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Malkin's Newport Pottery, Burslem
The Malkin and Edge families were involved very successful tile and earthenware manufacturers.
Sydney Malkin joined the family pottery businesses and in 1894 he and his brother Elijah set up their own tile manufacturing business.

Malkin Tiles, Newport Pottery, Burslem
c.1935

Malkin & Edge, Newport Pottery & Encaustic Tile Works, Burslem
c.1870

note the same frontage - with the central pediment - on both pictures

Malkin Tiles was an offshoot of the earthenware company Edge, Malkin and Co. Initially they traded as Malkin Edge & Co, later becoming Malkin Tiles and eventually Malkin Tileworks. Manufactured a wide range of tiles, mainly moulded and encaustic dust-pressed. Eventually absorbed into H & R Johnson in 1968.

There have been Malkins in the Potteries for three hundred years and more, and a branch of them went off to Leicestershire and founded a distinguished family there.

Mr. Sydney Malkin's grandfather was a working potter, a dipper, who suffered from lead poisoning; he was maintained by his son, the late Mr. James Malkin, during his later years, and was buried in St. Paul's Church-yard, Burslem. Mr. Malkin's father (James Malkin) went as a lad to the Anderton Canal Carrying Company, of which the first Lord Loch was a director. Mr. James MacIntyre was manager, and when he went into the pottery trade, Mr. James Malkin succeeded him as manager.

Mr. James Malkin (Mr. Sydney Malkin's father) married the eldest daughter of Joseph Edge. The Edges came from Horton, near Rudyard, where they occupied a considerable position; but they lost their prosperity, and one of them Joseph Edge (the great grandfather of Mr. Sydney Malkin) found himself as a youth derelict in Newcastle Street, Burslem. The anecdote has come down that he prayed for guidance as he walked, and that at that moment, a townsman saw him and had compassion on him, and took him home to his bakers' shop. When Joseph Edge's benefactor died he took over the business.

1898 map showing Newport Pottery - off Newport Lane
note the Trent and Mersey Canal at the bottom of the map
and the Burslem Branch Canal running up the map

map of the same area - the Burslem Canal is now filled in but the Trent and Mersey still exists
Newport Lane, Luke Street and Prospect Street can be seen on both maps
the Newport Pottery has been replaced by a housing estate
note the name of one of the new roads is "Malkin Way"

- Google maps 2010 -

The Glazed and Floor Tile Manufacturers Association had been formed in 1913.

In 1955 the listed members in the Stoke-on Trent area were:

Barratt.J.H.,
Beresford Tile,
Biltons,
Boote T & R,
Campbell Tile,
Johnson H & R,
Malkin,
Marsden,
Minton Hollins,
Platt & Sons,
Repton Tiles,
Rhodes Tiles,
Richards Tiles,
Smith & Warrilow,
Trent Tiles,
Vernon Tile,
Wade A.J.
Woolliscroft G.& Sons.

Richards Tiles and H & R Johnson were the dominant tile companies in the 1930’s and during the post war years until their merger in 1968. Before then Richards had acquired T & R Boote and Campbell Tile which included Maws and Minton Hollins.

H & R Johnson had acquired the Malkins, Marsdens and Jeffries tile companies. In 1967 the newly formed Johnson Richards group was manufacturing on twelve sites in the UK and on nine sites abroad. UK tile production peaked at about twelve million square yards (ten million square metres) per year in the late 1960’s

More on Sydney Malkin

contents: 2010 photos