Many people have written many things about
the history of Wade but Dave Lee's very
interesting book The Wade Dynasty, comes up with
the definitive history. As Jeremy Wade, Sir
George Wade's grandson says in his forward to the
book, "It (the book) fills the gap in the
growing library of Wade volumes and helps to
clarify the history of both the family and the
complex web of companies past and present."
And further "Books such as this are born
from enthusiasm and I know that my father (Tony
Wade) and grandfather would heartily approve of
it." The history of Wade began in 1867 when
brothers Joseph and John Wade with a business
associate by the name of Myatt began a small
pottery at 50 and 52 Hall Street (now part of the
Wade car park) in Burslem.
As Dave Lee graphically describes
in his book: "The new works backed onto the
Royal Victoria Pottery, then more modestly called
Hill Works, which was inhabited by Morgan Wood
& Co. and was later to be the home of Wade
Heath & Co. But the first Wade company was on
a very much smaller scale. Like many small
potteries of the time, it was run merely at the
back of a cottage or terraced house with the
windows bricked up. A makeshift sign would be
strung up over the back gate or front door. Often
these small potteries had small makeshift ovens
in their tiny back yards for firing the pottery.
Alternatively, they could share a larger bell
oven. Their industrial wares were then sold to
merchants at market, or shipped straight to the
factories in the North up the Trent and Mersey
canal. Success meant expansion, although
basically this involved buying the next door
terrace house and knocking it through to create
larger premises. In the case of the Wade firm,
they already owned next door."
From this embryonic company grew
a much larger company and later, group of
companys. From John and Joseph's original
company, John's son, George (1825 - 1892)
inherited the company which later passed to his
son, also George (1864 - 1938) who was the father
of Sir George Wade (1891 - 1986). (See
George Wade Feature).
George (later Sir George) Wade
joined his fathers company in 1905 which at the
time had just aquired the firm (and rival) of
Henry Hallen and the Manchester Pottery. Having
taken an active part in the First War War and age
26, when George returned to the company in 1919,
it was renamed from George Wade & Co to
George Wade & Son Ltd.
For further reading on how, from
this small company arose the Wade Group of
Companys,read Dave Lee's interesting and
informative book.
Dave Lee's book, The Wade
Dynasty' is available from the Official Wade
Collectors Centre for £12. (US - $20 including
shipping).
Order
Online
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