Inchicore Pressed Glass Works Private Museum (Bank Quay Glassworks)

The Bank Quay Glassworks Warrington Lancashire

1757-1884

1757-1789 Peter Seaman & Co

The Bank Quay Glassworks which made Flint and bottle glass was opened in 1757 by the four-person partnership of Peter Seaman and Robert Patten (Warrington) - Edward Deane and Thomas Falkner (Liverpool). Peter Seaman, the local innkeeper with the financial backing of the other partners, leased land from Thomas Patten at Bank Quay. The site was undoubtedly chosen to make full use of water transport as Thomas Patten had made the Mersey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersey_and_Irwell_Navigation navigable to Bank Quay so that he could import copper from Ireland for his smelting works at Bank Quay.

1795-1824 Perrin, Geddes & Co.

This nine-person partnership was dissolved on the 30th of June 1824. Three of the partners were deceased - Edward D. Falkner - William Geddes and Amy Seaman. The other partners were Hannah Evans – P Nicholson – Peter Vawdrey - Joseph Flintoft - Marie Flintoft and Josiah Perrin the younger. (Son of Joseph Perrin - Nephew of Josiah Perrin of Josiah Perrin & Co - Glass Merchant)

Notes

Amy Seaman died 27th August 1798

Interesting that John Arthur Borron was the Executors of the late William Geddes. (see 1824 – 1826 Bank Quay Glass Company, below).

1824-1826 Bank Quay Glass Company

This four-person partnership consists of - Edward Falkner (deceased 1824) – John Arthur Borron - David Carruthers - Edward Garven. It was dissolved on the 30th of June 1826.

1826-1848 Bank Quay Glass Company

This four-person partnership consists of John Banastre Falkner [This fellow’s name is interesting, as the MP from Liverpool had been Sir Banastre Tarleton, a soldier during the Revolutionary War in America. It would be interesting to know if this fellow was a relation or just named after the MP. Tarleton was MP when the Prince Regent came to Liverpool in 1806.] - John Arthur Borron – David Carruthers and Edward Garven. By 1833 the company had gone over solely to bottle production as it had become more profitable to produce black bottle metal for export to Ireland after the introduction of the excise tax in Ireland in 1825.

Note:

John Arthur Borron died July 1849 age 77 (Little Woolden Hall Cadishead Warrington) and his wife Mary Geddes died 24th April 1834. She was the daughter of Archibald Geddes Hermitage Park Leith.

1848-1881 Charles H Cartwright & Sons

This three-person partnership consisted of - Charles H Cartwright who took over the Bank Quay Glass Company 1848. In time his two sons joined the business. The partnership was dissolved on the 22th September 1881. Charles H Cartwright died in 1884.

1881-1883 Cartwright Brothers

The two brothers’ partnership, Walther J Cartwright and Thomas J Cartwright, continued the business at the premise now known as the Old Works Bank Quay. It is probable that they had a disagreement and dissolved their partnership on the 23th of August 1883.

1883-1884 T J Cartwright and Co.

Thomas J Cartwright closed the glasswork in 1884 due to completion from the St Helens glass industry. Interesting that Crosfield’s the soap manufacture paid £3000 for the glassworks in September 1893.

“Side Note,”

Peter Seaman (Owner Of The ‘‘Eagle and Child” Inn ) was the descendant of an old and respectable family resident at Middlewich for several generations (Peter Seaman & Co 1757-1789) was the father-in-law of Josiah Perrin as he married his daughter, Catherine in 1778 ( See Notes ) His sisters in law were Amy Seaman (1795-1824 Perrin, Geddes & Co.), Elizabeth married to James Nicholson of Warrington, Mary (wife no 2) married to Daniel Vawdrey and Hannah married to Sir William David Evans, Knight and for many years one of the Benchers of Gray’s Inn, and successively a Chairman of Quarter Sessions, and Vice Chancellor of the county palatine of Lancaster, and the Vice Admiralty Court of Bombay.

1767- 1791 Josiah Perrin & Co the Warrington Wholesale and Retail Warehouse

The popular belief is that Josiah Perrin & Co operated a Glassworks at Bank Quay. It is interesting that he is not listed in the Warrington 1771 rate book. The only evidence that I have found is that in 1767 he set up – The Warrington Wholesale and Retail Warehouse (A Glass Warehouse – see notes - reference the Liverpool Advertiser 1767) at Old Church Alley Liverpool.

