arklow Pottery Heritage Project
Arklow Pottery has been an important part of the economic and social history of Arklow since its establishment in 1934, to its eventual closure in 1998. Many families had a connection to the Potteries – and many fond memories were formed. Important technical skills were honed, creativity was elevated, and strong bonds were made.
The Arklow Pottery and Heritage Project aims to capture some of the history and heritage associated with Arklow Pottery through the years. It is hoped that this digital resource will enable people of all ages to engage with our heritage – to learn something completely new or to bring back memories of times gone by.
The main elements of the project are:
- Stories of Arklow Pottery: oral history video series
- Backstamp Catalogue: Arklow backstamps, by decade
- Patterns Database: some of the many patterns produced, from old to new
- Photo & Video Archive: historical photos and video from over the years
- Arklow Pottery Trail: map of the main points of interest where Arklow Pottery can be viewed
The Arklow Pottery Heritage Project was coordinated by Arklow Town Team between May and September 2022 and is funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland. This website is not considered to be a complete picture of 63 years of Arklow Pottery and it is hoped that this resource can be added to over the coming years.
Project Team
Project Coordinator: Allison Ryder – eConsult.ie
Project Supervisor: Chantal Fortune – Fortune Antiques & Interiors
Project Team Members: Irene Sweeney and Peir Leonard
Photo & Video Restoration and Pattern Photography: Eamonn & Karen Bermingham – Arklow Photo and Framing
Oral History Facilitator: Michael Fortune – Folklore.ie
Website by: Stratticus
Trail Brochure: Blueprint.ie
