The origins of Wade Heath and Co Ltd.
Although George Wade is credited by many for being the initial motivator behind Wades, this does not hold up to close scrutiny. In fact, two other members of the Wade family effectively modelled and launched the Wade firms into the ceramic market place, and then establish them as leading 20th century companies. They were John Wade, George Wade Snr’s younger brother, and AJ Wade, George’s youngest son.
John was very different from George. He was a committed and competitive businessman, as he needed to be, and a devout Methodist. AJ was different again. Although also a Methodist, he was more studious, and let his innovations do the talking for him. Both were very highly regarded and well loved by all who met them – particularly in the case of AJ. Between them they built Wade companies that, until the relatively recent amalgomation with George Wade and Son Ltd, dominated the Wade group of potteries.
John Wade
Middle son of five, John Wade was born in 1836, just before the depressions and riots of the early 1840s. He saw his father John struggle to keep his large family fed, often working in a pottery by day, whilst running a furniture business with his wife Ann. While living in Globe Street, Dale Hall, he joined his brothers and sisters at the local potteries as a potter’s presser, like his older brother Joseph.
He married Sarah, oldest daughter of the large Kirkham family from Tunstall, and moved into 171 Newcastle Street, Burslem, sharing the house with two other families. From this base, they opened their first business just up the road; in 1863, they became furniture brokers at 31 Brownhills, close to where the road meets the bottom of the High Street in Tunstall. Sarah ran the shop, with John using all the skills picked up from his father’s furniture business.
But John was not the craftsman his father was. Instead he saw his future in the pottery business. So he came in with his brother Joseph, with help from their mother, on a deal to buy some old cottages in Hall Street and High Street, Burslem in 1866. With brother George taking over the Brownhills premises, John and Sarah moved to a terraced house in New Street, which linked the High Street with the Market Square.
Earliest known photograph of a piece of Wade.
A William Gladstone teapot made by Wade & Colclough, and patented October Ist 1880.
(Public Record Office, BT43/72, 356014)
The style of teapots he produced was Rockingham, which although sounded grand, was in fact a brown glazed earthenware rather than fine china. The name and design came from an old, respected and traditional Yorkshire company that had been making elaborate teaware from the time that tea and coffee drinking had been in its infancy in Britain. Although more famous for their fine porcelain, it was their Rockingham ware, or Brown China as it was often called, that was widely copied; a hard bodied white earthenware with a fine brown mottled glaze. Effectively, John was making cheap and cheerful versions in the same Rockingham style. More elaborate shapes included a raised hollow base, often with matching teapot stand, and a glamorous open-out neck. But he was certainly not alone in doing this. Dozens were also climbing on the bandwagon to produce Rockingham ware, which as it could be produced cheaply was proving popular far and wide.
Of his contemporaries, John was particularly successful, and Wade & Co, as it soon became known, took on help in the shape of James Colclough and young Daniel Lingard. With their help he tried to expand the new firm’s product range. In 1869 they tried their hand at “toy” making, following the trend at that time. These weren’t really children’s toys, more ornamental earthenware figures, often of well known people or folk-heros. Many were usually displayed on mantlepieces, and therefore only viewed from the front, the backs often flat to fit against the chimney wall. These became known as Staffordshire flatbacks. But there was little steady profit to be made from ornament making, which was an unpredictable market. For a short time, however, Wade & Co succeeded in making it one of their main product lines, but after about a year or two it drifted into being merely a sideline.
This sideline was run by an offshoot firm, Wade and Colclough, that made its first – albeit brief – appearance in 1869. By 1873, business had taken off due to the hard work and enthusiam of the three main characters at the firm, and Wade & Co changed its name to Wade and Colclough. In 1875 they briefly rented shared premises at Bourne’s Bank to meet demand, whilst their High Street Works could be improved. Although they now had two ovens and a growing number of employees, this was to remain a simple little tumble-down works for some years.
