Overview
The first note of the pottery is around 1860, when Mr William Lyon is recorded as the owner of the dwelling house and attached brick, tile and pottery works then listed as Mountainblue pottery.
One of the furthest East Glasgow potteries, it was situated in Camlachie district, modern day Parkhead.
Considerable confusion exists regarding the early ownership of the pottery, not helped by J A Fleming’s inaccuracies in his accounts provided in his book Scottish Ceramics.
William Lyon was a one time owner, probably the founder, and is known to have fathered 13 children. He died in 1846 of dropsy and he was buried in lair delta 167 of the Glasgow Necropolis on 18 June 1846.
An attached engine works, of the same name, was operated alongside the pottery. Census returns show that, of William’s children, John was the only one consistently listed as a “potter”.
The works were disused for some years before appearing for sale in April 1877.
It was sold in 1878 to James Brown, and it disappears from records in 1912.
Main Products
Under the Lyons, the wares were domestic utilitarian stoneware crocks of jam jars, butter crocks etc.
James Brown is listed as having produced flower pots and brown earthenware. Marked stoneware is known from this period.
Wares were probably only made for the local domestic market.
Articles in SPHR
- 5 - The Mountblue Pottery Co Glasgow
- 20 - The Lyon Family and The Mountainbleau or Mountainblue Pottery by Henry E Kelly
Articles in Bulletin (Members only)
- .
Typical Backstamps & Marks
Impressed “Mount Blue Pottery Glasgow”
Pattern Names
- No patterns are known.
Other Publications & Links
Public Collections
- None are known
I am a decendant of William Lyon. His father was William Lyon and his mother was Elizabeth Edmiston Lyon. My great grandfather William Lyon, born 1855, moved to the US and after settling in San Antonio, Texas married, moved to Fox Island Washington. Then back to Falls, County Texas to a place they called Deny Switch and made pottery.
jeane.ward5256@gmail.com
I eould love more info about my ancestors.