Port Dundas Pottery

Port Dundas, Cabbage jug
Port Dundas, Cabbage jug
Port Dundas Pottery Engraving
Engraving of Port Dundas Pottery

Overview

Established in 1828 by William Johnstone in partnership with John Forsyth and John McColl. 
Located where the Forth and Clyde Canal joined the Monkland Canal, just to the North of Glasgow. 

Johnstone sold the pottery in 1835 to Robert Cochran and James Couper. 
John McColl was retained as manager until 1837. 
Cochran & Couper sold in 1839 and purchased the St Rollex Glass Works. 
George Duncan took over briefly but died in 1841, with the pottery possibly being run by his widow Helen and a potter named Alexander Paul. 
James Miller was manager and he bought the pottery in 1856, in partnership with John Moody. 

Miller’s long and careful stewardship of the pottery saw success from the export market which allowed him to purchase the North British pottery in 1867 until 1874 when it was sold.  In 1875, Miller, in partnership with John Young, leased part of Caledonian Pottery, naming it Crown Pottery, however it burned down in 1879.

In the early 1880s, Young extended the pottery and named it Milton Pottery.  Miller’s son, James W., became partner in Milton pottery in 1905. 

James Miller died in 1905 and the company continued as a limited liability company, being sold to the Borax Consolidation Ltd in 1929, but it was unsuccessful and Possil pottery purchased some equipment before it was finally closed in 1932. 

 

Main Products

From 1828 until James Miller period of c 1856, the pottery produced salt-glazed stoneware for the local industrial trade; mainly bottles and drain pipes.

James Miller produced bottles, whisky and acid jars, casks, butter crocks, jam jars and domestic wares in Bristol glaze. He streamlined the water filter manufacturing, which had become a speciality of the pottery, and a dedicated section of the pottery was created solely for their production, which were exported worldwide to great acclaim, winning the gold medal award in Chile in 1875. 

Exports to South America and the Pacific Rim, especially beer bottles from 1870 to South America. Exports to Norway are recorded.

Crown pottery made splash-glazed plates and caneware baking dishes. 

Milton pottery was known for making electrical insulators

Articles in SPHR

Typical Backstamps & Marks

“Port Dundas Pottery”, impressed

Pattern Names

No pattern names were used

Other Publications & Links

Public Collections

5 thoughts on “Port Dundas Pottery”

  1. We just excavated from our garden a ceramic bottle bottom fragment which bears the oval backstamp imprint: “Port-Dundas Pottery Glasgow”.
    Fort Bragg, California 95437 USA — Pacific Rim

  2. We just came across a lovely large flagon made by Port Dundas Pottery Glasgow for Charles Meston, Family Grocer, Elgin, a lovely piece of old pottery.

  3. Does your society have a link for Port-Dundas pottery manufacturing dates ? I have a port or stout bottle with a T next to the makers mark. Thank you, Bob

  4. Hi
    I live in South Africa and have a large Port Dundas bottle of about 22 ins tall would love to know when it was made . Only has a oval Port Dundas pottery samp on the side of the pot by the handle . Would love to know the age on the old guy

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