Cloth Seal, Clothier's Seal, Tiverton / Wellington, Thomas Wrighton
Cloth Seal, Clothier's Seal, Tiverton / Wellington, Thomas Wrighton, Image & Held by Michel Royer.
Purchased from Amsterdam, Netherlands, ?mm.
22 / GO, THOMS . WRI(GHTON) around // Foot privy mark with R-E at base, SAML.BURRIDG(E TIVERTO)N around
A seal from Wellington using the Tiverton name and that of Thomas Wrighton (used c 1770 to 1796), Evans Type 5.5.1.*. Another example of this seal is recorded as No.81 Fig.8 p.408, Maunder, P., Tiverton Cloth: The Story of the Town's Woollen Trade 1475 - 1815. It is now held in Topsham Museum - Object Number 10704(6).
"Samuel Burridge (1679-1734), trading 1717-1731 (bankrupt). Samuel Burridge was the grandson of Samuel Foote. He came of age in 1700 and probably then became a partner with his father Robert. He inherited the business completely on Robert's death in 1717. None of his seals have been recorded so far, but there must have been seals stamped with 22 on one disc and on the other disc SAML.BURRIDGE.TIVERTON around, with Foot mark and SF under. All those so far recorded date to a time after Samuel's bankruptcy in 1731 when the stamp with the Foot mark and SF was acquired by George Osmand who qualified the grade 22 by adding his initials GO below. After Osmand's death, Oliver Peard took over the same stamp, adding his initials OP above the 22 over GO. By 1754 other merchants such as Enchmarch & Com [and Thomas Wrighton] were using the "Saml Burridge Foot" stamp and its use continued throughout the eighteenth century not only on seals for cloth produced by Tiverton merchants but also for cloth produced at Wellington by Thomas Were & Sons (Type 6.1.) through to Thomas Fox (Type 6.2.)" p.401, Maunder, P., Tiverton Cloth: The Story of the Town's Woollen Trade 1475 - 1815.
Thomas Wrighton is believed to be one of several fictitious names used by Tiverton and Wellington clothiers for use on lower grade cloths [p.409, Tiverton Cloth].
