Rachel Smith

At the time Middlesbrough was experiencing high unemployment and Dresser and Harrison employed many local people in order to combat this. This included a high number of women.

Rachel’s job at the Pottery was in underglaze decoration. Once the wares had been formed and then fired in a kiln, they were given to Rachel and other workers in her role to paint them, after which the pieces would be glazed. Rachel listed her occupation in the 1881 census as ‘Artist’, and she sometimes signed her name on some of the pieces she worked on, so she may have felt some enjoyment and pride in her work.

Despite being successful in its time, Linthorpe Art Pottery encountered some difficult times when the cost of materials began to rise and competition from other potteries became too fierce. Following Harrison’s untimely death in 1889, the Pottery closed a year later.

Rachel decided that she wanted to continue working in pottery and went to work at Burmantofts in Leeds.

Burmantofts started out like Linthorpe as a producer of bricks, although theirs were more decorative, and many local businesses chose them to be featured in new buildings. One of their clients was the University of Leeds and their work can still be seen in the stairway of the Great Hall. With the demise of Linthorpe Pottery, Burmantofts then began producing their own art ceramics which were brightly coloured and experimental in design.

It was at Burmantofts that Rachel met Henry Taylor, an expert glazer and ceramic artist. The two became close and they married shortly afterwards. They settled down in Leeds and had three children, Joseph, Charles and Harry.

Both Rachel and her husband continued to work in pottery until Burmantofts closed in 1904. For reasons unknown they decided to stop working in pottery and instead ran guest houses, at first in their home in Leeds, and later in Saltburn. Rachel Smith passed away in 1945.