North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century

Set against the bustling ports of 17th‑century Barnstaple and Bideford, this study uncovers a forgotten chapter of Anglo‑American commerce. It follows the rise of these Devon towns as vital links in the tobacco and fishing trades, while also revealing how their thriving earthenware workshops supplied the colonies with everyday pottery. Through ship logs, court records and early merchant correspondence, the narrative paints a vivid picture of the networks that connected English potters with Virginia, Maryland and New England.

The author draws on archaeological finds from colonial sites and British archives to argue that North Devon’s ceramic output once rivaled that of the better‑known Staffordshire factories. By tracing the routes of specific vessels and the families who acted as agents across the Atlantic, the book shows how a modest regional industry became an essential part of early American household life. Readers gain fresh insight into the material culture that helped shape the trans‑Atlantic world of the seventeenth century.