This book gives a detailed account of the holistic research carried out on the analytical data
obtained historically on the products of the Nantgarw and Swansea porcelain manufactories which
existed for a few years only during the second decade of the 19th Century. A background to the
establishment of the two factories which are linked through the persons of the enigmatic
William Billingsley and his kiln manager Samuel Walker involves the sourcing of their raw
materials and problems associated with the manufacture and distribution of the finished
products. A description of the minerals and additives used in porcelain production is recounted
to set the scene for the critical evaluation of the comprehensive analytical data which have
been published on Nantgarw and Swansea porcelains. For the first time the author has adopted a
nondestructive technique Raman spectroscopy to interrogate perfect samples of Nantgarw and
Swansea porcelain as well as a selection of shards froman archaeological excavation carried
out at a waste dump at the Nantgarw China Works site. Following these experiments several
questions relating to the porcelain bodies of Swansea and Nantgarw china can be answered and a
protocol established for the preliminary evaluation of items of suspect attribution to confirm
or not the correctness of their assignment to these Welsh porcelain factories.
