Cumnock Pottery

By Kay McMeekin 

The creation of Cumnock pottery required skilled workers to be brought in from elsewhere. There were many potteries around the Prestonpans and Portobello areas and skilled workers from there came to Cumnock.

Work began at top of Greenbraehead to build the Cumnock Pottery in 1792. The pottery was initially set up to produce graphite crucibles to enable the 6th Earl of Dumfries to develop a blast furnace complex to exploit the ironstone and coal deposits on his estates. Only the pottery was put into operation and was managed by James Taylor born May 1753 in Leadhills, Dumfriesshire who made dramatic developments in ship engineering.

Things did not go well for Taylor when he first came to Cumnock. He brought two Glasgow potters James and John Henderson to set things up in Ayrshire but it seemed that nothing would go right. The graphite they used was inconsistent in supply and impractical to make into crucibles. The 13 men employed were forced to make conventional earthenware from the local clay. It was not until 1812 that the pottery was economically viable.

The original pottery workers are listed in the booklet The Cumnock Pottery by Gerard Quail. They were:

William Inglis (thrower), William Fisher (wheelman), Robert Young (helper to the wheel), William McMillan (fireman), James Baird (fettler), William Johnston (2nd thrower), Thomas Stoddart (2nd fettler), Hugh Thomson (apprentice), George Dickinson (turner), Andrew Thomson (boy), James Lambie (boy), James McCowan (pan man) and Thomas Ferguson (Warehouseman).

William Inglis was born in Prestonpans, son of a potter

James Baird was born probably in Cumnock and his descendants were also potters

Thomas Stoddart was born 1785 in Cumnock. A fettler was a pottery worker who smooths greenware with a knife, felt, emery, and a wet sponge.

Pottery workers were housed in terraced cottages near the pottery in part of Glaisnock St called Pottery Row. These cottages are still standing. James Baird 1841-1931 the grandson of the aforementioned James Baird, also a potter lived in Pottery Row at 97 Glaisnock street all his life. It was likely the house of his grandfather too,

James Baird outside his house in Pottery row

 

The 1841 census for Old Cumnock lists the following eight potters

Robert Murray (born in Sorn, Ayrshire)

Thomas Walker 55 (birthplace outwith Ayrshire)

William Scott 40 (Portobello)

John Thomson 20 (Portobello) stepson of the above William Scott

Lockhart Noble (Glasgow) 

James Baird (probably Cumnock)

James Nichol 20 salesman and potter (Cumnock) This is James McGavin Nicol  who  was appointed the manager of the Cumnock Pottery & Tile Co. in 1852 and 4 years later became the new proprietor. Under his management the business realised its full potential and Cumnock Pottery became known throughout the country.

The Nicol family had been tenant farmers on the Dumfries Estate for several generations. James McGavin Nicol was the eldest son of James Nicol, a Cumnock grocer. When he assumed control of the Pottery in 1857 he was 36 years old. Under his ownership the Motto Ware was properly marketed and grew in popularity. This was achieved by opening up premises in Cumnock which was at that time a thriving town and by using the new railway system to expand the sales market. This was also the period of an increase in travel for pleasure and sport – with town-dwelling day-trippers buying Cumnock Pottery as a gift or memento. By the Census of 1871 the Pottery employed 9 adults and 6 young persons.

In 1881 James McGavin Nicol and his wife Annie Clarkson were living at Herdstone Cottage 109 Glaisnock street. Also at home were sons James (20) William (18) John (9) and Marcus (10 months) and Nicol’s stepson David Robert Dunsmore (26). The Nicol family also had a servant Betsy Black. Senior potters were William Baird (54) and George Simpson (40) and Alex Nicol of Mauchline. In 1881 a total of 20 people were employed in the Pottery.

After old Mr. Nicol died in 1885 the pottery was managed by the stepson David Dunsmor, who ran the office side, but the practical work was overseen by son James Nicol. Dunsmore was now the driving force behind the Pottery. He was a time-served potter, had good management skills and had progressive ideas about marketing the pottery. The Ppottery under his management reached its maximum output and widest market.

In 1920 Dunsmore decided to close the Pottery and wind up the business. The main reasons for closure were economic – with a shortage of easily dug clay and the fashion change towards imported china.

Much later potters from Portobello wee still coming to Cumnock, notably Joseph Hunter aka Pottery Joe born in Coalsnaughton in 1855 and a potter at Portobello. He seems to have moved between Ayrshire and Portobello. 

Joe's Brig

Built to replace the old stepping-stone ford at Greenholm just downstream from the present Greenholm Brig at Asda.

