Select Pratt Miscellany
Sir Roger Pratt
Sir Roger Pratt became one of the leading arbiters of architectural taste in Restoration England, introducing and establishing the astylar 'double-pile' house style, which became the norm during the reign of Queen Anne. The first house constructed in this style was Coleshill House in Berkshire for his cousin Sir George Pratt.
Pratt was also a consultant on the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral and the redesign of the City of London after the Great Fire of 1666. His services were rewarded iby a knighthood, after which he built himself a house at Ryston, retired from architectural work, and spent the rest of his life living as a country gentleman.
Pratt Ware
One of the oldest Staffordshire pottery works was that of Felix
Pratt at Fenton, which was in operation continuously from 1775 to
1885.
Of the many different kinds of pottery made by Pratt and his
successors two types are especially popular with present-day
collectors. The attractive and colorful cream-tinted earthenware jugs
and mugs with relief decoration have long been known as Pratt ware,
although they were also made elsewhere in Staffordshire.
The distinguishing features of this early Pratt ware is the modeled
relief decoration and the zigzag and acanthus-leaf borders. The
relief designs were painted under the glaze, and brilliant orange,
green, cobalt blue, black or brown, and sometimes purple is
characteristic of the ware. In its deep, strong, and vibrant
color it resembles the finest old Italian majolica. The subject
matter on these jugs includes scenes of the sea, hunting scenes, busts
of national heroes, genre scenes, and caricatures of the headdresses of
the period.
Pratts from North Yorkshire
| Platt
Name |
Born |
Place |
Died |
Place |
| Thomas |
1630 |
Grinton |
1689 |
|
| Anthony |
1659 |
Grinton |
||
| Michael |
1661 |
Grinton |
1717 |
|
| Anthony |
1698 |
Healaugh |
1762 |
Grinton |
| William |
1741 |
Grinton |
||
| James |
1747 |
Grinton |
1824 |
Reeth |
| James |
1771 |
Grinton |
1839 |
|
| William |
1779 |
Grinton |
1824 |
Gunnerside |
| James |
1792 |
Muker |
1858 |
Gunnerside |
| James |
1800 |
Grinton |
1867 |
USA (Iowa) |
| Thomas |
1805 |
Swaledale |
1875 |
|
| Christopher |
1819 |
Grinton |
1903 |
Undercliff |
| Metcalf |
1826 |
Gunnerside |
1891 |
USA (Nevada) |
| William |
1828 |
Gunnerside |
||
| John |
1839 |
Gunnerside |
1904 |
Newfoundland |
| Thomas |
1843 |
Grinton |
1918 |
New Zealand |
Daniel Pratt:
Alabama's First Industrialist
Daniel
Pratt helped provide cotton gins for Alabama's predominant antebellum
economic activity, founded Alabama's most prominent early industrial
town, and helped lay the foundation for postbellum development in
manufacturing and railroad transportation.
In 1831
Pratt left his home state of New Hampshire for Alabama where he was to
bring cotton gin manufacturing to cotton fields. He purchased
land on Autauga Creek in 1838 and it was on that land that he built
Prattville as the site for his enterprises. He established a
cotton gin factory, a cotton mill, a grist mill, a woollen mill and a
foundry, which employed more than 200 people.
Later,
Pratt's gin business grew so large that he contracted with mercantile
firms in six different cities to sell his gins; and, after the Civil
War, he was shifting his reliance from the cotton economy to the new
industrial order of iron and railroad transportation.
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