English Bilston Enamels
While many English decorative vitreous enamels were produced at Wolverhampton, Wednesfield, Birmingham and other places, the largest and most famous production of vitreous enamels was at Bilston. The artists and craftsmen of Bilston not only enameled the boxes and other trinkets, but others in the town also made the boxes and trinkets for enameling and engraved the plates from which transfers for enameling were made.
The famous Battersea enamel factory which closed in 1756, probably was a factor in the success of the Bilston enamel trade, which had been in production during the 1750′s. Men and materials, such as the engraved plates for transfers, may have migrated to Bilston after 1756 and improved the standard of work.
The establishment of other industries in the area, especially the expansion of the iron and coal industries, probably helped in the decline of the Bilston enamel production. A more obvious reason for the decline was the Napoleonic Wars and the economic strength which they produced. This, acompanied by changes in fashion and the increasing ability of the pottery industry to provide small decorative items at a lower cost, may have hastened the fall in demand of Bilston work. Its products were produced cheaply and sold cheaply, making them available to the masses and therefore no longer fashionable. But industrial enameling, mainly of iron and steel, was taken up in Bilston as decorative enameling declined. It remained an important industry in the area well into the 20th century.