MEMORIES of THE BLACK COUNTRY

THE QUEST FOR THE BILSTON KNIGHTS those who went on the quest were  Frank Sharman, Reg Aston, Jim Speakman and other members and friends

THE QUEST FOR THE BILSTON KNIGHTS P3

There was an ordinary Bilston knight in the Dog House and Frank took it to Arthur Satterthwaite, who works there, and asked him if he had any information about it.  Arthur immediately said that it was  Bilston Knight and was made by the Highfields Foundry - which is what the Bilston Foundry Ltd.'s works in Highfields were known as.  Arthur is Bilston born and bred and, in a long life, worked at many factories in and around Bilston but for some years now has been connected with the antiques trade.  He pointed out that several different firms might have made other companion sets in the form of knights, copying the success of other firms. Then Frank Sharman found another knight companion set in the Wolverhampton market antiques centre. This was of a different design yet again and in a dark blue, almost black, lustre finish. The knight has a plume of feathers on his helmet and is reaching across with his right arm to his left side, where there is a hole through which a poker - albeit a rather thin one.

In the same place he found another small item in cast iron with brown vitreous enamel, which looks as it is could be a poker rest.

.	Continuing the quest Reg Aston noticed two cast iron and enamelled trouts in Wood 'n Things in Penn Road and drew them to Frank's attention.  So Frank went there and saw that they were quite small so that each one only had one hook in the back.  One held a brush and the other a shovel.  The enamel is a very dark blue. The owner of the shop, Kathy Carter, says they came from the same house but points out that they are not really a pair as they both face the same direction.		Frank then visited the Dog House antiques shop in Bloxwich and there acquired a small knight (left), apparently identical in every respect to the knights at each end of  Mrs. Lilley's grate.  It is therefore very much smaller than the other knights and in the back has two eyelets through in which a poker could have been kept. And Reg has acquired a similar sized knight (right) but with a different base and a heavy cast iron block in the back with a hole down it which contains a poker with matching enamelling.
Whilst at the Dog House Frank also acquired a green leaf, of a smaller size than the brown leaf		Then Kath Carter produced this ash tray which she can say, from her own knowledge, definitely came from Cannon, where her father worked.

Everything up to now happened mainly in 2004. But in February 2005 we had a club meeting at St. Mary's, Bilston, at which Frank showed a lot of the collection of knights he had built up together with a large cast iron and enamel plaque showing the Last Supper. During the course of the day Mike Shelley-Smith arrived.

He had worked at Cannon for many years and not only confirmed that the caped knights were made at Cannon but also that they were cast by Jimmy Southall. Jimmy had also cast the model cannons and may well have cast the Last Supper, which was certainly a Cannon product and was a very tricky bit of casting. He also told us that Cannon closed its foundry about 1976-8; so that gives us a latest possible date for these knights and other pieces of hearth furniture. Earlier in the day Dick Rhodes, who had been, for many years, an estate agent and surveyor in Wolverhampton, not only confirmed that the original Bilston Knight was an all night fire but also said that a friend of his had had the Last Supper built into the fireplace in the hall-lounge of his house. And then George Philpot told us that his church, the Bentley Methodist Church, had one on one of its walls. 

	In fact all sorts of things keep turning up.  This companion set looks like a crinolined lady but it might be meant to be Bo Beep.  This also looks like Jordan's enamelling but there is not signs on it as to who made it.		Then Kath Carter produced this boot jack, which also came from Cannon.  This shows that Cannon, at least, was making a range of enamelled iron ware wider than hearth furniture only.
And Margaret Blount showed this crocodile nut cracker to Reg.  Margaret can also say, from her own knowledge, that it definitely came from Cannon. It seems to be identical to Frank's crocodile, above, except for a slight difference in the snout.		And then the Internet showed its usefulness again when Peter Gilbert kindly emailed Frank and sent him photos of his companion set, which is this delightful Scottie.  It has a full set of tools hanging in the back.  And it also has a Registered Design Number 823456.  These later design numbers are notoriously difficult to track down but, if we could do so, it would give us the name of the designer, who would probably be the makers.  By the look of it, the Scottie was made by one of the local makers and probably enamelled by Jordans.  But the number does tell us that the design was first registered in 1937 - but, of course, it might have continued in production long after that.
		Almost at the end of 2005 Leah Knight kindly sent us this advert from Homes and Gardens, of some date during the 1950s.    The advert refers to a choice of "permanent lustre" or "armorial" finish, and calls the Bilston 'Knight' "a modern fire in a charming Tudor setting. Modern because behind the fleur-de-lys grille is a fir which not only keeps your home snug and warm all winter long, but saves fuel too". It comes in 16" and 18" widths at a cost of £6.9.6 or£7.19.6; but there is also a "standard model" in the same widths for£5.17.6 or £7.7.6d.

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