Heraldic devices first appeared on ceramics in Western Europe from the sixteenth century onwards; however, it was not until the 1760s that British ceramic manufactories began executing commissions for services displaying heraldic devices for the gentry.
This book explores the rise of the new gentry class and the market for armorial services through the case study of the Pendock Barry service. The case study is presented from three angles. It looks at Pendock Neale Barry (1757–1833) who commissioned the service, then considers the evidence for attributing the service to the Derby factory during the period 1805–1810, and finally looks at the evidence supporting an attribution of the decoration to Billingsley.
The case study sets out a novel approach to understanding heraldic devices on ceramics by bringing together the disciplines of detailed genealogical research, cultural knowledge, and chemical analytical compositional data. This multidisciplinary approach enables the armorial services to be considered and understood through the lens of heritage, culture, and science.
Howell Edwards is Professor Emeritus of Molecular Spectroscopy at the University of Bradford. He read Chemistry at Jesus College in the University of Oxford and after completing his B.A. and B.Sc. degrees he studied for his doctorate in Raman spectroscopy at Oxford and then became a Research Fellow at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He joined the University of Bradford as a Lecturer in Structural and Inorganic Chemistry, becoming Head of the Department of Chemical and Forensic Sciences, and was awarded a Personal Chair in Molecular Spectroscopy in 1996. He has received several international awards (Sir Harold Thompson Award; Charles Mann Award; Emanuel Boricky Medal; Norman Sheppard Award) in a spectroscopic career which has resulted in the publication of almost 1400 research papers in Raman spectroscopy and the characterisation of materials, along with six books on the application of this analytical technique to art, archaeology and forensic science. He has had a lifelong interest in the porcelains of William Billingsley, especially those from the Derby, Nantgarw and Swansea factories and has authored six books on porcelain: Swansea and Nantgarw Porcelains: A Scientific Reappraisal, Nantgarw and Swansea Porcelains: An Analytical Perspective, Porcelain to Silica Bricks: The Extreme Ceramics of William Weston Young, 1776-1847, 18th and 19th Century Porcelain Analysis: A Forensic Provenancing Assessment, Porcelain Analysis and Its Role in the Forensic Attribution of Ceramic Specimens, and Welsh Armorial Porcelains: Nantgarw and Swansea Crested China, published by Springer Publishing, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. He has also produced several monographs: William Billingsley - The Enigmatic Porcelain Artist, Decorator and Manufacturer; Nantgarw Porcelain - The Pursuit of Perfection; Swansea Porcelain - the Duck-Egg Translucent Vision of Lewis Dillwyn and Derby Porcelain: The Golden Years, 1780-1830. Howell Edwards is Honorary Scientific Adviser to the de Brecy Trust on the scientific evaluation of their artworks and paintings.
Rachel Denyer read History at The University College of North Wales in Bangor, Gwynedd. Since graduating she has worked in IT at a number of blue-chip companies before setting up her own Quality Assurance consultancy. Rachel is a co-founder of Penrose Antiques Ltd, established 2010, which specialises in English & Welsh ceramics, silverware and furniture. Between 2014 - 2018 she was one of four Directors of Rose Antiques Fairs, which organised a specialist annual antiques fair in York. In 2016, she began studying Art History and was awarded a Masters degree in 2018. Her research led to the publication A Century of Art: Clitheroe Artists Elijah and Frederick Cawthorne (1843 – 1940). She was a contributing author to The Billingsley Collection including Derby, Pinxton, Worcester, Swansea, Nantgarw and Coalport, published in 2019. She has a strong interest in genealogical research and social history, and published A Cocken Family History: The Descendants of William Cocken (born c1695) to 1920, in 2020. A specialist interest in the history and development of food preparation and presentation, dining and social entertaining led to 1900s Store Cupboard Recipes for Cakes & Biscuits published in 2021.
Dr Morgan Denyer was born in Yeovil, Somerset and was brought up in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. He was educated at The University College of North Wales Bangor, Gwynedd, where he gained a BSc in Zoology and PhD in Neuroscience. He then worked as a Research Scientist at The University of Glasgow and as a Research Fellow at RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), Wako, Saitama, Japan before becoming a Lecturer at The University of Bradford. During this time, Morgan published over 60 peer reviewed papers and patents. In 2010, he co-founded Penrose Antiques Ltd and later co-founded Rose Antiques Fairs. Morgan has published a number of works as author or editor, including: Charles Horner: Short Guides (2016); William Billingsley – the Enigmatic Porcelain Artist, Decorator and Manufacturer (2016); Nantgarw Porcelain – The Pursuit of Perfection (2017); Swansea Porcelain - the Duck-Egg Translucent Vision of Lewis Dillwyn (2017); Derby Porcelain: The Golden Years,1780-1830 (2018); A Century of Art: Clitheroe Artists Elijah and Frederick Cawthorne (18473 – 1940) (2019). Morgan combines working in the antiques trade with a role as an Assistant Professor at The University of Bradford.
