BBC Lancashire and museums across the county have revealed the list of 10 objects they have chosen to tell a history of Lancashire and its place in the world. The list of 10 objects can be seen on the BBC Local site for Lancashire, www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire and all the objects are on display at the relevant museums.The list of 10 objects for Lancashire is part of the wider A History of the World project formed out of a unique partnership between the BBC, the British Museum and 350 museums and institutions across the country.
Here at the Harris we nominated a number of objects from our collection which we feel help to tell the fascinating story of Lancashire’s history. Among those that were chosen was the Teetotal Teapot - a small white teapot with the word ‘teetotal’ on it.
In the 19th century tea in Preston represented for some an alternative to alcohol, perceived as one of the greatest social evils of the day, especially among the working classes. Preston is the birthplace of teetotalism, where Joseph Livesey in 1832 started his Temperance Movement, requiring followers to pledge total abstinence – hence the term ‘teetotal’. He opened the first temperance hotel in 1833 and in 1834 founded the first temperance magazine The Temperance Advocate. Livesey was instrumental in developing the movement into a worldwide phenomenon.
This teapot itself is the only known example of this design. It is 5 inches high and 7 inches wide from spout to handle. It was probably made by Staffordshire potters in response to the growing temperance movement in Lancashire. It dates from between circa 1833 and 1840 and was given to the Harris Museum & Art Gallery in 1927 by Mr E.J. Reed, a Preston auctioneer and house agent.
The teapot is very important to the history of Preston and Lancashire and gives us an insight into the development of a global campaign of which Preston was a major centre.
Check out www.bbc.co.uk/thehistoryoftheworld for more information about the project.
To celebrate A History of the World BBC Radio Lancashire broadcast live from the Harris all day on Tuesday 16th February. Check the images of what we got up to.
The life of Joseph Livesey is one seven stories to due to feature in a major temporary exhibition, Industrial Revolutionaries, at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery opening on the 26th June 2010.
Bookmark this page:
