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S92. SPIT SUPPORTS 
Donyatt, Somerset 
Dated 1695 
(Greatest) H.: 4" (10.2 cm); 
L.: 5 1/4" (13.3 cm); W.: 2 3/8" (6 cm) 
BODY CLAY: Reddish buff. 
LEAD GLAZE: Overall, excluding bot- 
toms. 
SHAPE: Molded(?) and modeled by 
hand. Bottom with narrow, deep, 
lengthwise indentations, perhaps aiding 
in even heat distribution during firing. 
SLIP GROUND: Cream-colored 
Overall(?), excluding portion of bot- 
toms. 
DECORATION: Sgraffito. Fronts 
inscribed "EE/1695." Abstract patterns, 
birds. 
Ex coil.: T G. Burn, Rous Lench. 
he sgraffito decoration on these spit supports, or firedogs, resembles that
on slipware from Donyatt, Somerset, most notably a unique tile inscribed
"1695/E-E/When this V C/Remember me."' Based on the dates, initials,
and styl- 
istically similar birds, the tile and the Longridge spit supports probably
were 
produced by the same potter. The bird motifs also hint at North Holland ori-
gins, based on their stylistic similarities to ornament on sgraffito ware
from 
that region. 
   The heads on the spit supports somewhat resemble those on figures 
applied to North Devon slipware vessels." A Barnstaple, North Devon,
single 
firedog, larger (11" tall) and somewhat similar in shape to the diminutive
sup- 
ports shown here, has a much-worn head, lion decoration, and is said to be
dated 1695.1 Perhaps resembling this or the Longridge spit supports is an
object of unknown origin, identified in an early twentieth-century publication
as middle-sized (8 1/2" [21.6 cm) tall by 7 1/2" 119.1 cm) long)
and wedge-shaped 
with "a human head in full relief, with long hair and a pleated cravat."'
The 
sides are ornamented in a sgraffito "tulip, thistle, and rose pattern."
    Design parallels with the North Devon firedog complicate the attribution
of the Longridge pieces, but, based on body color (paler red than North Devon
types) and the pale yellow glaze (richer in color and more syrupy textured
on 
North Devon wares), the Longridge spit supports are attributed to Donyatt.
Although medieval potters in Donyatt did model faces, the spit jacks are
the 
first postmedieval examples from that area to come to light .6 The combining
of regional styles may be explained by the movement of wares and the mobil-
ity of potters such as John Jewell, who moved with his family from Bideford,
North Devon, to Donyatt, Somerset, in 1691.7 
1. Coleman-Smith and Pearson, Donyatt, p. 326, 
fig. 170, no. 34/21, and p. 327: Hlobson, British 
Museum, p. 122, no. 103. 
2. van Gangelen, Kersloot, and Venhuis, 
Slibaardewerk, p. 41, fig. 33. 
3. For a 1687 dated posset pot, see Grant, North 
Devon, pl. 16. 
4. Ibid., pl. 27. On p. 56, Grant states, " lnl 1685, 
Barnstaple corporation paid ls for 'a pair of 
Clomb doggs and two tiles,"' and mentions an 
excavated firedog stamped with potter John 
Beare's initials. 
5. Burlington 119141, p. 56, no. 59. 
6. Coleman-Smith comments (April 1996). 
Mr. Coleman-Smith, who kindly assisted in 
researching the Longridge spit supports, states 
that North Devon got its lead for glazes from an 
as-yet unidentified source that differed from 
that used by Donyatt, which got lead ore from 
the Mendip Hills in North Somerset. Donyatt 
clay fires to a pink-red, if not overfired or 
smoked. North Devon clay fires to a darker red 
under normal conditions. 
7. Coleman-Smith and Pearson, Donyatt, p. 16. 
156 The Longridge Collection 
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