John and Sarah continued their furniture dealing business from a shop at 32 Waterloo Road (still standing and now an Indian restaurant!). In 1870, they moved in above the premises, and Sarah ran the shop for a few years more. But soon John found himself more and more involved with the running of a successful teapot-making firm, and so the furniture business was wound up, its usefulness no doubt outlived. In 1879, John and Sarah moved to 50 Hall Street, next door to Wade and Myatt.
John Wade (1836-1902)
John meanwhile had taken an interest in local politics. He had been elected on to the Local Board of Health in the early 1870s. The Local Board was then a powerful lobbying committee in Burslem, but was split over the move towards incorporation for Burslem (which meant establishing a local governing body – ie. Burslem Council – to manage its municipal business). Finally, though, after ten years of debate, the town of Burslem was incorporated on 28th June 1878. The first election of councillors took place on 21st August, six councillors being elected for each of the three newly created wards; Burslem North, South and East. At their first meeting on 28th August, Thomas Hulme of Dunwood Hall was appointed Mayor of Burslem, but he and five others were appointed as aldermen. To replace the six newly appointed aldermen, who had to resign their seats, another election was held on 12th September. Two councillors were elected for each ward, and for the North ward the successful candidates were Joseph Robinson (556 votes) and a certain local earthenware manufacturer, John Wade (498 votes).
After lobbying for incorporation for many years, John only remained a councillor for three years, preferring to concentrate his energies on Methodist activities. For many years he was actively associated with the Primitive Methodist body, taking a great interest in the Clowes Memorial Church whilst becoming one of the leading workers in connection with the newly created school next door. He held several offices in connection with the Church and Sunday school (which were in Church Street, now William Clowes Street, and have since disappeared). He was honoured by being selected as the sole representative for the district at the Sheffield Methodist Conference in 1901.
In 1881, the firm changed its name again to Wade, Colclough and Lingard. The number of shapes and styles of teapots had increased enormously. Now they were rockingham, stone and jet ware manufacturers.
Jet ware had strangely come into vogue. For some time pottery in North Staffordshire had been made using materials from many other districts. However, the local red clay or marl slowly became popular again, and its products were called jet ware, although great efforts were often necessary to make it attractive. This usually involved gold, silver and enamel as well as transfer-printed decoration. It wasn’t just teapots that Wade, Colclough and Lingard made in this style. They also made coffee pots, kettles, jugs, teapot stands, sugar and creams, match strikers, tobacco jars, spittoons and ash trays! They also made a selection of decorative ware.
The successful partnership lasted a few years more, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that John could not appease his ambitious partners forever. And so in 1887??, James Colclough and Daniel Lingard split with John Wade, and established their own business.
Colclough and Lingard set up shop at the curiously entitled (and spelt!) Brittannia Black Works on the corner of Keele Street and the High Street in north Tunstall. They manufactured Rockingham, jet and egyptian black ware; although they specialised as decorators of jet ware. When Colclough died in August 1900, his son-in-law James Webster took over his share of the partnership, and the firm changing its name to Lingard, Webster & Co. Circa 1910, they settled at the Swan Pottery, Hunt Street, remaining there until recently, making “Lingard” Ware. This consisted of brown earthenware and red ware products such as biscuit barrels, hotel ware, Toby jugs, lamp bases, even hand-thrown studio pottery. Their main claim to fame was a young Tunstall apprentice who joined them aged only 13 in 1912 as an enameller on a wage of a shilling a week. It was her first job, and she worked for three years for Lingards, where she was trained in the art of painting freehand onto pottery, before leaving to become a lithographer. Her name was Clarice Cliff, who later became one of the world’s most famous pottery designers. However, Lingard Webster are also remembered for their character teapots, particularly the nursery rhyme series (Humpty Dumpty, Little Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe, and the truly weird Mary Had A Little Lamb) and the racing cars (also produced by other companies, such as Sadlers). A Webster was still running the company well into the 1960s (a J.Webster at that), when curiously enough they were claiming rather cheekily to have been established in 1867! (The site is sadly now the lower end of the carpark beside the main Tunstall roundabout.)
