Functional object - Weight, Jabez & John Whitehouse Phoenix Foundry, Mid 19th to early 20th century

Historical information

This cast iron weight was made in England by Jabez and John Whitehouse ironfounders of Tipton and who founded the company in 1848. J. Whitehouse owned and operated the Phoenix Foundry, in Castle Street, Tipton, Staffordshire, England. The Whitehouse family at the Phoenix Foundry produced cast-iron goods including this weight from the mid 1800s until the early 1900s. John Whitehouse died in 1893.

Significance

An item made by one of the many ironfounders that operated foundries in the West Midlands of England giving a snapshot into the history of making cast iron objects at a time before plastics and other modern materials when most utilitarian items were made of cast iron by ironfounders.

Physical description

Weight, metal, 14 pound or 1 stone weight with a lifting handle. Three round indentations underneath.

Inscriptions & markings

"Whitehouse" inscribed at one end, "14" at the other

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