Terror Set

From the summer of 2013

Last year I worked on a set of earthenware plates with a fascinating history. It's the set from the Captain's table of the 'Terror'. You thought the Terror went down in the Arctic with Franklin? Well, actually she was refitted a few times and someone took this set away during a refit. (Someone who didn't mind eating off plates with 'Terror' written large on every plate.)

To Quote the Wiki article on the Terror -

"HMS Terror saw service in the War of 1812 against the United States. Under the command of John Sheridan, she took part in the bombardment of Stonington, Connecticut, on 9–12 August 1814 and of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore on 13–14 September 1814; the latter attack inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that eventually became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner". In January 1815, still under Sheridan's command, Terror was involved in the Battle of Fort Peter and the attack on St. Marys, Georgia.

After the end of the War, Terror was laid up until 1828, when she was recommissioned for service in the Mediterranean under the command of David Hope. On 18 February 1828, she ran aground on a lee shore near Lisbon, Portugal as a result of a hurricane; eventually refloated, she was withdrawn from service after repairs.

Terror was repaired and next assigned to a voyage to the Antarctic in company with Erebus under the overall command of James Clark Ross. Francis Crozier was commander of Terror on this expedition, which spanned three seasons from 1840-1843 during which Terror and Erebus made three forays into Antarctic waters, crossing the Ross Sea twice, and sailing through the Weddell Sea southeast of the Falkland Islands."

Then Franklin got her on an ultimate refit.

"Erebus and Terror were both outfitted with steam engines, and iron plating was added to the hulls for their voyage to the Arctic with Sir John Franklin in overall command of the expedition inErebus, and Terror again under the command of Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier. The expedition was ordered to gather magnetic data in the Canadian Arctic and complete a crossing of the Northwest Passage, which had already been charted from both the east and west but never entirely navigated."

The set is apple green bordered earthenware on a pearlware type of body and is quite wonky and crude in execution. There were many chips and the botanicals in the centres were quite rubbed and many cracks had to be reinforced.

We absolutely loved working on the set and tried to sing 'Northwest Passage' whenever we could remember the lyrics.