J & W Wade & Co
John and Sarah Wade had no children of their own, but grew very attached to their nieces and nephews, particularly the aspiring children of John’s brother George. From the time of the “takeover” of Wade and Myatt in 1882, he had been grooming George’s sons, William, George and Albert Joseph (AJ), to not only run Wade and Sons but also his own company. Whilst George and AJ finished their education, William became heavily involved with Wade, Colclough & Lingard. With the firm taking on more workers as business took off, William was allowed to use his position to improve the quality of the designs, an area in which he showed not a little flair.
Competition was pretty fierce in the teapot trade. The Victorian era had ushered in a period of political stability and economic prosperity. The Queen ruled over a vast Empire stretching throughout the world, with whom trade was constantly expanding. To win orders firms had to produce better and more original designs. When it came down to teapots, all manner of new eccentric shapes, sizes and gadgets were patented – protecting the designs from being copied by other manufacturers – and marketed.
In 1888 William designed and patented a teapot with a lid that would not come off whilst pouring. This “Automatic Lock-Lid”, as they christened it, involved placing the lid on the teapot in such a way as to allow a special lip on the top edge of the lid to fit in a slot. It was soon acknowledged to be “the most perfect contrivance for locking the lids of Tea-Pots”; or so they said in their adverts. It was also soon adapted for their “popular Regina, Rex, York, and Stanley shapes.”
The design, in William’s name, stayed with Wade & Co, as it became again on the departure of Colclough and Lingard, who later developed their own version. It was extremely successful, and it established the firm once and for all. [The design has been modified and refined over the years by other potters such as Susie Cooper.] Other ideas were equally successful, such as his earthenware tea-strainer or infuser that fitted inside the teapot, keeping the tea-leaves inside it. (This design has become popular again in recent years.) In acknowledgement, John Wade made William a partner in a new project they had devised together: tilemaking.
Wades first starting making tiles in 1888. It was such a success that soon they had to consider expanding the business. So whilst renovating Wade & Co, they bought the pottery next door called the High Street Pottery or Union Bank Pottery from Buckley, Heath & Greatbatch, who moved in part to Navigation Road. One of the buildings, christened The Flaxman Art Tile Works, became the home of the new Wade tilemaking firm of J & W Wade & Co in 1891. It was named after the Wedgwood Jasper modeller John Flaxman. (After standing derelict for years, the building now houses the Wade Factory Shop!)
Tilemaking was a completely new field to the Wade companies. However, it was a fast expanding market. As tiles became generally more available and affordable, they were now required for walls, floors, fireplaces, plus internal and external decoration. Glazed tiles were also seen by many food shops and hospitals to be particularly clean and hygenic. The early Wade tiles were of simple design but had a reputation for being of high quality. Once their reputation had been established, they soon broadened their range to a more comprehensive selection. They were soon advertising “glazed, printed, embossed and plain enamelled tiles for mantel facings, grates, hearths, dados and other architectural decorations”.
Certain lines were particularly successful, and soon they began to specialize in the making of decorative tiles, particularly for fireplaces and bathroom furniture. Their specialities consisted of Etruscan, Persian, Red Mill, Crystal, Antique, Guelph, Dull, Eggshell and Enamel surface lines in a variety of colours. These were not only “exclusive high class designs”, but they were also produced to a “very high standard for durability and brilliance of their enamel glazes”, as even the trade press had to admit. This was mainly due to William’s research, which resulted in him making significant improvements to the way tiles were made and decorated.
