Spode Willis Pattern at the Thatched House Tavern

 Josiah Spode set up his own pottery company in Stoke-on-Trent in 1776. In 1784 he developed the process of underglaze transfer printing on earthenware. I think that means the pattern would be printed first and then the product would be handpainted and fired. 

The first Josiah Spode died in 1794 and the business was continued by his son, another Josiah. Spode were famous for their elegant bone china but it was not very hardwearing. In 1813 the company came up with a more resilient form - stone-china, which was greyish-white and gritty when unglazed. The second Josiah teamed up with William Copeland, who died in 1826. After Josiah’s death in 1828 the company became Copeland and Garrett in 1833 and then Copeland in 1847. Many patterns would be marked “Late Spode”. The marks are a good way of dating the age of the china. In 1970 the company became Spode again and in 2006 they were bought out by Royal Worcester. 

There are pattern books going back to the late 1700s and Spode are particularly renowned for their blue and white patterned china.

In about 1815 James Willis commissioned some Spode china for use at the Thatched House Tavern. It was stone-china, so would stand up to heavy use - as can be seen from the fact that some pieces still exist today! The pattern he chose was based on the chinese famille rose patterns, which were popular at the time. There was a distinctive butterfly, which sometimes disappeared from the pattern - there’s a theory that diners didn’t like bugs on their plates. 

Over time, the pattern became known as the Willis pattern. It wasn’t exclusive to the Thatched House Tavern and was produced until the 1960s with various colourings and borders. In the 1970s, when Copeland became Spode again, the pattern had a redesign and was renamed Shima. 

There was some discussion about the Willis pattern in The Spode Review, a Spode Society publication, during the 1980s or 1990s. Robert Copeland, a descendant of the original Copeland family, had received a query about a piece of china marked with the inscription “Willis Thatch’d House”. On investigation he managed to find copper engraving plates with inscriptions for “Willis Thatch’d House” and “White, Bush - Staines”, both written in script. There were also engravings for ROYAL SUSSEX HOTEL, BEDFORD HOTEL, WOODSIDE HOTEL and ROYAL VICTORIA HOTEL ST LEONARDS ON SEA - he felt that those were probably not printed on the face of the pattern. We know that the Bush Inn at Staines was run by James Willis’s White inlaws - I’ve been searching for a Willis pattern plate with that inscription but haven’t been able to find anything yet. Willis Thatch’d House inscriptions are few and far between but do turn up from time to time. I’ll have to try to find out about the other hotels - I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that they were being run by members of the Willis or White families. 

There are some more examples of Willis pattern in this flipbook compilation. 

The Thatched House Tavern - for sale!

 

James Willis, the elder, had the lease of the Thatched House Tavern from about 1770. The inn dated back to about 1711 and it was located in St James’s Street, Westminster, just down the road from St James’s Palace and round the corner from Almack’s Assembly Rooms in King Street. A very desirable location and convenient for the upper classes. When James Willis died in 1794 the business, together with the assembly rooms, was carried on by two of his sons, James the younger and William (our ancestor). 

There’s a lot to write about the Thatched House Tavern and I’ll be writing some more stories in the future, but for the time being I’m going to skip to the end - I think that the following newspaper advertisement gives a very good view of the scale of the operation. 

William Willis died in 1839 and it seems that James Willis decided to retire in 1840. William’s son, Charles, and James’s son, Frederick, continued to run the assembly rooms, which became known as Willis’s Rooms. The Thatched House Tavern was put up for sale. 

I found this advertisement while searching for something else entirely!

MORNING ADVERTISER 7th of July 1840.

Thatched House Tavern, St James’s-street, with possession.

MESSRS. WARLTERS and LOVEJOY will Sell by Auction, at Garraway’s, Change-alley, Cornhill, on WEDNESDAY, July 22nd, at Twelve (unless disposed of by private contract), by

order of Mr. James Willis, retiring from the business, the valuable LEASE and BUSINESS of those very superior and well-known Premises, the THATCHED HOUSE TAVERN, St James’s-street, opposite Pall-Mall, with a frontage to St James’s-street of 99 feet., by a depth of 250 feet., including 

six shops in front of St James’s-street; nine houses of ten rooms each at the back, called Thatched House-place; and a valuable public house. The Tavern possesses every accommodation for conducting business in the first style to any extent, held for 28 years at a moderate rent. May be viewed till the sale.

Particulars on the Premises; at Garraway’s; and of Messrs Warlters and Lovejoy, Farringdon-street.

Chris says that the Morning Advertiser is still going strong as a trade magazine for the pub and brewery sector and is the go-to source for business news. It used to be delivered to his offices in Eastbourne, Alcester, and Brighouse and was much read!

The original building was demolished in 1843 to make way for the new Conservative Club building and the Thatched House was was relocated to an adjacent building. It finally closed in 1865. I’m not sure whether the Willis family did end up selling, I’ll have to look into that.

Coming soon (unless something else turns up!) Spode and Willis pattern china.