Thomas Bentley (1731–1780) was an English manufacturer of
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, known for his partnership with
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...
.
Life
He was born at
Scropton
Foston and Scropton is a civil parish in the Dove valley in South Derbyshire. It includes the village of Scropton and hamlet of Foston. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 728 increasing to 854 at the 2011 Census.
The Dome ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, on 1 January 1731. His father, Thomas Bentley, was a country gentleman of some property. After receiving his education at the neighbouring presbyterian academy at
Findern
Findern is a village and civil parish in the District of South Derbyshire, approximately 5–6 miles south of Derby (Grid reference: ). The population of the civil parish was 1,669 at the 2011 Census. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Bo ...
, young Bentley, being then about sixteen years of age, was placed in a warehouse at
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
to learn the processes of the woollen and cotton trades.
On the expiration of his apprenticeship he travelled for some time upon the continent, and after his return he married, in 1754, Miss Hannah Oates of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
. He then settled in Liverpool, where he set up in business as a Manchester warehouseman, and afterwards took James Boardman into partnership. In 1757 he assisted in founding
Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the established Church of England. It was located in Warrington (then ...
, and in 1762 in building the
Octagon Chapel in Temple Court,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, for the use of a body of
Dissenters
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc.
Usage in Christianity
Dissent from the Anglican church
In the social and religious history of England and Wales, an ...
, of which he was a prominent member; they preferred a liturgy, but had scruples with regard to the use of the
Athanasian Creed and other parts of the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
''. The congregation of this chapel were called ‘Octagonians;’ but the life of this sect was short, and not long after Bentley's move to London the chapel was closed, and the building sold to the corporation.
In 1762 he was introduced to Josiah Wedgwood by
Matthew Turner, when the former was laid up at Liverpool by an accident to his knee. The friendship was lifelong. Wedgwood made his first proposals to Bentley about to a partnership towards the close of 1766, but it was not until 14 November 1768 that the partnership actually began. In the same month Bentley took up his residence at the Brick House,
Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.
T ...
. This was, however, merely a temporary residence, as he had not then given up his partnership with Boardman in Liverpool.
On 13 June 1769 part of the
Etruria Works
The Etruria Works was a ceramics factory opened by Josiah Wedgwood in 1769 in a district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which he named Etruria. The factory ran for 180 years, as part of the wider Wedgwood business.
Wedgwood kept ...
in Staffordshire was opened; but, though a house was specially built for him there, he never seems to have occupied it. In 1769 he finally left Liverpool, and after living for a short time at the warehouse in Newport Street, London, he moved to Little Cheyne Row,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, in order to be near the works which the firm had lately established there for
overglaze
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firing ...
painting.
On 22 June 1772, at All Saints, Derby, Bentley married Mary, the daughter of Mr. Stamford, an engineer of that town, his first wife having died in childbirth within two years from the date of their marriage. In 1774 he moved from Chelsea to 12
Greek Street, Soho
Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature.
History
It is thought to take its name from a Greek church that was built in 16 ...
, to superintend the works which were being carried on there by the firm. His health, however, failed, and in order to get change of air and scene he took up residence at
Turnham Green
Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Little S ...
in 1777. After a protracted illness he died there, 26 November 1780, at the age of forty-nine, and was buried in
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
church (in west
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
), where a monument, with a medallion portrait by
Thomas Scheemakers
Thomas Scheemakers (c. 1740 – 15 July 1808), or Thomas Scheemaeckers according to his own signature, was a sculptor in late 18th-century London. He was the last of the Scheemaeckers family of sculptors originally from Antwerp. Several of his wor ...
(in his role of running his deceased father,
Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicist style had an important influenc ...
' company),
[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Peter Scheemakers] was raised to his memory by his friend Wedgwood.
The partnership between Wedgwood and Bentley was confined to the manufacture and sale of ornamental goods. To wind up the accounts, all the ornamental ware in stock was sold by auction at
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
: the sale lasted twelve days. Amongst his friends and associates were
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
,
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
, and
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
. He wrote pamphlets, articles, and political songs, and contributed frequently to the ''Monthly Review''. The article on Brindley in the ''Biographia Britannica'' was written by him from materials obtained for him by Wedgwood and another friend. His acquaintance with art patrons of the day meant they were able to obtain loans of valuable specimens for the purposes of reproduction.
His Will, proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 2 January 1781 left £800 to his sister-in-law Elizabeth Oates, £200 to his business partner James Boardman, and to Josiah Wedgwood his share of the "Books of Antiquities and other Prints and printed books" that he owned jointly with Josiah. The remainder of his real and personal estate was left to his "dear and truly affectionate wife Mary" who was his sole Executrix.
References
*
https://jjhc.info/bentleythomas1780
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Thomas
1731 births
1780 deaths
English businesspeople
People from South Derbyshire District
Wedgwood pottery