Word soon spread, and Wade tiles were soon winging their way round the world. One outstanding piece of work for which they supplied the tiles was for the church of the Saint Francis Brotherhood in Buenos Ayres, Argentina. This included some wonderful mosaic floors, exclusive and original in design, “yet harmonious and in strict keeping with the internal features of such a building”. In London, Salisbury House, a huge block of commercial and professional offices, took three miles of Wade dado tiles! Apart from the many town halls and hospitals, J & W Wade & Co also supplied tiles for the London Underground system.
After the First World War, the company began exploiting the tiled fireplace market, actually constructing their own fireplaces, but continuing to sell tiles to other fireplace manufacturers. Their success was unprecedented. One customer was the Princess Mary (George V’s only daughter), who ordered a grate fireplace surround for her town house, Chesterfield House, and another one for Goldsborough. The Princess Alice (George V’s daughter-in-law, and the Princess Di of her day) and a selection of lords and ladies were also customers of J & W Wade & Co.
The Wade tile business was a huge success, a success lasting well over half a century. William Wade, and later his brother AJ, sank much time and effort into the project, patenting many of their innovative ideas over the years. But despite all this, tilemaking never dominated the whole firm as maybe it should of. The teapots of Wade & Co would continue to be the major focal identity for the Wade firms as a whole; and they also had had their own successes during this time.
Hand-painted Royal Crown Derby tea sets were particularly popular in the 1890s, and the Wade equivalents, dubbed ‘Poor man’s Derby’, Gaudy Welsh or Dutch Gaudy, were equally well received. (Gaudy Welsh because they were known to be produced in the west of England, with gaudily painted stylized flower patterns for the lower end of the market.) The design was more modern in shape, flatter base and less ornate. But it was the distinctive hand-painting that set it apart from other designs. Usually the top half was royal blue and the bottom half white, with gold and burnt orange paints used for flighty floral decoration. The Wade versions were less ornate than the busy Royal Crown Derby equivalent, but they were equally as distinctive and successful (see World of Wade book 2, #812-4). Other firms also copied the style, in particular Lingard, Webster & Co.
Flushed with these successes, William moved the family, his mother, sisters and brothers, to The Watlands, formerly Watlands Hall. Built circa 1815, it had been one of the finest houses in the district, with a large estate taking up most of Wolstanton. It was built by the family of a Longport pottery manufacturer, before becoming the home of the distinguished Adams pottery family. The famous British physicist Sir Oliver Lodge lived there for many years, before William bought it for his family about 1897. By then, a lot of the land attached to it had been sold off, and as the years went by, more and more houses were built around it. (The Hall was demolished in 1951, but used to stand at the ‘end’ of Lodge Grove, where the newer houses now stand.)
William served on the influential Burslem School Board between 1895 and 1898 as a progessive educationalist. (His brother George (JP) was later chairman of this committee.) However, William’s lavishness clashed severely with his Uncle John’s more frugal lifestyle. Despite his fruitful businesses, John prefered to live in terraced housing, not grand mansions. He also preferred to plough profits back into the business, a business that was now thriving under the three Wades, John, William and AJ.
Very little of the old factory remained by the 1890s. The small two-oven pot works had become a modern five-oven factory, replete with all the most modern machinery of the time. Rebuilding had taken several years. During that time some production had been shifted temporarily to the Hall Street premises of Wade and Sons, in which John still had an interest. In fact, John didn’t relinquish control of Wade and Sons until circa 1897, when he moved away to 2 Hill Street (now Davison Street) on the other side of Burslem. (His niece, Harriet Poxon then moved into 50 Hall Street.)
John Wade died suddenly in November 1902. Although he was 66, he was fit and able up until the day before his death, and it was generally felt that his life had been cut short far too early. He left control of the Wade firms to his nephews William and AJ.
