Proc Dorset Natur Hist Archaeol Soc 91

A collection which recently came to light contains a wide range of types and throws useful light on manufacture in an area of England south of a line from Bristol to Marlborough. The fine iron-free clay deposits near Poole were exploited, but some makers used local, sometimes inferior clays. Starting c 1640, two series are seen representing the Dorset-Somerset and Bristol-Wiltshire areas respectively, there being no style peculiar to Shaftesbury makers. From 1700 onwards the standard Wiltshire (or 'Thomas Hunt ) type is common. The large, brittle 18th century examples have not survived in any quantity; for 19th century there are both spurred and spurless types, and the collection continues the series into 20th century. Drawings and descriptions assist in identification, and notes on the makers are provided.