It is oblivious that Josiah Perrin had a good knowledge of the glass industry as he was involved in the manufacture of flint glass and bottles at the Old Glasshouse in Hanover Street, Liverpool in 1761 as either a manager or partner with Samuel Woods who is listed as the occupier of the glassworks in The Liverpool Poll book, 1759, 1761 and 1762. From the Poll Book of 1754 and 1761 we learn that William Atherton (Senior and Junior), Isaac Houghton, John Manchester and Daniel Parr are listed as working in the glasshouse. There is a possibility that Thomas Holt and Co acquired the Old Glasshouse in Hanover Streetin 1781. The glassworks was originally started in 1715 by Josia Poole.

We know from an advertisement in the Ibidem 7th of August 1761 that Josiah Perrin was working at the Old Glasshouse. We presume that Josiah Perrin left before the death of Samuel Woods in 1862 and he went to work for Peter Seaman & Co at Bank Quay (see reference, Old Lancashire Glasshouses by Francis Buckley). We now have to presume that Peter Seaman was probably involved in the Warrington Wholesale and Retail Warehouse.

There is a suggestion that Josiah Perrin probably had connections with the Perrins glass-makers of Bristol as the name appears many times in the Bristol’s Poll Lists. It is likely that Josiah Perrin may have been employed in the glass industry in Bristol as a glasscutter. We know that he was buying his glass in Warrington off Peter Seaman & Co and also off the Bristol Glasshouses where Michael Edkins ‘was engraving glass’ (1760-1770).

By 1790 he is listed as selling glass in a warehouse at no 9 water streets Liverpool. In 1791 he handed over or sold The Warrington Wholesale and Retail Warehouse to John Kirk who had been in his employment for three years. At this stage in his life he had accumulated a lot of wealth and around 1791 he bought an estate called the Manor of Mooresbarrow cum Parme.

We have evidence that he sold a cargo of glass in 1776 to Frederick Rhinelander (1743-1805) a leading glass merchant of New York America. It is interesting that in correspondence with Frederick Rhinelander he is known as the Manager of Bank Quay Glasshouse near Warrington. Frederick was not impressed with the price he was charged as the Bristol Glass companies were cheaper. He was charged two shilling and sixpence per dozen for dram bottles as opposed to the eight pence by the Bristol glass companies. I wonder were the Bristol glass companies evading paying the glass duty or was Josiah Perrin extracting maximum profit from the trade. The Bristol Glass companies exporting glass to Frederick Rhinelander in New York from the Liverpool port (due to cheap freight charges) were Richard Cannington & Co of the Temple Gate glassworks and Vigor and Stevens of Thomas Street (1775-1787). Liverpool was the place to be located during the late 18th century as 17% - 20% of all British exports went through Liverpool.

Josiah Perrin was instrumental in setting up Perrin Geddes & Co. He probably had become head of the Seaman family after Peter Seaman died 1787. He acquired the share of Edward Deane and Thomas Falkner the Liverpool merchants with the help of his brothers’ in law.

Joshua Perrin died in 1796 and his only child, Sarah, age 12, became his heir at law. At this time 1796 Joseph Perrin, nephew of Joshua Perrin, probably became involved in Perrin, Geddes & Co. Sarah Perrin died on the 5th of July 1803 age 19. She had one son, Archibald Geddes, but by a “twist of fate” (Reference the will of her late father sees notes) the children of Joseph Perrins’ – Josiah the younger and Maria took over the business.Unbeknownst to himself, in 1767, Josiah Perrin had sown the seeds for the Perrins’ to be the major player in the Warrington glass industry (see also history of Cockhedge Glassworks Scotland Road Warrington) and no better man than Joseph Perrin to continue in his footsteps. He was probably instrumental in making sure that when the Prince of Wales, the soon to be Prince Regent, visited Liverpool on Thursday 18th of September 1806, that Perrin, Geddes & Co had the finest set of glassware ever produced by a British Manufacture during the Regency period on the table for them to drink their port .