AJ Wade
Albert Joseph Wade, known as AJ, was born in 1866 in Tunstall. Being the youngest son, he spent his early life helping his mother with the family drapery business. But he was encouraged by his ambitious father to follow an acedemic career, and by the age of 15 he had become a pupil teacher (a pupil staying on to teach the younger children). He soon became a schoolteacher proper, but his interest in the local industry could not be stemmed. He enroled at the Wedgwood Institute in Burslem to study Science and Technology, and when his Uncle John came looking for family support for his ambitious projects, AJ jumped at the chance.
Initially, he acted as an agent for Wade, travelling the country to attract new customers. In this role he struck up a friendship with a young pottery merchant by the name of George Henry Heath. AJ’s marketing expertice helped to launch such lines as ‘Capucine Faience’ in 1895. This bright and floral decoration was used for art ware, flower pots, vases, pedestals, etc. It received much critical acclaim at the time, and, as was often the case with Wade pottery, it was remarkably low in price.
His older brother William’s exploits in teapot and tile design overshadowed AJ’s early achievements. But he soon learnt how to run an expanding pottery business on a day to day basis. It was he who introduced the Wade pottery marks for Wade & Co in 1887, a year after a firm called Whittaker & Co in Hanley had introduced the “W. & Co.” mark on their ware. As an agent for the company he realised the importance of a distinguishing mark on Wade ware in order to instil confidence in their customers that they were getting a Wade quality product. Initially, Wade & Co’s first mark consisted of “W. & Co.”, with a “B” for Burslem underneath to distinguish it from Whittaker & Co. Later on he settled for “Wades'” with “England” underneath, Mark Type 0 (zero) in orangey red, the apostrophe being curiously positioned after the “s”, implying that it was used mainly pre-1914. Another mark used at that time was “WADE’S”, which was simply impressed into the base (for example, the Compacto teapot). After the First World War, Wade & Co began using the WADES lion mark (Mark Type 1), although a lot of ware slipped through with no mark at all or just a number in gold paint. When the workshops were busy, marks were the first process to get forgotten, particularly at the end of the week as workers rushed to meet targets.
AJ also actively encouraged advertising in trade magazines and journals. But most of all he was dedicated to producing quality work, which was particularly noticeable with the firm’s tile production, on which he concentrated much of his efforts. When his Uncle John died, he took further control of the business side of the companies Wade & Co and J & W Wade, with William concentrating more on the design and development of new lines. As the years passed, dozens more pottery workers were taken on to produce the ever expanding range of pottery designs.
In 1906, AJ married Annie Florence Stocker, daughter of Edward Stocker JP of Grose and Stocker, a firm of potters, millers and merchants, and clay bed owners. Initially they lived in The Watlands with AJ’s family, but on the death of his mother Harriet in 1908, they moved into Heatherlea, where Harriet had lived for her last few years. Heatherlea was a grand detached house in Wolstanton’s Park Avenue, close to The Watlands. At the entrance to the avenue, where it meets the High Street there were large gates which were closed every night, making it a very exclusive area. A few years later, AJ sold the house to his older brother George, and moved down the avenue to Huntley, a large semi-detached; the other half, The Myrtles, being owned by AJ’s good friend George Henry Heath.
Unlike his brothers, AJ had little time or inclination to involve himself in local politics, preferring to spend what little leisure time he had on the church. He was an ardent Wesleyan supporter, a trustee for several churches, and held many offices in his local church at Wolstanton. However, he did share a love of music with George Heath. They frequently attended principle concerts in the district, and AJ became Vice President of the Newcastle Male Voice Choir. He was also a Freemason of the Gorden Lodge, no. 2149, in Hanley.
One post he did hold in public life was chairman of the Jet & Rockingham Manufacturers’ Association, which he oversaw for 16 years. In this capacity he was widely respected, if only for keeping such an association going for so many years! He realised, as other manufacturers soon did, the value of companies joining forces and working together for the good of everyone. He also had the trust of the workforce, enabling him to solve industrial unrest with amicable settlements. One such incident in early 1914 saw AJ settling a ten week potteries strike with a successful compromise for both sides. In the same year he was presented with a solid silver table service by the Association in acknowledgement of his untiring efforts in making the Association progressive and successful. Curiously on his silver wedding anniversary, the Wade workforce also gave him (and his wife) solid silver giftware, three dishes and two vases with a stand, as a token of their regard. Both gifts were deeply appreciated by the modest Mr and Mrs Wade.
