Platter, 14.75 x 12 inches. Black transfer. The registry diamond indicates that the pattern was registered 29 June 1865 by Edward F. Bodley & Co. That partnership was in business c. 1865-late 1880. At that time the name changed to Edward F. Bodley & Son. In addition to "B & Son" seen in the printed mark, BODLEY & SON is impressed beside the printed mark. It was a popular pattern that was produced for many years -- hence it was in production from the mid-1860s at least to the 1880s. The pattern is a graceful one, typical of the early Aesthetic Movement. Bunches of wheat stalks are tied in a bundle with a ribbon. Included in the bundle are tiny flowers. The border consists of these bundles repeated and joined together with a section of small flowers. The central image is of a slightly different bundle, again tied with a ribbon.
The Scotia Works was originally the parish workhouse of Burslem and was calculated to accommodate three hundred inmates On the establishment of unions under the Poor Law Act when the new union workhouse was erected this building was occupied as barracks and so continued for some years. It was then converted into a manufactory by Mr. James Vernon in 1857 and he in 1862 was succeeded by the firm of Edward F. Bodley & Co. At these works the usual descriptions of earthenware, printed, enameled, and gilt and ironstone china for steamship and hotel use were made. Between 1863 and 1865, the pottery was operated by the Bodley & Harrold partnership. In 1880 the company changed to Edward F. Bodley & Sons, who in 1881 removed to the New Bridge Pottery, Longport.
The Hill Pottery China Works in 1867 were carried on by Messrs. Alcock, Diggory & Co. In 1870 the firm was altered into that of Bodley and Diggory, but in the following year Mr. Diggory, having retired, the manufactory was continued by Mr. Edward F. Bodley. In 1874 the style was again changed to Bodley and Son and in 1875 to Edwin J. D. Bodley. The productions formerly embraced china earthenware and Parian but were later entirely confined to china. A specialty of Mr. Bodley's productions was that of pans and vases for chandeliers and lamps. These were made of various forms, and more or less highly decorated; they formed an important branch of manufacture. Services of all the usual kinds, more or less elaborately decorated, were also made. The markets supplied were the home and the South Australian, New Zealand, and Colonial.
