DORCHESTER POTTERY

EXHIBITION

Joseph Carriero Gallery

Brookline Ave.

Boston, Massachusetts

1981

The Dorchester Pottery Works, located at 105 Victory Road in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was a family business begun in 1885 by master potter George Henderson.  George came to Massachusetts after managing the S.L. Pewtress Pottery in New Haven, Connecticut, where the production was identified as "Henderson & O' Halloran" wares.  At it's peak in the 1920's, the Dorchester pottery employed 28 potters.  Charles Henderson, George's son, took over the pottery from 1928 until 1967.  Charles' wife, Ethel Hill Henderson, then continued running the facility with the help of her brother, Charles Hill, and her sister, Lilly Yeaton until it closed in 1979.

The pottery's wares evolved over the 84 years it operated.  Agricultural and industrial production to meet the needs of a growing New England slowly changed to decorated tablewares; by the 1950's a quarter of the production was pottery for food and drink.  By the 60's, that was the sole production.  In the 50's the production list included about 1,700 distinct items.

The methods of the pottery's production changed very little over time.  This was mostly small factory handcraft type work; even the jiggering of forms was utilizing older labor intensive technology that other commercial potteries had long since abandoned for automated machine jigger units. Pieces were mostly hand-formed, handles were applied individually, pieces were hand dipped in glazes, and shapes developed to met custom orders.

From 1914 to 1965 the company utilized a massive 19th century design, coal fired beehive kiln, with most of the wares stacked in saggars.  This large domed kiln consumed 15 tons of coal and four cords of wood per 40 hour firing to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit.  In the last years of the pottery, they switched to smaller gas and then electric kilns until the time of their closing in 1979.

© 2001 J. Baymore all rights reserved

Studio visits are welcome. Call 603-654-2752 to make sure I'm there.

This page last updated:

03/13/2003 07:35 PM

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