I wonder how many Wade
collectors there are world wide? The Wade
Collectors Club have some 10,000 members but
there are a significant number more who are not
affiliated to any organization but do still,
collect Wade. They can be seen ferreting out
pieces at car boot sales, flee markets,
collectors fairs and the like.
A lot of the interest in collecting Wade is the
pursuit, searching out those elusive little
figures to make up a set or series. At the other
end of the scale are the limited edition
figurines which, if purchased wisely, are an
excellent investment, better than a savings
account!
One branch of Wade collecting which, in the past,
has rather taken a rear seat is Irish Wade.
Collectables produced in the Burslem factories
have always been more popular generally than
those which came from the Irish factory. What
some collectors are unaware of is that a great
deal of Wade marked "England" was, in
fact, produced in Ireland. In 1946, George Wade
asked his eldest daughter Iris and her husband
Henry Straker Carryer to oversee a new factory in
Portadown, Northern Ireland. Recently, Iris
Carryer told me the story herself.
" In England, just after World War II ,
pressure was brought to bear on manufacturers to
start new industries in areas of the United
Kingdom that were described as
"depressed." That was where
unemployment was high. My husband and I had
already made plans to leave the UK for a new life
in California and my husband already had a job
lined up so it was much against my wishes when my
husband was persuaded by my father to purchase a
factory for him in Northern Ireland and then
establish and organize the new business. So from
1946, just after World War II, until 1964, I
worked in the Province alongside my husband. Team
building was his specialty, and, because of his
talent, we were able to steer quite a happy ship
through the always troubled waters of the British
part of Ireland. My husband taught me to respect
other people's opinions, whatever their class,
colour, creed or country, regardless of whether
one actually liked or agreed with them or not and
I believe I taught him that the female of the
species is often a lot more intuitive than the
male! The Irish branch of the Wade Group of
Potteries was established purely for the
manufacture of electrical porcelain insulators.
The highly 
technical making of these
had no artistic appeal or interest for me, but
very soon after we arrived in what turned out be
an unexpectedly foreign country, we were hit by
an almighty slump. New housing came to a
standstill, government contracts were cancelled,
it was depression time again, especially for
people whose hopes had so recently been raised.
In Northern Ireland, brand new machinery stood
idle. 'Could we possibly use it to make something
ornamental, like the little animals I had in a
Noah's Ark as a child?' I inquired tentatively.
The gathering of snooty English top executives
from the parent company's various branches raised
their eyes to heaven and sighed collectively,
obviously wishing that the bosses' daughter, wife
and sister had stayed home. I quailed, but
suddenly 'Pourquois Pas?' beamed my father! 'Why
Not?' echoed my husband and brother, Tony. And
so, through the naivety and ignorance of Wade's
newest, brashest associate, we hit on a product
that restarted our industrial engines and which
every child in the UK wanted to collect."
"They were christened Whimsies and were all
stamped 'Wade, England' to the great umbrage of
the Irish plant, which had been rescued from near
oblivion by making the even numbered sets. Teams
of teenagers sat at conveyor belts. One applied
colour to one side, another coloured the next
side, another the base and so on. Sometimes there
were teams of four or five girls per miniature,
the last one especially chosen for her tiny
hands, to put in the tiny eyes! They sang as they
painted. They were happy. One former 'teen' now
in her sixties wrote when my husband died, to
send me photos of figurines she'd painted over
the years. 'How I loved my job when you two were
there. We all loved our work so much that even if
we had the flu we wouldn't take time off. It was
the best factory in Ireland!"
With Henry Straker Carryer as Managing Director
and his wife Iris, Art Director, high quality
gift ware, now extremely collectable, teemed out
of the factory for a period of some fourteen of
their seventeen year stay in Northern Ireland.
From the early days the factory was a success, so
much so that on 2nd January 1950 it became a
private limited company called Wade (Ulster) Ltd.
It was the time of the coronation of Elizabeth II
and Wade (Ulster) LTD, like many other potteries,
decided to throw themselves wholeheartedly into
producing gift ware to commemorate the event.