Joe Hunter, a potter at Cumnock Pottery in Glaisnock Street first petitioned the Town Council to build a bridge at Greenholm to replace the Stepping Stone Ford in 1909. Joe and his family lived at 112 Townhead Street and he regularly used the Stepping Stones as a short cut to work but as he had fallen in on one occasion and traffic was increasing over the ford, he kept up his request to the council. By 1914 his representations to the council bore fruit and they agreed to hold a count of how many people crossed the ford in a single day. The number was over 500 so Joe’s persistence paid off and the council agreed to build the bridge. The bridge was described in the Cumnock Chronicle as “Situated about 20 feet further up the Glaisnock Water than the Stepping Stones, the bridge is rustic in design and in addition to its usefulness as a footway is a most artistic landmark. It is built on three strong concrete piers reinforced with ironwork structure. The wood is larch throughout and all locally grown. The foundation consists of four stout trunks bolted to the piers while stout angle brackets and a firm bracework support another four trunks two feet higher up. Binding bolts three feet long secure the structure at various points. The rustic work along the sides, the wood for which was taken from Barshare, rises from the lower trunks to a height of five feet high. To minimise danger to children the inside of the rail-work has been wired. From end to end the bridge measures 45 feet and the footway is three feet wide. Concrete steps have been erected at either side and probably a simple fence will complete the pleasant effect and lessen the risk of pedestrians missing the entrance in the dark. The old stepping stones will be utilised as a breakwater for the central pier.”

The new bridge then quickly became known as Joe’s Brig in honour of this tireless campaigner. This brig remained in constant use until 1927 when the now defunct Rifleman's Brig was offered to the Town Council as a replacement. This was considered but not accepted. The wooden Joe’s Brig was now becoming unsafe and was replaced around 1930s with a brand-new metal brig which served the public until 1967 when it became dangerous and was taken down – the decision not to replace it was taken in the light of the Greenholm Brig being wider and newer. However, the brig was put into storage by the council then repaired and moved to span the Glaisnock Water at the new Ayr Road car park around 1973 and remained there until 1977 when it was replaced with the new Keir McTurk Brig which remains today.

John Lowther

 by Roberta McGee

John Lowther was born in 1889 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. His father was Wilfred Lowther, a hawker, born in Bootle, Cumberland in 1866 to James and Eleanor Lowther (nee Burns), who were earthenware dealers. James came from a long line of Cumberland potters.

In 1881 Wilfred can be found in Kendal living with his sister Mary and her husband Joseph Miller. The Millers were a large travelling family of hawkers and horse dealers.

Read more about hawkers here Pedlars Tinkers and Hawkers - The Social Historian.

Cumnock Connections - Family Tree (tribalpages.com)

Wilfred married Elizabeth Moorehead in January 1888 at Cockermouth and their son John Lowther was born there in 1889. However, their marriage was short-lived because Wilfred died suddenly in April 1889, aged 22 years, at their house in St. Helen's Street, Cockermouth. So, at 21 years , Elizabeth was a widow. She moved, with her son, to Watchhill, Allhallows, Cumberland, to live with her widowed mother Betty Moorehead who had a grocer's shop there. 

By 1895 William Moorehead, Betty's son (Elizabeth's brother), was living in Old Cumnock and Betty, Elizabeth and John joined him there. William had been a coal miner in Allhallows but was now managing a lodging house in Elbow Lane, Cumnock. They did have connections in the area. Betty's brother was John Hall, a hawker, later swine dealer, who had married Jane Cunningham, the sister of Bob (Dishy) Watsons mother Christina Cunningham. The Halls had emigrated to Australia in 1887. 

On 31st December 1897 at Elbow Lane, Cumnock, Elizabeth married Hugh Walker.

Marriage Certificate:

Hugh Walker aged 30 years, hawker, bachelor, Lugar Street, Cumnock. Father: John Walker, coal miner Mother: Annie Walker ms McMillan deceased to Elizabeth Moorehead, aged 29 years, widow, Elbow Lane, Cumnock Father: John Moorehead, mason, deceased Mo: Elizabeth Moorhead ms Hall. Witnesses: William Moorehead and Hannah Hodgson.

In 1901 Betty Moorehead, John Lowther's grandmother, is managing the lodging house in Elbow Lane, Cumnock, assisting her 35 years old son William who is described as 'lodging house keeper'. There were 35 boarders. Her daughter, now Mrs Hugh Walker, is living in Townhead Street with her husband who is a china hawker, her son John Lowther aged 12 years, daughter Agnes Walker aged 3 years and son John Walker aged 8 months. So she had two sons named John, albeit with different surnames, carrying on the family tradition on both sides of the family it seems. 

Sadly Betty Died on 30th October 1903 at Elbow Lane, Cumnock.

Death Certificate:

Betty Moorehead, aged 67 years, widow of John MacKenzie Moorehead, hawker. Father: George Hall, horse dealer deceased Mother: Catherine Hall ms Lowther deceased. Cause of Death: Chronic Bright's Disease. Informant: Wm. Moorehead, son.

On 31st December 1914 John Lowther married Christine Watson, the sister of Bob (Dishy) Watson.

