Bridgnorth's Clay Pipes

Clay had always been found near to coal and iron. Making clay pipes began, probably as a sideline to mining after Sir Walter Raleigh introduced tobacco into Britain at the end of the sixteenth century.

William Southorn's family made many of the clay pipes that are on display at the Northgate Museum in Bridgnorth. The family worked in Bridgnorth until 1823, when they moved to nearby Broseley, which became a centre for clay pipe production. In Broseley, Southorn set up a factory called the Legge Hill Pipe Works which is described in the 1871 edition of the Casey Trade Directory as: "Southorn William, tobacco pipe manufacturer by steam, Legg's Hill Pipe Works". The Southorn family kept producing clay pipes in Shropshire until c.1900.