Boathouse Lane, Armitage

Description:This thatched cottage in Boathouse Lane, Armitage comprised of two dwellings. Although dated 1943, it was probably drawn from an earlier photograph, showing the view prior to World War I. The lane is the access road to Ideal Standard's Armitage Shanks pottery site.

Sketched and coloured by W.G. Wright.


William George Wright (1903 - 1995) was a local historian, (publishing 'Notes for a History of Armitage'. He painted this picture in 1943 (signed lower right in picture). He joined the Edward Johns pottery aged 15 and progressed to become the Sales Director of its evolved business, Armitage Shanks.

This painting was contained with an album of photographs taken by Thomas Harvey Boycott (1876-1949) who lived with his widowed mother, Fanny Maria, whose family had lived at Handsacre Hall as farmers, together with his unmarried aunt, Sarah Elizabeth Harvey. Thomas was a Clerk at Lichfield District Probate Court and a skilled amateur photographer. The album was a parting gift from Harvey and his mother to the Rev. R.E. Grice-Hutchinson (1885-1976) who was Curate of Armitage with Pipe Ridware 1909-1913.