Telephone box, Market Cross and Trees .

The most commonly seen accessory to the cottage collection is the red Phone box. These can be bought from time to time on
on-line auction sites and have achieved various prices.   It was produced from a two piece mould and the red  was an enamel paint rather than a coloured slip.

Another accessory produced was a Market Cross, based upon the one standing in the market square in Lavenham, Suffolk.
As with the phone box it was cast in a mould and was rather brittle and time consuming to produce.
When fired in the kiln it was hit and miss as to whether they would remain straight, and more were discarded because of this than were actually produced. Even when they made it to the finished product they were extremely fragile and it can only a point of speculation as to how many are around today. I recall trying, very gently, to cut away the excess clay from the casting and as gentle as I was I threw away far more  than I successfully finished.

3 styles of trees were also produced but these were made by a different method. Mr Hart would cut into a slab of plaster of paris
the ‘negative’ of the tree, and clay was rolled into the cutting, allowed to dry, then released. This was then mounted onto
a flat round base shaped from a small ball of clay, the base was textured with the bristles of a brush.
In some cases a quarter of the base was cut away, this allowed the tree to fit around the corner of a cottage.
Once again the trees are very delicate and how many are still surviving would be unknown. The trees and market cross were not glazed and have a matt finish, the phone box is shiny due to the enamel paint used.
The idea to make trees most probably came after  the “Great Storm” models were produced when one was mounted on the plinth in front of the house.

Below are photos of the originals of my fathers, and the reproductions that I have made.

Here is a photograph of a tree cutting, cut into the back of a cottage mould.

 

 

Very Exciting Edit.

In January 2021 This came up for auction on e-Bay. The seller contacted me to make me aware, and to query its authenticity.

This is the first time that I have seen one of this type and was unaware of their very existence. It was a thrill to see it. Surprises keep cropping up. Thankfully I also know the buyer, and between him, myself, and the seller we organised that it be sent to me in order to produce a rubber mould as I have done for the other 3 tree models. It was very nice to be actually holding it and also knowing that it was going to be in extremely safe hands for the future. Being the only one that I have ever seen I wonder how many there are ‘out there’.

It has the cut away base to allow it to be placed at the corner of a cottage, this image was added to the listing.

Many thanks to Rosie and Anthony for their kind support. So that makes 4 types of trees we know about, I just wonder if there are any others !

Sadly it was not possible for me to get a photo of all 4 trees together, but thanks to Anthony and the wonders of modern technology he has produced this fine photo showing them all together.

Thank you Anthony.

Yet another update. Mid.2022 An Apple Tree was listed on eBay with a photo of the base and it is the first I have seen with a Mudlen End stamp.