The story
The business began in 1859 when fire clay was discovered in a coal mine owned by William Wilcock and John Lassey. In 1863 Lassey's share was bought by John Holroyd and the company then named Wilcock & Co.
In 1879, after a period of expansion, the firm made decorative bricks and tiles in orange or buff-coloured architectural terracotta, glazed bricks, and glazed terracotta. Architect Alfred Waterhouse used their materials in his Yorkshire College (1883) in Leeds, and his National Liberal Club (1884) in London. From 1880 they also made art pottery such as vases and decorative domestic items.
In 1888 the company was renamed The Burmantofts Company but in 1889 it merged with other Yorkshire companies to found The Leeds Fireclay Co. Ltd., the largest in the country.
The firm closed in 1957, at which time it comprised ninety kilns on 16 acres (65,000 m2) of land.
From Wikipedia’s article on Burmantofts Pottery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3