Miles Mason (Thomas Wolfe, John Lucock), T. Wolfe & Co.,
Islington Pottery, Liverpool (1796)
Miles Mason and Geo. Wolfe, Victoria Pottery, Lane Delph, Staffordshire (1796 − 1800)
Miles Mason, Victoria Pottery, Lane Delph (1800 – 1806)
Miles & William Mason, Minerva Works, Lane Delph (1806 − 1813)
Miles Mason & Son (Wm.), Sampson Bagnall’s Works, Lane Delph (1811 – 1824)
Mason’s acquired Fenton Stone Works, High Street, Lane Delph (1813)
William Mason, Pottery Retail Business, Smithy Door, Manchester (1815)
William Mason, Fenton Culvert (1822 − 1824)
G. M. Mason & C. J. Mason, Minerva Works, Lane Delph (1813 − 1816)
C. J. Mason & Co., Fenton Stone Works, High Street, Lane Delph, Fenton (1826 – 1848)
(Patent Ironstone China Manufactory)

Samuel Bayliss Faraday (sales manager, 1824-1840) becomes partner (1840 − 1844)
C. J. Mason declares bankruptcy (1848)
C. J. Mason, Daisy Bank Works, Lane End, Longton (1851 − 1853)

Miles Mason, patriarch of the famous potting family, was born in December 1752, the son of William Mason of Dent, Yorkshire. At the age of thirty, he married sixteen-year-old Ruth Farrar, the only child and heiress of one of England’s pre-eminent chinamen (retailers of china and glass) Richard Farrar, who had been dead since Ruth was nine. Mason assumed control of Farrar’s china retailing business. In September 1783 he became a Freeman of the Glass Sellers Company. The shop was located at Fenchurch Street, London. In 1796, Mason formed a partnership with Thomas Wolfe and John Lucock at the Islington Pottery in Liverpool for the purpose of manufacturing pottery; the firm was called Thomas Wolfe & Co.

From 1796 until 1800, Miles Mason formed a partnership with George Wolfe to manufacture pottery at the Victoria Pottery at Lane Delph, Staffordshire. In 1802, Mason ceased his interests in the retail venture and, from1800 until 1806, operated the Victoria Pottery alone.

Miles and Ruth Mason had four children, a daughter and three sons; all three sons became prominent figures in the pottery industry. Their daughter, Ann Ruth, was their eldest child, born in 1783. William Mason, the eldest son, was born January 27, 1785, George Miles Mason, born May 9, 1789, and Charles James Mason born July 16, 1791.

Little is known about William Mason, the eldest son of Miles, but records indicate he joined his father in business from 1806 until 1813 at the Minerva Works, Lane Delph. On January 12, 1808, William married Susannah Herning of Mapleton, Derbyshire. In 1811, William and his father took over Sampson Bagnall’s Works at Lane Delph. After his father’s death on April 26, 1822, William Mason rented a pottery (from John Smith) at Fenton Culvert, producing ware until 1824. He also had a retail establishment at 1 Smithy Door, Manchester, opening in 1815. Unable to be successful at marketing, in November 1828, he abandoned the establishment, moved to London and became an auctioneer.

George Mason, Mile’s second son, was an Oxford graduate, reportedly with cultivated tastes. He maintained the administrative affairs of the Mason firm and is listed as a partner with younger brother Charles from 1813 until 1829, although it is reported he retired from active participation in 1826. That he remained financially involved is evident in reports of Charles’ financial problems in 1848 seem “to have affected George’s resources.” (Godden, 1991 pp. 120) George died on August 31, 1859.

Charles James Mason, the third and youngest son of Miles and Ruth Mason, was born in 1771; he is said to have had a strong personality and was determined from birth to succeed. Geoffrey A. Godden, foremost authority on English pottery, describes him as “an enlightened master potter in days when little light was evident.” (Mason’s China and the Ironstone Wares, 1980, Antique Collectors’ Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England)

In 1813, he patented the famous Mason's “Ironstone China” thus revolutionizing the pottery industry. When his famous patent was issued, he was just twenty-one; scholars question his responsibility for the invention, postulating that much of the original work was probably done by his father and two older brothers. They also note that both John and William Turner and Josiah Spode had produced similar “stone China” several years prior to Charles’ application for a patent. Nonetheless, the patent was granted and his position of community prominence was established.

That same year (1813), Masons purchased the Fenton Stone Works, High Street, Lane Delph. In February 1814, George Miles Mason married Eliza Heming, the sister of William’s wife Susannah. In August 1815, Charles married Sarah Spode, the granddaughter of Josiah Spode I, and became active in parish affairs in Stoke-upon-Trent. During the time the two youngest brothers were partners, the company name was probably G. M. & C. J. Mason, becoming C. J. Mason & Co. when George retired in 1826. From 1826 until 1845, the firm of Charles James Mason & Co. produced ironstone wares at the Patent Ironstone China Manufactory in Lane Delph.

Ruth Mason, the wife of the family patriarch Miles Mason, died in 1834; she is buried at Norbury, Derbyshire. In 1836, Charles James Mason became an active member of the Potteries Chamber of Commerce.
In 1844, Trade Unionists struck the Mason Factory, signaling the beginning of its demise. In February of 1848, Charles was forced to declare bankruptcy, selling both his factories and personal possessions at auction. Francis Morley acquired Mason’s patterns and shapes and removed them to the Broad Street Works in Hanley, Staffordshire. From 1850 until 1858, the firm operated as Francis Morley & Co.