He spent a lot of his time travelling the globe, searching out new markets for the Wade products, hence the success of the company as far away as Buenos Ayres. He made several trips to the USA, and on one occasion spent a vacation of six months in California! Not bad for a man born in humble circumstances in Tunstall. Moreover, he was also a member of the government delegation that was appointed from the pottery industry to explore the potteries in the occupied areas of western Germany at the conclusion of the First World War. In the course of his business career he travelled extensively, but wherever he went on his travels to distant parts of the earth, he was well known, highly esteemed, and made friends everywhere.
William had by now retired, and in 1913 moved out to Huntingdon Park, Los Angeles, California. Also living there was AJ’s brother-in-law Francis Stocker. But a double tragedy struck in February 1914 when first Francis died of typhoid fever, and then a few days later William died in a car accident. William left everything to AJ, an estate worth £2700. AJ thus became chairman of Wade & Co and J & W Wade & Co. He was also a director of brother George’s Chromo Transfer & Potter’s Supplies Co. Ltd., and of Dalehall Mills Ltd., a pottery millers in Burslem. It was thus not surprising that he should turn to his good friend George Henry Heath to help him run the Wade companies that now employed nearly 400 workers.
George Henry Heath was born in Wolstanton in 1872, the eldest son of Daniel Heath. He joined Wade & Co straight from school in 1886 as an office boy. Soon he was travelling the country for the firm, where he became close friends with the junior member of the Wade dynasty. He and AJ were much alike. Both loved music, possessed genial personalities, and were quiet but liberal supporters of many worthy causes. George was also organist for St John’s Methodist Church for 23 years. Although quiet and unassuming, he had gained a thorough knowledge of practical potting, and his highly valued views were constantly being sort by his co-workers. However, on the death of John and the retirement of William, he and AJ became the senior directors of both Wade & Co and J & W Wade & Co. AJ became chairman of both, with George as Managing Director.
In 1927 the two companies were incorporated as private limited companies. J & W Wade & Co became A.J.Wade Ltd. in June; and Wade & Co became Wade, Heath & Co Ltd. in December. Wade Heath were still one of the leading teapot manufacturers with a selection of shapes and designs, including their pioneering “Compacto” spoutless teapot. (The semi-cube-shaped Compacto proved particularly popular not only for its unusual shape, but also for its easy storage and the fact that it had no stick-out handle or spout to break off!) Its main rival was the more successful The Cube teapot, produced by Stoke firms such as Foley Pottery for a specialist Leicester firm.
But Wade Heath were also making a name for themselves with colourful flower vases and jugs/pitchers etc in the style of Clarice Cliff. The base colour was cream, and flowers and art deco designs were hand painted by an ever growing band of skilled paintresses. Again, the Wade product was a cheap and cheerful copy of a more detailed design. Few of these pieces came close to matching Clarice Cliff’s originality, but they had their own charm, which was further copied by other pottery firms. Initially content with just copying the flower patterns, Wade Heath soon began to design their own deco shapes. Some of their more adventurous work in this area is hard sort after today, with flowing shapes and curves and sweeping colours. The most impressive shape is the curved jug/pitcher Streamline, which can be found (sic) with several different decorations. The most original decoration and finish is Orcadia ware, a burnt streaky effect.
