Thomas Godwin






 

Location and period of operation:

Thomas Godwin

Burslem

Jan 1834

1854

 

Earthenware manufacturer at Burslem Wharf, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. 

  • Formerly the brothers Thomas and Benjamin Godwin were in business together (c.1809-34). 

  • Benjamin Godwin died and in 1834 Thomas continued the business on his own account

  • Thomas Godwin's factory was the Canal Works at Burslem Wharf,  Navigation Road, Burslem - see map -

  • Some marks have the wording: "T. Goodwin Wharf' - this has caused confusion as some collectors have read 'Wharf' as the name of the maker instead of the location of the works. 

 

Formerly:  Thomas and Benjamin Godwin

 

 

The London Gazette
31st January 1834


notice of the dissolution of the partnership
following the death of Benjamin Godwin 

 

 

T & B Godwin
Burslem
Stone China 		 Medina
T.G.

Medina is the pattern name 

this plate carried the mark of Thomas & Benjamin Godwin (1809-34)
and Thomas Godwin (1834-54) it must have been produced just 
at the time that Benjamin had died and Thomas continued on his own account 

 

 


American Views
T GODWIN WHARF

American Views was a series of transferware prints
- in this instance the engraving was of The Capitol Building in Washington DC - 

The manufacturer was Thomas Goodwin and 'WHARF' refers to the 
location of the factory at Burslem Wharf 

The mark incorporates the Royal Arms and the version shown is that used
pre-1837 when Queen Victoria came to the throne

 

 

 
black transferware - W Penn's Treaty

William Penn (1644 – 1718) was an early member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the English North American colony the Province of Pennsylvania. 

He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. 

William Penn on Wikipedia 

  


  
ironstone three part dish with lid - black transferware - Marinn pattern

 

 

 

 
drainer in the Medina pattern 

 

 

 


blue & white transferware platter depicting the Crystal Palace built for the 1851 Great Exhibition
the border depicts bee hives and set squares & compasses for industry and engineering, 
music & instruments for the arts and agricultural scenes.  
The Crystal Palace was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Held in Hyde Park, London. This was planned as the first international event of its kind to exhibit the 'Works of Industry of all Nations' 

Wikipedia article of the Great Exhibition



Crystal Palace
T Godwin 

Ware with an engraving of the Cystal Palace was also made by the North Staffordshire potter Pinder, Bourne & Hope and the Glasgow potters J. & M. P. Bell and Robert Cochran & Co. 

 

 

  
blue & white transferware plate in the Polish Star pattern


  

fragment of the Polish Star pattern discovered in 2025 on the site of an old town site in Louisiana, US.

The town was establish around 1839 and destroyed by fire in 1863
some rebuilding took place in the 1880s 

photos courtesy: Raymond Downs  

 

 

Marks and initials used on ware for identification:

Godwin did not have a standard mark 
- each pattern had its own ornamental cartouche incorporating the name or initials

 

T G

Thos Godwin

T Godwin

T GODWIN WHARF

 



Thos Godwin
Burslem
Stone China 

mark in the same style of that previously
used by Thomas & Benjamin Godwin

 


TG

 W Penn's Treaty is the subject matter of the plate

 


Ironstone 
T Goodwin 

Marinn is the pattern name 

 

 


Ironstone 
T Goodwin 

Mezieres is the pattern name 

the registration diamond shows the the pattern was registered on the 11 September 1845

 

 

Burslem Wharf, Navigation Road

 


1851 map showing Godwin's factory (marked in red) 
- the Canal Works at Burslem Wharf at the bottom of  Navigation Road

 

 

 


1879 map showing the Burslem Branch Canal and Wharf 

When the branch canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1797, it paved the way for Burslem to become the Mother Town of The Potteries.

Construction work was completed in 1805, 30 years after James Brindley completed the adjoining Trent and Mersey Canal.

Large quantities of china clay, stone and other raw materials were shipped in for use at the Burslem potbanks and finished ware was exported to the Americas via the River Mersey and Liverpool Docks.

 

Questions, comments, contributions? email: Steve Birks