Potted History

This ornate teapot tells a sad story of long journeys and illness in the 1850s.  It was made in Edinburgh by esteemed silversmith James McKay, and was gifted to Mary Hamblyn in 1856 by Mrs Hood. Mary Hamblyn, her husband Charles and their children arrived in New Plymouth on the Amelia Thompson in 1841, and they set up their home and farm in what is now suburban Fitzroy.  Mrs Hood gifted Mary this lovely object for a rather sad purpose. Her son Peter arrived in New Plymouth in 1855, and may have been a lodger with Mary Hamblyn. Mary cared for Peter Hood during his time in New Plymouth, and this teapot is inscribed to Mary for “her kindness and attention” to this unwell man. Unfortunately Peter died of consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis) at the age of 35. Although pulmonary tuberculosis is still present today, it was a vicious and widespread killer in the 1850s. It spreads very easily between people through coughing, sneezing and spitting, and in the cramped quarters of the working poor in the United Kingdom in the 1800s, it was a seemingly unavoidable fate for many families. Perhaps Peter Hood was trying to escape the epidemic by making the long journey to New Plymouth, but given the sad end to his story, we may never know.