Marriage Certificate:

At 4 Minerva Street, Glasgow by Declaration in presence of Robert Watson, general dealer and Agnes Walker, spinster, John Lowther, aged 25 years, fish salesman, bachelor, 104 Townhead Street, Old Cumnock  Father: Wilfred Lowther, general hawker deceased Mother: Elizabeth Lowther now Walker ms Moorehead to Christina Watson, aged 24 years, Wood Street, Catrine Father: Robert Watson, horse dealer Mo: Christina Watson ms Cunningham.

John and Christina had three children together, Wilfred born 1916 Cumnock, Christina born 1917 Cumnock and Betty born 1919 Cumnock.

1918 proved to be a tragic year for John and his family.  There was an influenza epidemic in Cumnock and his young half-sister Annie Walker died on 8th July 1918 at Townhead Street. She was thirteen years old. Her death was followed by that of her sister Elizabeth Walker on 18th October 1918. She was sixteen years old. 

Two and a half years later John's wife Christina Cunningham Watson Lowther died on twenty sixth of January 1921 at 89 Townhead Street, Cumnock. She had suffered from Jacksonian epilepsy for eight years and died from heart failure. John was left with three small children to raise. Christina's sister Mary Ann Watson stepped in and took care of them while John worked as a fish salesman and at the end of the year John and Mary got married.

Marriage Certificate:

On 27th December 1921 at The County Buildings, Ayr by Declaration in presence of William Hodgson, fishmonger and Elizabeth Watson or Hodgson, both of 89 Townhead Street, Old Cumnock John Lowther, aged 37 years, fish salesman, widower, 89 Townhead Street, Old Cumnock  Father: Wilfred Lowther, horse dealer deceased Mother: Elizabeth Lowther ms Moorehead to Mary Watson aged 25 years, housekeeper, spinster, 89 Townhead Street, Old Cumnock Father: Robert Watson, china merchant Mother: Christina Watson ms Cunningham deceased.

John and Mary's son, Robert (Bobby) Watson Lowther was born in 1924 in Cumnock. 

John and Mary decided to emigrate to New Zealand and on 13th April 1926 they boarded the ship 'Mahona' at Liverpool and set sail for Auckland, New Zealand.

Passenger List - 13/4/1926 - Ship 'Mahona' - Liverpool to Auckland, New Zealand

John Lowther 33 fishmonger, Mrs John Lowther 29 wife, Wilfred Lowther 10, Christina Lowther 9, Betty Lowther 7, Robert Lowther 2 

89 Townhead Street, Old Cumnock, Ayrshire 

On 30th November 1927 their son John (Jack) Cunningham Watson Lowther was born in New Zealand. When Jack was in his twenties he visited Cumnock and fell in love with his cousin Christine Watson whose father was Bob Watson (Dishy). Jack and Christine were married in 1950 at Blythswood, Glasgow. They opened a fish and chip shop in her parents' house in Townhead Street but eventually Jack returned to New Zealand/Australia accompanied by his new wife. 

John Lowther's children with Christina Watson

1.     Wilfred Watson Lowther was born in 1916 in Old Cumnock and died 8/4/1985 at 

        141 Musselburgh Rise, Dunedin, New Zealand. He was 69 years old and a retired sales

        consultant. He married Agnes Sheila Brown on 28/7/1946 at St. Joseph's Cathedral.

        Dunedin.

2.    Christian (Christina) Cunningham Lowther was born in 1917 in Old Cumnock

       and died in New Zealand.

3.    Elizabeth (Betty) Moorehead Lowther was born in 1919 in Old Cumnock and died after

       1954 in New Zealand.  The 1954 Electoral Roll shows her living at 66 Harbour Terrace,

       North Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. She is a spinster and is living with her widowed

       mother Mary Lowther.

John Lowther's children with Mary Ann Watson

4.    Robert (Bobby) Watson Lowther was born in 1924 in Old Cumnock and died 4/6/1981 at

       Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Bob married Margaret Joyce Armstrong.

5.    John (Jack) Cunningham Watson Lowther was born 30/11/1927 in New Zealand and

       died 9/1/1991 in Queensland, Australia. He married Christine Watson in 1950 at Blythwood,                    Glasgow and they lived for a time in Townhead Street, Cumnock.  Christine is the daughter of               Robert Watson and Maggie McGee of Cumnock.

                                                             Brothers Bobby & Jack Lowther

John Lowther died 21st September 1946 in Dunedin, New Zealand. He was 57 years old. Mary, his wife, died 2nd February 1979 also in Dunedin, New Zealand. Mary was 82 years old. They are buried in Anderson's Bay Cemetery, Dunedin. A horse's head is etched on the gravestone, perhaps a nod to his traveller's background.  

John Lowther's journey through life took him from Cumberland to Cumnock and from Cumnock to Australia and New Zealand. He had experienced the joy of his children's births and the heartache of the death of his first wife and of his two young half-sisters in Cumnock. He found happiness again with his second marriage and courageously moved to the other side of the world to make better lives for his family. Being part of the travelling community and having relatives already in Australia and New Zealand would have helped the family settle in more easily.