• The partners were John Hayes Barratt, George Strafford Welsh and George Henry Spurrier.

• In December 1898 Welsh & Spurrier left the business which was continued by Barratt on his own account.

• In 1903 Mr. Henry Charles Sawyer with two partners bought the old Boothen Tile Works and continued the business as J. H. Barratt & Co.

• Notice of payment of a loan agreement: "J. H. Barratt & Co., Ltd., Boothen Tile Works, Stoke-on-Trent — Satisfaction in full of £2,000 debentures, being the whole amount outstanding." The Pottery Gazette, February 1910. 

• In October 1927 a was resolution was passed that "J H Barratt & Company Limited be wound up voluntarily.." At the time the chairman was G. W. Dick.

• However the business was resurrected and continued as J. H. Barratt & Co (1927) Ltd. 

• When Henry Sawyer retired in 1936 he built the Cauldon Tile Works, Stone, for his two sons John and Philip. 

• Henry Sawyer died in February 1950. (obituary) 

• At some time J. H. Barratt & Co (1927) Ltd. became an associated company to The Carter Group. 

• The business continued until around 1958. 

some details courtesy: Peter Sawyer (grandson of H. C. Sawyer)

A Gibbons-Gottignies Glost Tile Kiln, built by Gibbons Bros. Ltd, of Dudley, has been installed at the works of Messrs. J. H. Barratt & Co. (1927) Ltd., who held a luncheon at the North Stafford Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent, last week.

It is the first kiln of its kind to be built in England, but its type has been developed in the Continent using electricity as a heating agent and is now commonly used there for glost and bisque firing. 

The Barratt Company is one of the manufacturing units of the Carter Group of Companies which has two tile factories at Poole in Dorset and owns and operates also the factory which is known as "Poole Pottery".  

"This company was established in 1895 and operated out of the Boothen Road Tiles Works in Stoke. They made good quality tiles, mostly moulded in the early period but a few transfer printed, and were the first company to adopt on a large scale the tunnel kiln, which was to revolutionise pottery production and also to change the skyline in Stoke as bottle kilns eventually became obsolete. 

The tile back with radiating bars is almost instantly recognisable.." robmcrorie

Death of Mr. H. C. Sawyer

First Tunnel Oven 
Recalled

We regret to record the death, which occurred in a Buxton nursing home on Wednesday, of Mr. Henry Charles Sawyer, of 4, Granville Terrance Stone, a well known member of the North Staffordshire tile trade, whose firm, along with Dresser, built the first tunnel oven in the district in 1942. 

Aged 71, Mr. Sawyer was born in Hereford and started his career in a solicitor's office. He later entered the glazed tile trade within Messrs. Godwin and Hewitt, of Holmer, Hereford.

In 1903 with two partners, he bought the old Boothen Tile Works, Stoke, and went into business as J. H. Barratt & Co. Ltd., which firm constructed the first tunnel oven in the district in 1912 with Dresser, the designer. 

Built Stone Works

When Mr. Sawyer retired in 1936 he built the Cauldon Tile Works, Stone, for his two sons - Mr. John Sawyer, now residing at Wellington, New Zealand, and Mr. Phillip Sawyer, who is a member of the Stone Urban Council.

The late Mr. Sawyer was a founder member of the Glazed and Floor Tile Manufacturers' Association and was well known and esteemed throughout the Staffordshire pottery industry. 

One of his main recreational interests was golf, and he was a member of Trentham, Newquay in Cornwall, and Stone Golf Clubs. He was a former President of the Stone Club and an honorary life member.

Sympathy will be extended to Mrs. Sawyer, the two sons and two daughters - Mrs. Alfred Johnson, Jnr., and Mrs. Annette Sawyer.

The funeral will be on Monday, a service in St. Michael's Church, Stone, at 2 p.m., preceding cremation at Carmountside. 

While Henry Sawyer's two sons, John and Phillip ran the Cauldon Tile Works his daughter Beth spent much of her life caring for others. During the Second World War, she was a Red Cross nurse at Stafford General Infirmary and at Sandon Hall. 

Beth met Alfred Johnson, the son of a pottery manufacturer, and they were married.

When Beth Johnson died on 12 October 1971, her husband Alfred suggested that the proceeds from Beth’s estate should be used to establish an organisation which would benefit older people. It was in this way, in 1972, that the Beth Johnson Foundation was formed.

Beth Johnson Foundation Web site - retrieved 19th December 2025.