Swansea

Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales · Porcelain And Pottery · also recorded as Dillwyn & Co, Bevington & Co, Cambrian Pottery

Transcribed by Igor Kukolj from Chaffers, William. Marks and Monograms on European and Oriental Pottery and Porcelain, 1891, Reeves & Turner, London, p.860. Scan: archive.org/details/marksmonogramson00chaf (leaf n879). Checked 21 August 2026.

Marks

The SWANSEA mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — c.1815
**SWANSEA** · impressed, or stencilled in red · *engraved in the source*Chaffers 1891, p.860
The plain name. Chaffers gives it in more than one setting — roman capitals and upper-and-lower — so the letterform alone does not distinguish a period.

The SWANSEA, in a ruled box mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — **SWANSEA, in a ruled box** · impressed · *engraved in the source*Chaffers 1891, p.860
Found on a plate whose companion from the same service carried the DILLWYN & Co mark instead. Two pieces of one service can therefore carry different marks — which is the single most useful fact on this page.

The BEVINGTON & Co., SWANSEA mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — 'recent manufacture' as of 1891
**BEVINGTON & Co., SWANSEA** · impressed · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a biscuit chimney ornament of a ram lying down, in the Geological Museum.Chaffers 1891, p.860
Chaffers admits he knows nothing about Bevington. The impressed letters I. W. found separately on the same piece are, he suggests, the modeller's.

The A trident mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — **A trident** · impressed · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on three feet of a sugar-basin of white porcelain, alongside the word SWANSEA.Chaffers 1891, p.860
Adopted on some supposed improvement in the ware, so the trident is a claim about quality rather than merely an identifier.

The Two crossed tridents mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — **Two crossed tridents** · impressed without colour · *engraved in the source*
Recorded on a porcelain basin and dish painted with detached pink roses and green leaves on gold moss.Chaffers 1891, p.860

The C. HEATHCOTE & Co · feathers · CAMBRIA · No 7 mark as engraved in Chaffers 1891, page 860 — **C. HEATHCOTE & Co · feathers · CAMBRIA · No 7** · printed · *engraved in the source*Chaffers 1891, p.860Attribution disputed by the source
Chaffers heads this one 'WALES?' with the question mark. He says it appears to be a mark of the principality, but that whether C. Heathcote & Co was established in Wales or in Staffordshire he has no information — and that the feathers and 'Cambria' may refer to the pattern or to the clay rather than the place, since 'Cambrian Argil' was used by Mason of Lane Delph.

What the source records

The word SWANSEA is frequently found impressed on the ware or stencilled in red.Chaffers 1891 · p.860
The porcelain of 1815 is distinguished by its fine quality; the pattern is usually pink roses with designs and borders in gold.Chaffers 1891 · p.860
The SWANSEA and DILLWYN & Co marks were found separately impressed on two porcelain plates from the same service, painted with bouquets and groups of flowers in the centre, in the possession of Mr A. W. Franks.Chaffers 1891 · p.860
The name of Bevington is occasionally found on pieces of recent manufacture; Chaffers says he had no information respecting him.Chaffers 1891 · p.860
The Bevington mark was recorded impressed on a biscuit chimney ornament of a ram lying down, in the Geological Museum, with the separate impressed letters I. W. — probably those of the modeller.Chaffers 1891 · p.860
The trident mark was adopted on some supposed improvement in the ware.Chaffers 1891 · p.860

Why this differs from other listings

Two plates from a single Swansea service carried different marks — SWANSEA on one, DILLWYN & Co on the other. That is stated with the collection it was observed in, and it undercuts the usual assumption that one service means one mark. The page also carries a mark Chaffers refuses to place: the Cambria feathers may be a pattern name rather than a Welsh origin.

The source page

Page 860 of Chaffers 1891, the source for this entry — Chaffers 1891, p.860 — public domain, from archive.org/details/marksmonogramson00chaf (leaf n879). Check the transcription against it.

What this entry does not establish

The Cambria / C. Heathcote mark is not established as Welsh. Chaffers puts a question mark on it and this entry keeps it.
Bevington is undated and unresearched in the source — 'recent manufacture' is relative to 1891.
Nantgarw, established 1813 by Billingsley, begins on this page and continues beyond it; it is not transcribed here.