Gradual demise and sudden tragedy
Post-War highs
The Post-War period was one of mixed fortunes for John Bew and his pottery. There were many successes to speak of. For example, at the Festival of Britain in 1951, Bew had more pots on display than any other craftsman potter. His work had also been purchased by members of the Royal Family. Also, up until the early 1950’s, Government regulations were in place that restricted foreign competition to Bew’s pottery. He continued to make pots for the Partnership unabated by rivals.
And Lows
Underneath this success, things were not so rosy. Bew’s relationship with the Partnership was gradually running cold. Bew was proving a difficult man to deal with, increasingly making exactly what he wanted, rather than what the Partnership buyers wanted for customers. Amongst other things, he claimed to have invented a teapot which did not drip! On top of this, profit margins were strained, as natural materials were proving increasingly expensive.
Imports knock Bew’s influence
The hammer blow came to the Pottery came in 1954, when the Government lifted its restrictions upon foreign imports. Pots from Italy and Denmark flooded and saturated the market. Small profits at the Pottery turned into a trading loss. Bew was a man weighed down with worry.
A sad ending
This story has a tragic end. On November 22nd 1954, John Bew set out from his home in Taplow (having moved out from Grove Farm a few years earlier) to go to work. He never arrived. His bike was found by the River Thames. Two years later, his body was recovered in Windsor. He may have gone, but the legacy of John Bew and his pottery live on. Today the Partnership’s Heritage Centre occupies the site of the Pottery, where the importance of the Pottery has been immortalised.
Comments about this page
Peter Naylor
I have some information about Sheila and Barrie that you might find of interest (nothing mysterious).
Cheers,
In this photo is my Uncle, Reginald Davies. He came from Trealaw, Rhondda Valley, South Wales. He is 3rd from the front on the left hand side sitting down. He really enjoyed his time working there. We last took him for a walk past the pottery and then had a drink in the clubhouse on his last visit to us in 2007. He was such a character.
I was a child when John Bew was resident potter at Maes-yr-haf Quaker Educational Settlement in the Rhondda. When he left for the JL partnership my father Barrie Naylor ( Warden,see book ‘Quakers in the Rhondda’) took over the pottery, and eventually became proficient enough to teach it carrying on until the settlement closed in 1972 . Barrie then opened up his own retirement Pottery in Brockweir (Wye Valley) but thro’ ill health could not continue. I left my job in M’head to carry on the pottery for the next 30 years and now I am also retired and the pottery (Malthouse) closed in 2006. Peter.
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