Description

Fabric: Generally orange-red, but varies and sometimes has sections of gray. The clay often contains red chunks of hematite and what appears to be fine quartz sand.

Glaze: All of the Donyatt in the Chesapeake has some form of lead-glazing, although it is usually very thin and sometimes little more than a dark stain. Even slip-coated vessels can exhibit a rough, sandy texture that is often pitted by the glaze having separated from the underlying quartz grains. In some cases, protruding hematite leaves streaks of brown across the slip.

Form: In the 17th century, Donyatt produced a wide selection of forms, ranging from roof tiles to candlesticks (Coleman-Smith and Pearson 1988:86-87). The Chesapeake finds are dishes, jugs, jars, chafing dishes, and small hollow forms.

It has only been in the last decade that 17th-century Donyatt pottery was identified in the Chesapeake, although it was first excavated at Jamestown and St. Mary's City in the 1930s. As with many ceramics, the best name is somewhat problematic. The more general name of "South Somerset" is sometimes used, as Donyatt was only one of several potting centers in the area (Allan 1984; McCarthy and Brooks 1988:462). However, Donyatt was the largest of these potteries, the only one which is extensively published, and it is probably best to continue calling this type "Donyatt" (Coleman-Smith and Pearson 1988).

Donyatt pottery was made into the 20th century, however, all of the Chesapeake examples are 17th century, excepting one vessel of about 1765 (Noël Hume 1991:105). Plain, lead-glazed Donyatt redwares are almost certainly present in America, but due to a lack of easily distinguished characteristics, they have not yet been positively identified. All of the identified vessels are distinctively decorated slipwares. Donyatt potters used white clay slip in three basic ways: as an overall coating for sgraffito; for wet sgraffito; and slip trailing.

Sgraffito appeared in Donyatt by circa 1600 (Allan 1984:135); the surface was covered with slip and then decoration was cut through to the red clay body. The 1620-1640 Virginia examples have very simple patterns of straight incisions mixed with waving lines and arcs, while the circa 1666-1690 St. Mary's bottle was decorated with birds, letters, and possibly even a date.

In wet sgraffito, slip was placed on the vessel, and simple designs were wiped into the wet slip. This decoration was frequently applied on the shoulder of vessels as a band of slip, wiped with arcs or waving lines. In some cases the slip was applied with a stiff brush, leaving behind irregular streaks, which were then wiped in wet sgraffito. Some Virginia examples have only this brushed slip, and no further decoration.

In slip trailing, narrow bands of white are poured onto the vessel surface to produce a pattern. Most 17th-century Donyatt pots were decorated on a wheel, producing concentric, waving, or spiraling bands. Allan notes the "spiral" style appears slightly later (Virginia examples indicate the 1620s) and disappears about 1720 (1984:135).

By circa 1600, copper was also dusted on, producing irregular patches of green (Allan 1984:135). An olive green is found on jugs from Jordan's Journey and Jamestown, but was produced by a small degree of kiln reduction, rather than copper.

In the 17th century and earlier, most potteries were local industries supplying a relatively small area around the kilns, with a typical radius of 20 to 30 miles being suggested (Allan 1994:49). A map of 16th-century South-West England, for example, shows the region covered by a patchwork of potteries never more than fifty miles distant from a rival (McCarthy and Brooks 1988:461). Transportation was the key factor. In the 17th century, the cost of land transport has been estimated at eight to ten times higher than that by sea, and kilns with access to navigable water could sometimes reach beyond their region to markets thousands of miles away (Allan 1983:43).

Donyatt's central location allowed its ware to reach Bristol as well as the important southern ports of Plymouth, Exeter, and Lyme Regis, primarily being shipped out of the latter (Coleman-Smith and Pearson 1988:401-402). In Exeter, about 30 miles distant, South Somerset dominates the coarseware assemblages from the 17th to the 19th century (Allan 1984:132). At Plymouth's Castle Street excavations, more than 60 miles from the kilns, South Somerset products also form the bulk of 17th-century English coarsewares (Coleman-Smith 1979:21).

Donyatt pottery reached and even dominated the market in ports with strong American ties. Despite this, the ware has not yet been reported in the United States outside of the Chesapeake. It has, however, been recently recorded in Newfoundland (Coleman-Smith 1998, pers. comm.).

Sources
Allan, John P. (1984) Medieval and Post-Medieval Finds from Exeter, 1971-1980. Exeter City Council and The University of Exeter.

Coleman-Smith, Richard. (1979) British Coarse Wares. In Castle Street: The Pottery, edited by Cynthia Gaskell Brown, pp.13-25. Plymouth Museum Archaeological Series, Number 1. Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth.

Coleman-Smith, Richard, and Terry Pearson. (1988) Excavations in the Donyatt Potteries. Phillimore, Chichester, Sussex.

Good, G.L. (1987) The excavation of two docks at Narrow Quay, Bristol, 1978-9. Post-Medieval Archaeology 21:25-126.

Grigsby, Leslie B. (1993) English Slip-Decorated Earthenware at Williamsburg. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg.

McCarthy, Michael R., and Catherine M. Brooks. (1988) Medieval Pottery in Britain AD 900-1600. Leicester University Press, Leicester.

Miller, Henry M., with contributions by Charles Fithian, Julia King, James O'Conner, and Garry Wheeler Stone. (1986) Discovering Maryland's First City: A Summary Report on the 1981-1984 Archaeological Excavations in St. Mary's City, Maryland. St. Mary's City Archaeology Series #2. St. Mary's City Commission, St. Mary's City.

Miller, Henry M., with contributions by Alexander H. Morrison II and Garry Wheeler Stone. (1983) A Search for the "Citty of Saint Maries": Report on the 1981 Excavations in St. Mary's City, Maryland. St. Maries Citty Archaeology Series #1. St. Mary's City Commission, St. Mary's City.

Noël Hume, Ivor. (1991) A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1969. Vintage Books, New York.

Sites
St. Mary's City Sites

• St. John's House (18ST1-23) c.1665-1685
• Smith's Townland (18ST1-13) c.1666-1690
• Van Swearingin (18ST1-19) c.1660-1740

• Jordan's Journey (44PG300), c.1620-1640
• Jordan/Ferrar Site (44PG302) c.1620-1635
• Jordan's Journey (44PG307) c.1620-1635

• Harvey lot, c.1624-1640
• Block 47, c.1607-1680
• May/Hartwell lot, c.1661-1689
• Block 62, c.1607-1720
• Block 98, c.1607-1720
• Block 99, c.1607-1720
• Block 113, c.1607-1720