Robert Williams Armstrong (1824-84) was an architect and civil engineer from County Longford who had settled in Dublin. He went to work in England and by the mid-1950s had built up a substantial practice working as an architect to the potteries in the Midlands.

Shortly after 1853, whilst working for the Worcester Porcelain Company under the management of W.H. Kerr, Armstrong met John Caldwell Bloomfield.

Bloomfield (1823- ) had discovered an unusually white clay, high in felspar, on his property in County Fermanagh, Ireland. A sample was sent to Worcester, where tests confirmed its exceptional quality. Bloomfield and Armstrong decided to establish a pottery, with Bloomfield providing the land at a nominal rent and Armstrong building and managing the works. Armstrong convinced his friend, Dublin merchant David
McBirney ( - 1882) to invest 40,000 pounds in the project. The works were to be called 'D. McBirney and Co.'.

Building of the works, designed by Armstrong, began in 1857 and production of earthenware began the following year, though the works were not completed until 1860. Earthenware products included domestic ware, floor tiles, hospital sanitation ware and telephone insulators. However, it was the founders' ambition that the works produce porcelain and experiments with parian soon began. Craftsmen such as William Bromley, William Gallimore and William Henshell were employed and imparted their skills to the local workmen.

Armstrong designed many of the Belleek pieces based on marine forms and devised his pottery's characteristic lustrous glazes.

Belleek ware became very fashionable and received commissions from the Royal Family and medals at various expositions. Irish porcelain was now world renowned.

Following the death of McBirney in 1882, an ownership dispute occurred between Armstrong and McBirney's son, but the legal battle was cut short by Armstrong's death in 1884.

Sources:

Cameron, Elisabeth. Encyclopedia of Pottery and Porcelain: the 19th and 20th centuries. London, Faber, 1986
Degenhardt, Richard. Belleek: the complete collector's guide and illustrated reference. N.Y., Portfolio Press, 1978
Jewitt, Llewellynn. The Ceramic Art of Great Britain. New edition, revised. Poole, Dorset, New Orchard Editions, 1985
Langham, Marion. Belleek: Irish Porcelain: an illustrated guide to over two thousand pieces. London, Quiller Press, 1993

Robert Williams Armstrong (1824-84) was an architect and civil engineer from County Longford who had settled in Dublin. He went to work in England and by the mid-1950s had built up a substantial practice working as an architect to the potteries in the Midlands.

Shortly after 1853, whilst working for the Worcester Porcelain Company under the management of W.H. Kerr, Armstrong met John Caldwell Bloomfield.

Bloomfield (1823- ) had discovered an unusually white clay, high in felspar, on his property in County Fermanagh, Ireland. A sample was sent to Worcester, where tests confirmed its exceptional quality. Bloomfield and Armstrong decided to establish a pottery, with Bloomfield providing the land at a nominal rent and Armstrong building and managing the works. Armstrong convinced his friend, Dublin merchant David
McBirney ( - 1882) to invest 40,000 pounds in the project. The works were to be called 'D. McBirney and Co.'.

Building of the works, designed by Armstrong, began in 1857 and production of earthenware began the following year, though the works were not completed until 1860. Earthenware products included domestic ware, floor tiles, hospital sanitation ware and telephone insulators. However, it was the founders' ambition that the works produce porcelain and experiments with parian soon began. Craftsmen such as William Bromley, William Gallimore and William Henshell were employed and imparted their skills to the local workmen.

Armstrong designed many of the Belleek pieces based on marine forms and devised his pottery's characteristic lustrous glazes.

Belleek ware became very fashionable and received commissions from the Royal Family and medals at various expositions. Irish porcelain was now world renowned.

Following the death of McBirney in 1882, an ownership dispute occurred between Armstrong and McBirney's son, but the legal battle was cut short by Armstrong's death in 1884.

Sources:

Cameron, Elisabeth. Encyclopedia of Pottery and Porcelain: the 19th and 20th centuries. London, Faber, 1986
Degenhardt, Richard. Belleek: the complete collector's guide and illustrated reference. N.Y., Portfolio Press, 1978
Jewitt, Llewellynn. The Ceramic Art of Great Britain. New edition, revised. Poole, Dorset, New Orchard Editions, 1985
Langham, Marion. Belleek: Irish Porcelain: an illustrated guide to over two thousand pieces. London, Quiller Press, 1993

Archive, pottery manufacture, Robert William Armstrong of Belleek Pottery Ltd, Fermanagh, Ireland, 1860-1882

The papers consist of (-1) nine memoranda books compiled by Armstrong, 1860-1882 containing recipes, the results of trials, and information on materials used in pottery manufacture, (-2) a notebook containing recipes for bodies and glazes by John Taylor and S. Walker, prior to 21 November 1876 and (-3) a price scale of earthenware, white and ivory china, parian, tiles, slabs, etc/ The Belleek Pottery Co Ltd, 1875.

Made: Armstrong, Robert William; Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; 1860 - 1882

P2652

1860 - 1882