Printer-friendly versionSend to friend ""

Josiah Spode II: London retail expansion

marlspode IIThe success of his ventures in Fore Street encouraged Josiah Spode II to expand. He found the ideal location  on  Portugal Street in the fashionable district of Lincoln’s Inn Fields.  The premises were built as a theatre in 1714 but abandoned by 1744.  After a chequered history in 1783 it was adapted to become Thomas Turner’s Salopian China Warehouse.   Those renovations made it an ideal venue for Spode’s Staffordshire Warehouse. It may not be a coincidence that Josiah Spode I's brother-in-law was Ambrose Gallimore, a founding partner of the Salopian China works based in Caughley, Shropshire.  Having retired from the business and with his partner Thomas Turner ailing and about to retire himself, Ambrose Gallimore might have alerted his brother and nephew-in-law to the commercial advantages of such a premises.

shopcareys mapBy 1796 the Salopian China Warehouse moved to Whitefriars Wharf, and Spode II was leasing 5 Portugal Street for his business and living just around the corner at 37 Lincoln’s Inn Fields.  The shop was listed Boyle's 1796 "New Fashionable Court and Country Guide and Town Visiting Directory."

 As the Spode family enjoyed new levels of success, tragedy struck once more. Josiah Spode I was taken ill and died on August 18, 1797, leaving Spode II with some important decisions about his future.  He determined to return to Stoke and manage the family pottery.  But first he needed to secure the future of his successful London business. In 1802 he purchased the freehold of the Portugal Street premises and left his son William Spode to manage the business under the watchful eye of William Copeland.