With help from older-brother George, Charles James Mason managed to finance another small pottery manufacturing venture at Daisy Bank Works, Lane End, Longton, Staffordshire. With this small business, he was able to exhibit his wares at the Great Exhibition of 1851. As a result of his exposure at the Exhibition, he was able to produce for a few more years. In 1852, Charles married his second wife, Miss Astbury of Longton. Just a year later, still in deep financial trouble, he was forced to sell his Daisy Bank manufactory.

Charles James Mason died in 1856; he is, as is his mother, buried at Norbury, Derbyshire. “This was the end of a chapter but certainly not the end of his legacy. Mason’s patterns have remained in continuous production and his advances were truly the foundation that shaped the pottery industry.” (Mason Ironstone Collector's Club Newsletter, July 1996 pp.1)
In 1858, Francis Morley & Co. formed a partnership with his son-in-law Taylor Ashworth. The firm traded as Morley & Ashworth until Morley retired in 1862. At that time, all his plates and trademarks passed into Ashworth’s hands, including all those formerly owned by the Mason Companies. From 1861 until 1883, Taylor Ashworth and his father, George L. Ashworth, ran the company trading as Geo. L. Ashworth & Bros. In December 1883, the firm was purchased by John Shaw Goddard, the son of a china exporter and, the next month, the firm became a limited company.

In 1919, John Vivian Goddard succeeded his father: the firm retained the Ashworth name.In 1858, Francis Morley & Co. formed a partnership with his son-in-law Taylor Ashworth. The firm traded as Morley & Ashworth until Morley retired in 1862. At that time, all his plates and trademarks passed into Ashworth’s hands, including all those formerly owned by the Mason Companies. From 1861 until 1883, Taylor Ashworth and his father, George L. Ashworth, ran the company trading as Geo. L. Ashworth & Bros. In December 1883, the firm was purchased by John Shaw Goddard, the son of a china exporter and, the next month, the firm became a limited company. In 1919, John Vivian Goddard succeeded his father: the firm retained the Ashworth name.

George L. Ashworth & Bros. Ltd. produced the famous Mason Ironstone wares until 1968. In March 1968, the pottery manufactory took a new name, Mason’s Ironstone China Ltd., returning it to its original roots. Despite the lack of the Ashworth name on the Mason mark, the Ashworth Company has been the largest producer of Ironstone since 1861. Much of the highly collectable Mason's Ironstone was actually produced by the Ashworth firm; “... the Ashworth family is responsible for most of the Mason’s Ironstone with which we are familiar.”(Mason Ironstone Collector's Club Newsletter, January 1996 pp. 2) The pottery became a part of the Wedgwood Group in April 1973 and was renamed Mason’s Ironstone.In 1858, Francis Morley & Co. formed a partnership with his son-in-law Taylor Ashworth.

The firm traded as Morley & Ashworth until Morley retired in 1862. At that time, all his plates and trademarks passed into Ashworth’s hands, including all those formerly owned by the Mason Companies. From 1861 until 1883, Taylor Ashworth and his father, George L. Ashworth, ran the company trading as Geo. L. Ashworth & Bros. In December 1883, the firm was purchased by John Shaw Goddard, the son of a china exporter and, the next month, the firm became a limited company. In 1919, John Vivian Goddard succeeded his father: the firm retained the Ashworth name.

George L. Ashworth & Bros. Ltd. produced the famous Mason Ironstone wares until 1968. In March 1968, the pottery manufactory took a new name, Mason’s Ironstone China Ltd., returning it to its original roots. Despite the lack of the Ashworth name on the Mason mark, the Ashworth Company has been the largest producer of Ironstone since 1861. Much of the highly collectable Mason's Ironstone was actually produced by the Ashworth firm; “... the Ashworth family is responsible for most of the Mason’s Ironstone with which we are familiar.”(Mason Ironstone Collector's Club Newsletter, January 1996 pp. 2) The pottery became a part of the Wedgwood Group in April 1973 and was renamed Mason’s Ironstone.
(With special thanks to the Raven Mason Collection, a registered charity (018133) in conjunction with Keele University, Staffordshire, England, for supplying us with an accurate account of the Mason Pottery dynasty. Without their information, this account could not have existed. http://www.keele.ac.uk/marketing/RavenMason/index2.htm

(With special thanks to the Raven Mason Collection, a registered charity (018133) in conjunction with Keele University, Staffordshire, England, for supplying us with an accurate account of the Mason Pottery dynasty. Without their information, this account could not have existed. http://www.keele.ac.uk/marketing/RavenMason/index2.htm
George L. Ashworth & Bros. Ltd. produced the famous Mason Ironstone wares until 1968. In March 1968, the pottery manufactory took a new name, Mason’s Ironstone China Ltd., returning it to its original roots. Despite the lack of the Ashworth name on the Mason mark, the Ashworth Company has been the largest producer of Ironstone since 1861. Much of the highly collectable Mason's Ironstone was actually produced by the Ashworth firm; “... the Ashworth family is responsible for most of the Mason’s Ironstone with which we are familiar.”(Mason Ironstone Collector's Club Newsletter, January 1996 pp. 2) The pottery became a part of the Wedgwood Group in April 1973 and was renamed Mason’s Ironstone.

(With special thanks to the Raven Mason Collection, a registered charity (018133) in conjunction with Keele University, Staffordshire, England, for supplying us with an accurate account of the Mason Pottery dynasty. Without their information, this account could not have existed.

1404 Cambridge6.5.jpg King’s College Chapel, Cambridge ~ 6.5 inch plate, pink with a light-green edging, by Masons. This identical plate is pictured in P. Williams & M. Weber’s second book, page 422, identified as “Unascribed # 10.”