The London School of Economics and Political Science Networks, Innovation and Knowledge: The North Staffordshire Potteries, 1750-1851 Joseph Peter Lane A thesis submitted in the Department of Economic History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2017 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of the thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement if made. The thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 76,744 words. 2 Abstract During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the industrial district of the North Staffordshire Potteries dominated the British earthenware industry, producing local goods that sold in global markets. Over this time the region experienced consistent growth in output, an extreme spatial concentration of physical and human capital, and became home to some of the most famous Master Potters in the world. The Potteries was also characterised by a growing body of useful and practical knowledge about the materials, processes and skills required to produce world-leading earthenware. This thesis exploits this striking example of a highly concentrated and highly skilled craft-based industry during a period of sustained growth and development which offers a rich opportunity to contribute to several strands of economic and business history. This thesis presents and analyses new empirical evidence based on trade directories to examine the organisational evolution of the district. It reconstructs the district at the firm level, showing that the region’s growth was incredibly dynamic. The spatial concentration of producers and the importance of social and business networks are also explored through a new map of the region in 1802 and social network analysis. As a study of a craft-based, highly skilled industry without a legacy of formal institutions such as guilds to govern and protect access to knowledge, this thesis also offers substantial empirical and historiographical contributions to the study of knowledge and innovation during the period of the Industrial Revolution. It presents a new database of pottery patents alongside a variety of qualitative evidence such as trade literature, exhibition catalogues, advertisements and sales catalogues. Quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals the low propensity to patent in the North Staffordshire pottery industry, and provides a new typology of knowledge used in the industry. It argues that the types of knowledge being created and disseminated influenced the behaviour of producers substantially, and this typology of knowledge is far more complex than those established tacit/explicit divisions favoured in historical study and the social sciences more broadly. The findings of this thesis allow us to answer numerous outstanding questions concerning the development of the North Staffordshire Potteries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. When brought together in such a way, the complementary strands of research and findings presented offer a coherent narrative of an extremely complex and dynamic cluster of production that both challenges and confirms traditional historiographical tradition concerning industrial districts. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to my wife, Helen. Thanks for putting up with me being a student since we met, it can’t have been easy. Your support for my studies and my research has been immense. This thesis could not have been written without your patience and encouragement...I know you will enjoy reading it in its entirety. To Mum and Dad, without you I would never have started my undergraduate degree in history a decade ago. You have given everything to help make me who and I am, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I was lucky to have two fantastic supervisors, Mary Morgan and Gerben Bakker. Their careful and considered guidance since receiving my PhD proposal has seen me through and out the other side with my enthusiasm for research intact! They challenged me intellectually, provided conceptual clarity when I couldn’t see the wood for the trees, and always pushed me to think, think and think some more. Thank you. I also thank my examiners, Giorgio Riello and Anna Spadavecchia for reading my work intently and for a lively and enjoyable viva. This revised version of the thesis is immeasurably improved thanks to your comments and guidance. The economic history community at the LSE has been the perfect environment in which to work through the PhD process. Faculty and fellow PhD students have been a great source of support and academic rigour, through weekly graduate seminars and more casual discussions over coffee, or more likely, a pint. Linda, Tracy, Helena and Lorraine kept the department running like a well-oiled machine and were great colleagues to have over these years. My particular thanks go to the new friends I have made along the way, especially my coffee and walking buddies, Franz and Maxine, who so often read my work and acted as sounding boards for new ideas and offered honest and frank impressions. I would also like to thank Esther Sahle and Michael Aldous, who, despite having flown the LSE nest several years earlier than I, have continued to generously offer their experience, advice and friendship to help me through various stages of the research process. In life’s adventures, I am lucky to have the support of old friends, Mark and Pete: the other two legs of the tripod, still standing two decades later. Thanks for everything. The research for this thesis was supported financially by an Economic and Social Research Council Scholarship (no. 1351225). Without this generous funding, I would not have been able to undertake these studies. The final version of this thesis was proof-read whilst in the brilliant company of my eight-week-old son, so please forgive any remaining errors. As I contemplate life with a young family after a PhD, the words of Monty Python seem rather apt… “And now for something completely different” Joe Lane, Oxhey, April 2018. 4 Contents Part One: The Industrial District 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 1.1 Thesis Outline ................................................................................................ 14 2 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 18 2.1 Industrial Districts.......................................................................................... 22 2.2 Networks ........................................................................................................ 44 3 The organisation of a district and the evolution of firms ....................................... 57 3.1 The early stages of an industrial district ........................................................ 57 3.2 Spatial proximity ........................................................................................... 71 3.3 Reconstructing the district ............................................................................. 80 3.4 The organisation of the district ...................................................................... 85 3.5 The dynamics of growth ................................................................................ 94 4 Networks, identity and cooperation ..................................................................... 111 4.1 Cooperative competition .............................................................................. 113 4.2 Egocentric network analysis ........................................................................ 120 5 Conclusion to Part One ........................................................................................ 142 Part Two: Innovation, Knowledge and Secrets 6 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 148 6.1 Literature Review ........................................................................................ 152 6.2 Sources for the study of invention and innovation ...................................... 158 7 Innovation and patenting in the pottery industry ................................................. 164 7.1 Trends in pottery patenting .......................................................................... 164 7.2 Occupational distribution of patents ............................................................ 172 7.3 The geography of pottery patenting ............................................................. 181 7.4 Knowledge in patent specifications ............................................................. 190 8 Knowledge and innovation outside the patent system ......................................... 203 8.1 ‘Spilling the beans’: an insight into secret knowledge ................................ 214 9 Conclusion to Part Two ....................................................................................... 224 10 Conclusions.....................................................................................................