| Administrative History | John Knowles & Co manufactured a variety of ceramic products utilising the local clay resources found at Woodville in the south of the county. The firm was founded in 1849 and began producing firebricks and stoneware pipes. During the twentieth century the firm came to specialise in the production of ceramic goods for use in the steel industry and radiants for the production of gas fires. The company diversified into producing clay sewer and drainage pipes and is responsible for a number of patents in this field.
The company take its name from founder John Marsden Knowles, however, it was his earlier occupation in railway construction that led him to Woodville. Whilst constructing the line between Coalville and Burton-on-Trent, specifically during tunnelling between Castle Gresley and Moira, Knowles came across a bed of fire-clay. When his contract under Robert Stephenson (co-creator of ‘The Rocket’ locomotive) finished in 1849, Knowles erected a kiln on the land and started producing firebricks at the site he called "Mount Pleasant Works".
After the death of Knowles in 1869 and his wife Sarah in 1871, control of the company passed to their nephews John and William Hassall. William Hassall designed and patented the "Hassall's" and "Free-Flow" joints used in the manufacture of drainpipes. Although Hassall presided over the most successful period in the company’s history, he was the subject of vicious attacks from the other shareholders. Twenty eight family members had been given a stake in the company following the death of Sarah Knowles. The collection contains numerous legal documents and personal letters attesting to the infighting of shareholders.
After the death of John Hassall in 1928 and William Hassall in 1931, the company was placed under the trusteeship of Harry James Taylor, rather than that of John Hassall's son John Knowles Hassall. J K Hassall was active in the family business, however, reputably due to financial difficulties, he committed suicide in 1931.
An alliance with Radiation Ltd. in the 1930’s and the takeover of the firm by Dyson Ltd in the 1970’s saw an end to the firm as a family-run concern. Restructuring by Dyson led to the clay workings of Woodville being closed and landscaped. The Mount Pleasant Works was pulled down in the early 1990’s. |
| Custodial History | These records were deposited in Derbyshire Record Office in December 2009 |