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James Reedman Cole,
Cole Pottery manager (1857‑1936)

James Reedman Cole, one-time manager at Cole Pottery

This page documents the life of James Reedman Cole as the live-in manager of the Cole Pottery in Tottenham. It includes details of his wife and children, what work at the pottery involved and the history of his Reedman middle name.

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by the webmaster from family recollections and research

James Reedman Cole's early life

James Reedman Cole was my great grandfather, the maternal grandfather of my mother whose notes inspired this website.

James was born on the 23rd November 1857, the youngest son of parents John Cole and his wife Mary. The birth was at the Tile Kilns and it was doubtless there where he learnt the pottery trade.

His education was at the Hermitage Road School in Tottenham. This was a National School with fees at that time of between 1d (one old penny) and 3d (three old pence) a week for infants and between 2d (2 old pence) and 6d (six old pence) a week for older children. There was no free education at that time.

The middle name of James Reedman Cole

James's parents, John and Mary, had a large family, and by the time that James was born, their eldest daughter, Mary Ann, had married Edward John Reedman and emigrated with him to Australia. This effectively meant that John and Mary would never see their eldest daughter again. So it is no surprise that they wanted to keep the Reedman name alive.

Mary Ann returned the compliment by naming one of her sons John Cole Reedman.

The working life of James Reedman Cole

James's first career was as a school teacher - which shows how well educated he was. However, he gave this up to help his brother E.G.Cole rescue the Cole Pottery which was running into difficulties in the hands of their older brothers. The agreement between the two younger brothers was that E.G. would take on the risk along with the ownership and a share of the profits whereas James would take a salary and be the live-in manager.

James's living arrangements

As the live-in manager at the pottery, James lived at the on-site pottery house, Tentdale, with his large family, but before then he had had various addresses in Tottenham.

James's appearance

contributed by Florence Clarke, my mother, born Cole

My grandfather was very fair with one of those creamy almost transparent skins, quite unlike his brother E.G. who was a big, ruddy, burly man.

James's wife and children

On 14 Feb 1880 James married Elizabeth Caroline Ellis at All Hallows Church, Tottenham. She came from a large family and went on to give James an equally large family.

All James's children were well educated, which is testimony to the financial success of the pottery business.

There is a descendancy chart showing where James and his children fit in to the descendants of his grandfather, Daniel.

I am hoping that some of their descendants may hit on a name and be able to provide some family photos. Because of the rift with Sid, none have survived in my family, and all the photos on this page come from elsewhere, particularly museums and press cuttings.

James's life

contributed by Edward George Cole II, my mother's brother and my uncle

My grandfather was a man of few words and by the time I knew him appeared to have no interests other than his work. He started work at 4 a.m. He lived at various addresses in Tottenham but for all the time I remember he lived at Tentdale, the house attached to the pottery, which was fair sized and, I imagine, there before the pottery. He spent a lot of time sitting in the porch at the side of the house looking out over the fields opposite. Although I was 29 when he died, I never remember having a conversation with him. If, as children, we called in, he would look up at the sky and say, "You had better cut along while it is fine". This could be in the middle of a heat wave.

In his younger days, I understand that he did a fair amount of family visiting and quite a lot of cycling. I gather that he was, at one time, interested in the Congregational Church at the Edmonton /Tottenham boundary, as I remember him being one of the trustees of the slate club (a friendly society) based at the church. One of my recollections of Sunday evenings at the house was him playing the piano with my aunts and my mother standing round singing hymns and ballads of an earlier period. He had a good singing voice and was very proud that people turned round to look at him when the psalms were sung in church. He could read music and played the piano well. When he came home from church he would sit and sing at the piano for his own pleasure.

My grandmother did a lot of entertaining and it was her boast that they never had Sunday Tea (a major social meal) on their own.

Final years of James

It was in E.G.Cole's will that his son Sid should look after James and that his side of the pottery house should remain his home until such a time and he no longer wanted it. However, sometime in the 1930s Sid sacked James and turned him out of the pottery house, saying that it was needed for flats for employees, and that James was no different to any other employee to be sacked at will. By that time James was frail and in his late 70s, and it was probably time for him to retire anyway, but to go against his brother's will and be turned out of his home so late in life was another matter.

When James and his wife left the pottery, they went to live with their son Arthur at Bush Hill Park. When Arthur moved away from the district, they took rooms in Wood Green but this was only for a short time. When Elizabeth died on the 20 January 1936, James again went to live with Arthur, now at Ruislip, until he died shortly afterwards on 17 June 1936, aged 77.

James's death and funeral

James Reedman Cole and Elizabeth Caroline were buried in Tottenham Cemetery. No family recollections on their funerals survive, but the family clearly paid for an attractive full-sized 'chest tomb with ledger slab' - which I understand is the right name for it. Fortunately the following image shows it well.

gravestone of James Reedman Cole and his wife Elizabeth Caroline

Grave of James Reedman Cole and his wife, Elizabeth Caroline, Tottenham Cemetery



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