There is a famous story of the wrong glaze mixing
being responsible for the now well known
"Irish" look to the products, but this
was an unintentional bonus and made the product
unique. With the success of the coronation gift
ware, other products were introduced, much of it
in the distinctive green/blue Irish glaze which
is easily identifiable. The huge amount of gift
ware produced at the Portadown factory over the
years was all made with a great deal of affection
for the finished product which is evident in
everything they made. Each little piece, whether
a simple vase or dish or the highly sought after
alphabet train, which was also made at the
factory, was made with a dedication second to
none (with perhaps the notable exception of
Hagen-Renaker of the USA).
A variety of back stamps were used during this
period including Irish Porcelain, Made in Ireland
by Wade , Co. Armagh; Shamrock Pottery, Made in
Ireland; A Moko Line by Wade, Ireland; Celtic
Porcelain by Wade, Ireland and a number of other
combinations, indeed at one stage no back stamp
was used! This situation arose because a lot of
the production at the Wade (Ireland) factory was
for the Wade, England company and therefore
carried the Wade, England backstamp, a situation
which infuriated Iris Carryer as she described
above. This came to a head when the parent
factory in Burslem ordered Irish Leprechauns with
a Wade, England back stamp. Sir George's daughter
felt that items made at her factory should carry
an Irish back stamp and an Irish Leprechaun most
certainly was not going to leave the factory with
Wade, England on it! Until a compromise could be
reached, figures left the factory minus any
markings. Iris won the day and thereafter all
figures were clearly marked, although Ireland
continued to produce a substantial amount of
Wade, England gift ware. Iris, with her
background in ceramics, had always admired the
intricate workmanship and good value of the H.R
brand and was of the opinion that the product
sold itself. It was at this time that she became
good friends with Maxine Renaker, wife of the
then president of the company, and her daughter
Susan (now president of Hagen-Renaker), a
friendship which continues to this day although
Iris has long since ceased to represent the
company. It was also through this connection with
Hagen-Renaker that Wade (Ulster) LTD came to
produce wall plaques. Following discussions with
Iris Carryer, Maxine Renaker sent some molds to
the Portadown factory where it was hoped that
Wade could produce them in porcelain. This
however became something of a nightmare as during
the cooling process, after being removed from the
kiln they cracked. As Iris explained to me,
"It was awful, Ping, ping, ping! They were
all cracking as they cooled down." This was
due to stress on the porcelain which, as it
cooled, had the effect of pulling it apart and
thus the cracks appeared. None of the Wade wall
plaques ever went into general production and few
were ever sold, however, those that do exist,
realize extremely high prices at auction or when
privately offered for sale. Those known to exist
all carry the Wade, CO Armagh backstamp
Henry Straker Carryer and Iris ran the Wade,
(Ulster) plant until 1964 when they decided to
realise their dream and move to California. For
some years after their arrival in the USA they
were Southern California representatives for
Hagen-Renaker Potteries whilst still keeping
their business eye open for Wade. Indeed, it was
Iris Carryer who commissioned the Painted Ladies
(San Francisco houses) under the name of Carryer
Craft of California as well as the San Francisco
cable car. It was part time employment in the
first years of their retirement and they loved
it.
Iris continues to live in California where every
day seems to be like a beautiful English summer's
day. She writes a lot, reminiscences of her long
life, interesting events and people she has known
and has been featured a number of times recently
on Home Truths for the BBC. Following a visit to
her at her home, we correspond a lot now, me
inquiring, she recalling - as clearly as if the
events were yesterday instead of many years ago.
I recently asked her if she had ever met Clarice
Cliff. "Met her," she replied "I
remember the swishing hem of her long black
dress, the orange, jade green, royal blue and
yellow of the numerous chiffon scarves that
rainbowed round her slender neck and floated
yards behind her until they almost tangled with
the boring beige tweeds and twin sets of the
rainy morning shoppers in our dreary
Staffordshire market town. I remember her hat,
large, black and smothered in scarlet poppies. I
was thirteen years old. Who is that I asked my
mother? " "That my dear is Clarice
Cliff," she replied,"Looking every inch
like her products, Bizarre indeed!" I am
glad I asked Iris that question!
Now a widow in her 80's, Iris Carryer remains a
person of great wit and intellect whose years
have not diminished her joie de vivre - long may
she remain so.
David Chown
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