Curiously, some of these vases from the 1930s are marked British “Roskyl” Pottery; not to be confused with increasingly expensive Ruskin ware. Most Roskyl was clearly made by Wade Heath, using the same patterns and shapes as normal Wade Heath ware, but steps taken to ensure the Wade name did not appear. A few Roskyl pieces have surfaced that were clearly not made by Wade (possibly Tuscan, made in Longton). However, whether Roskyl was a pseudonym for Wade Heath for a time, or more likely a separate company or retail outlet that commissioned work from Wade Heath remains unclear.
During this time, Wade Heath shared part of the Flaxman tile works, until 1938 when they moved across the road. There they produced a selection of what it called Flaxman Ware with a distinguished matt mottled finish. However, the finish could often be quite dull, particularly in comparison to the bright colours of the flower vases and jugs/pitchers, which often had animal shaped handles. Some shapes were done in both finishes, Flaxman and flowers, but then it was rare if any two were alike anyway. Some new deco shapes were even decorated in old designs, such as ‘Poor man’s Derby’.
Despite the General Strike and the Depression of the late-1920s/early-1930s, AJ and George Heath continued to produce new and exciting ware and an honest profit. Their spirits were no doubt lifted by their good friend and contemporary, the irrepressible Harold K. Hales (about whom Arnold Bennett is supposed to have written The Card). Hales’ life story could fill several volumes. He grew up in Burslem, travelled the world, returned to Burslem to open a cycle shop, a garage, a music shop, and a roller skate rink. He flew balloons and aeroplanes, lied about his age to fight in the war at Gallipoli, and befriended Ghandi in India. He once complimented the beauty of the Taj Mahal, comparing it to the beauty of Burslem Town Hall “if seen from the right angle.” After touring the far east again, he returned to establish his own shipping house and become an outspoken Conservative MP…
As AJ approached retirement, his health began to fail. In November 1932, he was forced to give up work and was confined to his room. He died in the afternoon of January 11th 1933, aged 66. He was buried at Wolstanton churchyard, following a service in the Wesleyan Church where he was a trustee.
He left a complex and controversial will. Shares in A.J.Wade Ltd were split between his nieces, his nephew George Albert Wade, and a selection of friends and servants. Wade Heath shares are not mentioned at all (they passed to his wife, Annie). However, in the will it states that “I wish to put on record that I have not by this my will conferred any benefits upon my said friend George Henry Heath solely by reason of previous benefits and advantages that he has received and had during my lifetime.”
He also left a group of terraced houses, namely 41, 43, 45, 47 and 49 Spencer Street (now Flamborough Grove) – previously owned by his brother William – and 22 and 24 Sant Street – a shop previously owned by his Uncle John – in the Dale Hall/Middleport part of Burslem. These properties were left to the City of Stoke-On-Trent for the purpose of demolishing the houses “and upon the condition that the site thereof be for ever hereafter used as a play ground for children under the age of fifteen years”. However, this did not turn out to be the case. The properties were sold to the city council in 1958 by his widow Annie and George Albert Wade, executors of the will, with no such conditions attached (although this could have been as a result of a Compulsory Purchase Order). George Albert was also left an “old oak corner cupboard formally belonging to my grandparents” (and no doubt made his grandfather, the cabinet maker John Wade).
George Albert Wade (later Colonel Wade) had become a director of Wade Heath and A.J.Wade Ltd in 1931, when he entered a working agreement with George Heath. After AJ’s death, they planned to combine the two firms (Wade Heath & Co Ltd and A.J.Wade Ltd) into one, and float it on the stock market. This they achieved in 1935. George Wade became Chairman with George Heath as Managing Director. AJ’ widow, Annie, was also a senior director in the new company. The new company was called Wade Potteries Limited (even though it didn’t include George Wade & Son Ltd.).
On June 4th 1937, George Henry Heath died, aged 64. He had been preparing some music for the church service to be held on on the next day when he was suddenly taken ill, an illness from which he never recovered. He left a widow, Emily, and two daughters. It was an end of an era for the companies that John Wade had instigated; companies that William, AJ, Lingard, Colclough and George Heath had built and established.
